#3 UCLA vs #7 Arizona | NCAA Basketball Odds for the Game

The game of the night Thursday and the week in college basketball is from the Pac-12 on Thursday night as No. 3 UCLA visits No. 7 Arizona but the Bruins might be rather short-handed. Thus, the Cats are favored on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet UCLA at Arizona NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

• When: Thursday, 8 PM ET
• Where: McKale Center
• TV: ESPN
• Stream: ESPN app
• Radio: Tunein.com
• Opening NCAAB Lines: Arizona -7 (total 145)

Last Meeting

On Jan. 25, the Bruins spanked the visiting Wildcats 75-59 in a surprise when UCLA was No. 7 and Arizona was No. 3. Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard scored 15 points each and the Bruins took the lead for good during a 12-0 run in the first half. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored all 10 of his points in the second half for the Bruins. Bennedict Mathurin scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Wildcats. Arizona was the highest-ranked opponent to play at UCLA since No. 1 Kentucky on Dec. 3, 2015.

The Bruins have won the last six games against Arizona and have won their last four contests against the Wildcats at the McKale Center (Feb. 2017, Feb. 2018, Feb. 2020 and Jan. 2021). UCLA leads the all-time series against Arizona by a 62-44 margin. The Bruins have won eight of the last 10 meetings.

Why Bet on UCLA?

UCLA (16-2) won its sixth in a row Saturday, 16-2 over Stanford. Jake Kyman had a season-high 15 points playing a season-high 27 minutes, bolstering the offense with leading scorer Johnny Juzang in COVID-19 protocols for the second straight game. Tyger Campbell had 10 points and nine assists. Jaime Jaquez Jr. was limited to seven minutes after tweaking his already sore right ankle when he stepped on another player. Jaylen Clark missed his third straight game while in concussion protocol.

The Bruins forced 22 turnovers – the third time this season in which UCLA’s opponent had committed at least 20 turnovers – and limited the visiting Cardinal to just 27 percent shooting. No player from Stanford scored in double figures, marking the first time since Nov. 16, 2018 (in a win over Saint Francis of Pennsylvania) in which the Bruins had accomplished that feat.

Clark is not expected to play in this one but Juzang has been cleared and Jaquez is a game-time call. Juzang was named one of the 20 members of the late season watch list for the John R. Wooden Award on Monday. Juzang is Pac-12 Conference’s second-leading scorer, having averaged 18.1 points per game. He has shot 45.6 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from 3-point territory. In addition, Juzang has averaged 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He’s shooting 45.6% from the field and 39.5% from deep.

The Bruins rank No. 1 in the Pac-12 in margin of victory (14.1 ppg) and points per game (78.0 ppg). Tyger Campbell ranks No. 3 in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (3.68-to-1). Since the start of UCLA’s NCAA Tournament run last season (in total, UCLA’s last 24 games), Campbell has totaled 108 assists and 29 turnovers.

The Bruins have gone 7-1 in eight games played away from home (includes a 5-0 road record). Earlier this season, UCLA registered non-conference road wins at UNLV (Nov. 27) and at Marquette (Dec. 11). UCLA’s five-game road win streak is the program’s longest since winning six consecutive road games in 2007-08.

Why Bet on Arizona?

Arizona (17-2) won at Arizona State 67-56 on Saturday. ASU managed to slow down one of the nation’s fastest-tempo teams and seemed to have the Wildcats on the ropes several times. The Sun Devils kept letting the struggling Wildcats hang around, then went cold to lose for the 11th time in 12 games at McKale Center. DJ Horne led Arizona State with 15 points, but had just two in the second half.

“They’re a great defensive team and it definitely showed with their size,” Horne said. “It was hard to drive into some gaps and rebounding.”

Bennedict Mathurin and Oumar Ballo scored 14 points each to lead Arizona. Mathurin, a native of Montreal, is averaging 17.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists through 19 games for the seventh-ranked Wildcats. He’s also shooting 45.7% from the field and 36.5% from the 3-point line while his 18 steals are tied for second on the team. He was named the National Player of the Week earlier this year and won back-to-back Pac-12 Player of the Week honors as well. He’s on the John Wooden Award Watch List.

Christian Koloko was one of 15 players from across the country to be named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.  Koloko leads the Pac-12 in total blocked shots and the native of Cameroon is a big reason why Arizona leads the country in 2-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 39.7% on 2-point field goals this season. In addition to his defensive prowess, Koloko is averaging 13.1 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 63.9% from the floor, the 4th-best percentage of any player in the country.

UA second-leading scorer Azoulas Tubelis (14.2 ppg) still isn’t 100 percent healthy. After missing UA’s Jan. 23 game at California, Tubelis played 15 minutes on Jan. 25 at UCLA while collecting eight points and six rebounds, then managed 21 minutes against ASU but shot just 2 of 9 from the field.

“We’re phasing him back in and slowly trying to get him back to normal,” Coach Tommy Lloyd said. “But we don’t expect him to be 100% and just appreciate him giving the team what he can. In due time hopefully we’ll get back the Tubelis that we’ve kind of had throughout the year.”

Arizona is 11-0 at home this season, one of 14 teams in the country that is undefeated with at least 11 home wins this season.

Expert Prediction

• Arizona 78, UCLA 70

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