Stanford vs #2 Arizona College Basketball Game Preview and Betting Odds

Stanford vs #2 Arizona | College Basketball Game Preview and Betting Odds

No. 2 Arizona has wrapped up the Pac-12 regular-season title, but the Wildcats still are playing for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament as they host Stanford on Thursday. Arizona is a double-digit favorite on the NCAAB odds.

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

  • When: Thursday, 9 PM ET
  • Where: McKale Center
  • TV: ESPN2
  • Stream: ESPN app
  • Radio: Tunein.com
  • Opening NCAAB Lines: Arizona -19 (total 148)

Last Meeting

On Jan. 20, Arizona routed Stanford 85-57 in Palo Alto. Oumar Ballo had a career-high 21 points, while Bennedict Mathurin and Pelle Larsson each scored 13 for the Wildcats. Arizona shot 55.4% and limited Stanford to 30% shooting. Ballo, a 7-foot redshirt sophomore from Mali, scored his 21 points in just 22 minutes off the bench. Spencer Jones and Maxime Raynaud each scored nine points to lead Stanford, which has lost 11 straight at home in the series. Stanford was outscored 48-20 in the paint and never got closer than 11 points in the second half.

Why Bet on Stanford?

Stanford (15-13) will not be in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal lost their third in a row Saturday, 53-39 at Cal – the 39 points were easily a season low. The game was tied at 4 before Cal scored 19 consecutive points and then took a 35-12 lead into the break. The Cardinal shot an abysmal 14% (4-28) that included missing all nine of their 3-point attempts in the first half.

It was Stanford’s lowest scoring output in a half this season, and the fewest points Cal has allowed in a half of a conference game on record, per the Pac-12; the previous low was 14 vs. Oregon State in 2000. The 39 total points scored by Stanford were the fewest allowed by Cal in a conference game since allowing 37 vs. Oregon on Feb. 2, 1985.

Spencer Jones led the Cardinal with 10 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the foul line, while Jaiden Delaire scored seven points and Harrison Ingram six. Nine different players scored for Stanford on the evening.

Ingram leads Stanford with 10.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per night, while Delaire and Jones are close behind at 10.7 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Michael O’Connell paces the squad with 3.5 assists per night. The Cardinal have outrebounded their opponent in 23 of 28 games, and have only been outrebounded three times, posting a plus-7.1 margin on the glass, which is 16th-best nationally. Stanford is in the top-25 nationally in offensive rebound (24th, 34.2%) and defensive rebound percentage (15th, 77.2%).

Stanford has three of the top eight freshmen in the Pac-12 in terms of scoring, with Ingram the only true freshman in the conference to average in doubles figures (10.8 pts). Stanford’s freshmen make up 25.6 percent of total scoring by first year players across the league.

Stanford won in Tucson last season, 73-64, for the first time since 2008.

Why Bet on Arizona?

Arizona (26-3) clinched the Pac-12 regular-season title with a shockingly easy 91-71 win at No. 16 USC on Tuesday. USC had a sellout crowd at the Galen Center for the second time this season and concluded its home schedule with a 13-3 record. USC admitted 2,700 students, the most in Galen Center history.

Arizona jumped ahead early in the first half with a 20-5 run. Max Agbonkpolo’s 3-pointer and layup sparked a 7-0 run that briefly cut the Wildcats’ lead to single digits, but Arizona finished the half with a 24-9 stretch. USC struggled to find an offensive rhythm all night, shooting just 32.1% in the first half and 39.7% overall. Arizona, which won in a wire-to-wire victory, shot 55.6% from the field while also hitting 12 3-pointers on 25 attempts.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 19 points and Kerr Kriisa added 18 for Arizona. In winning their first regular-season conference title since the 2017-18 season, the Wildcats improved on their best overall record since they were 28-2 in 2013-14. Arizona also shot 48.1% from the field or better in all 10 of its Pac-12 road games.

Mathurin is a finalist for the 2022 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. A native of Montreal, Mathurin is averaging 17.1 points (2nd in Pac-12) and 5.7 rebounds (15th) while shooting 37.7% (13th) from the 3-point line and averaging 2.1 3-point field goals made per game. He has scored 20 or more points on 10 occasions this year, including six times in Pac-12 play.

Arizona has recorded 20+ assists in 18 games this season – that’s five more than any other team in Division I this season. The other 11 Pac-12 teams have combined for 18 games with 20+ assists. UA leads the nation in assists/gm (20.2) and assist rate (65.8%).

The Cats are in the top 10 nationally in the following categories: 2-point FG% defense (2nd), scoring margin (2nd), scoring offense (3rd), field goal pct. defense (4th), rebound margin (5th), blocked shots/game (6th), FG Pct. (10th).

Arizona is 15-0 at home this season, one of five teams in the country that is undefeated with at least 15 home wins this season. UA also has a 17-game home winning streak, the longest active streak in the Pac-12 and the third-longest in Division I.

Expert Prediction

  • Arizona 80, Stanford 65
 
 

College Basketball Betting Center


NCAA Basketball Betting Odds | Betting Lines