The top two teams in the Pac-12 Conference will lock horns this coming Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion down in Los Angeles. The Bruins are still spotless so far in conference play, and can they sustain with a win versus the visiting Wildcats? Or will Arizona take down the Bruins on the road? Check out our preview below of this Arizona-UCLA Pac-12 college basketball game.
Arizona remains undefeated in Pac-12 play. In their last game, the Wildcats took care of business against the Califonia Golden Bears on the road with a 96-71 victory on Sunday. Their lone loss of the season so far was against the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville back in December. Arizona sizzled from deep against the Golden Bears, as the Wildcats went 11/27 on their threes. The Wildcats also dominated the glass, 46-37. Christian Koloko posted a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds against the Bears. UCLA is going to be tougher on him, but the size of the Wildcats will also spell trouble for the Bruins. In fact, Arizona is the second-tallest team in the nation. The Wildcats have 6-11 Azuolas Tubelis and 7-1 Koloko in their starting frontcourt. Conversely, UCLA’s tallest player stands 6-10, and that’s seldom-used Myles Johnson.
Arizona, which ranks eight in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiencies, is 6-4 against the spread in its last 10 road games.
UCLA is heating up again after losing to the Oregon Ducks on Jan. 13. Since that defeat, the Bruins have gone 3-0 straight up, with wins over the Oregon State Beavers, Utah Utes, and the Colorado Buffaloes last Saturday on the road. The tandem of Johnny Juzang and Javier Jaquez Jr. led the way for the Bruins, as they scored 23 and 14 points, respectively. This is an experienced UCLA squad that made it all the way to the National Championship Game last season and has also kept the core of that unit. That should matter against a rejuvenated Arizona program but seemingly lacks the experience. In fact, according to KenPom, the Wildcats are 355th in the nation in terms of the site’s metrics of experience. The Bruins’ experience is also reflected by the fact that they are no. 1 in the Pac-12 in terms of free-throw attempt to field goal attempt ratio.
The over is 8-2 in UCLA’s last 10 games when the Bruins were the home team.
