UCLA vs. Arizona Odds, Picks & Prediction

UCLA vs Arizona Odds

In the highly-anticipated Pac-12 bout between two of the nation’s heavyweights, No. 11 Arizona welcomes No. 5 UCLA to Tucson looking to hand the Bruins their first conference loss.

UCLA has been scorching hot this season and has ripped off 14 straight wins. Mick Cronin’s squad just took down Arizona State on the road and pulled off a nine-point comeback against Colorado to remain undefeated in conference play.

Arizona, meanwhile, has faltered a bit. The Wildcats are just 5-3 in Pac-12 play and have lost two of their last four.

Tommy Lloyd and Co. made light work of USC on Thursday night in a 15-point win, and enter this one at McKale Memorial Center as home underdogs.

Can UCLA remain perfect in Pac-12 play, or are the Wildcats live underdogs at home in what should be a raucous environment?

Entering with the nation’s third-longest active win streak, UCLA gears up for its toughest test yet against Arizona. The Bruins have flirted with danger many times in Pac-12 play, but Cronin’s squad has been extremely relentless, using late pushes to pull out victories.

More impressive is the fact UCLA has been without five-star freshman phenom Amari Bailey for the last six games. He was seen shooting pregame against Arizona State, but did not suit up.

Despite his absence, others have stepped up and provided huge lifts. David Singleton scored 21 points in a comeback win against Arizona State, and Jaylen Clark added 18 against Colorado.

Even though those games ended in double-digit wins, that only came because of late pushes. In those wins, UCLA outscored its opponents 54-17 in the final 10 minutes.

This is as well-rounded a squad as Cronin has had at UCLA. The Bruins are extremely disciplined and slow in their offensive progressions. While they don’t draw many fouls, they clean the glass on the offensive end and are 12th in adjusted efficiency.

There aren’t many reliable 3-point shooters aside from Singleton, who connects at a 45.6% clip. The Bruins rank 352nd in 3PA/FGA, looking to run their offense inside through Jaime Jaquez Jr. or Tyger Campbell in the pick-and-roll.

Defensively, the Bruins rank fifth in adjusted efficiency and eighth in turnover rate. It’s led to them to being a fantastic transition offense, but there are some underlying issues.

For starters, despite holding opponents to a sub-30% 3-point%, UCLA ranks 226th in defending catch-and-shoot 3s and 220th on off-the-dribble 3s.

The Bruins don’t foul a lot — which has been a positive — but they give up a lot of looks from the perimeter, which should regress negatively in the coming weeks.

Adem Bona has been a strong interior force in his freshman season and ranks inside the top 100 in block rate, but UCLA does sit outside the top 200 in holding opponents off the offensive glass.

Lloyd’s squad has suffered a couple of hiccups over the last couple of weeks, but this fast-paced, efficient offense isn’t going anywhere anytime…