An intriguing showdown at the McKale center is bound to satisfy your basketball cravings, as the No. 17 Arizona Wildcats and the UCLA Bruins battle it out for the second time this season. It was the Bruins who emerged victorious in their previous meeting and surely the Wildcats will be looking to get their revenge on them. Can Arizona succeed in doing so? Or will UCLA pull off the upset again?
UCLA’s been playing awful lately, losing three of its last four games. The most recent one came against USC on Thursday night, during which the Bruins shot just 34.8 percent collectively. As a result, they’ve now fallen 13-10 overall and 4-6 in conference play, good for ninth-place in the Pac-12.
Now, the Bruins will hope to get back on track when they go on the road for an impending clash with the No. 17 Arizona Wildcats at the McKale Center. UCLA is 3-7 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games away from home.
Key to their triumph will heavily depend on the performances of Bryce Alford (16.7 PPG) and Isaac Hamilton (16.3 PPG), who are the Bruins’ leading scorers this season. Both players combined for just 20 points on 6-for-25 shooting from the field versus USC and will be set to test an Arizona defense that’s allowing 66.3 points in its past three outings.
Other than the two, the Bruins can also lean on the trio of Tony Parker, Thomas Welsh and Aaron Holiday to help them pile up the points. Parker and Holiday, in particular, have been the most efficient ones as they’ve managed to finish in double-figures in their last four contests.
Welsh, meanwhile, has been solid on both sides of the floor this year, garnering 12.0 PPG and nabbing a team-best 8.8 RPG. Welsh also has nine double-doubles already in his sophomore campaign.
Betting on the Arizona Wildcats (19-5, 7-4 Pac-12)
Other than the thunderous McKale Center crowd cheering them on, the Arizona Wildcats can also look forward to having the momentum on their side for this upcoming match with the UCLA Bruins.
The Wildcats, who are 9-1 SU and 8-2 ATS in their past 10 home games, walk into this bout with six wins in their last eight games, including their previous three. In that three-game run, they’ve beaten their opponents by an average margin of 12.3 points and are scoring almost 80 points per contest.
A testament to this success is none other than the pair of Ryan Anderson and Gabe York. The two seniors are currently posting 20.4 and 17.8 points in their last five games. Anderson, in particular, has also been relentlessly crashing the glass with 11.6 rebounds in the same stretch.
Furthermore, Allonzo Trier, who made his return from a broken hand on Saturday opposite Washington, might be able to relocate his rhythm against a shaky UCLA defense that’s allowing 77.0 points this season. Trier is the Wildcats’ third-leading scorer with 14.3 points per game. He also put up just seven points on 2-for-5 shooting after playing less than 20 minutes versus the Huskies.
On defense, expect the Bruins to have a difficult time in penetrating Arizona’s stout defense, which is anchored by the seven-foot frame of center Kaleb Tarczewski. Tarczewski is tallying 9.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and a block across 16 games.
