Overall No. 1 Florida cruised to their fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance after crushing the Pittsburgh Panthers in the third round. With their defense still causing opponents headaches, can the Gators throw the UCLA Bruins off their rhythm?
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[sc:finalfour240 ]The winning streak continued for No. 1 Florida after they ran the Pittsburgh Panthers out of the NCAA Tournament with a 61-45 victory in the third round. SEC Player of the Year Scottie Wilbekin torched the Panthers with 21 points in the Gators’ 28th-straight win.
Up next for Billy Donovan’s wards is a Sweet 16 round encounter against the high-scoring UCLA Bruins, who could pose a big challenge for the Gators’ rock steady defense. Florida is 3rd in the country in scoring defense (57.5 PPG), and held both Albany and Pitt to 55 points or less. Against Pittsburgh, the Gators had 10 steals, seven came in the second half, which they turned into 12 points.
Numbers aside, the Gators could also rely on their experience. They’ve played their way to the Elite Eight in each of their last three seasons under a highly-regarded coach Billy Donovan.
Betting on the UCLA Bruins
The no. 4 seed UCLA Bruins barged into the Sweet 16 round by crushing the Cinderella dreams of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the third round, 77-60. Jordan Adams fired a team-high 19 points and added six rebounds to lead the Bruins to their fifth consecutive win.
As the 12th-ranked scoring team in the nation (81.8 PPG), the Bruins have plenty of firepower in their arsenal. In their last win against Stephen F. Austin, Norman Powell and Kyle Anderson flanked Adams on offense by chipping in 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Expect UCLA to be unphased by the stature of its next opponent. The Bruins know what it’s like to play against a top seeded team, having beaten the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats 75-71, just six days before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
The key to the Bruins beating the Gators’ excellent defense will be passing. UCLA has been a great passing team throughout the season, averaging 17.2 APG, fifth-best in the country, and if they can move the ball around the Gators effectively they should be able to keep it close.
Prediction
The Gators will win this one but not by a wide margin, as the Bruins will keep it close and cover +5. And if you like the Bruins to cover you probably also like the total to go over 137.5, as these two teams combine to average over 150 points per game.
