A top-25 matchup between the #22 ranked UCLA Bruins and the #14 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs highlights a full Saturday of college basketball action.
This game, part of the West Coast Hoops Showcase, will tip off on Saturday December 28 at 4:00 PM ET and will be played at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, and broadcast on FOX.
Our preview will give you our two best bets for this intriguing matchup, plus we will include the current moneyline, spread, and total odds for this game.
For our first best bet in this game, we will be targeting the Gonzaga Bulldogs to win and cover.
Gonzaga enters this game with a record of 9-3. They have had some mixed results this season, beating then-ranked #6 Baylor by 38 points in their season opener, and then-ranked #14 Indiana by 16 points in late November.
Their losses have come to unranked West Virginia by eight points, then-ranked #4 (now #10) Kentucky by one point, and then-ranked #18 (now #11) UConn by six points.
The Bulldogs have a very balanced offense this season with six players averaging at least 10.0 points or more. They are led by Graham Ike, who averages 15.5 points per game and he also leads the team in rebounds - averaging 6.6 per game.
On the other side, the UCLA Bruins enter this game with a record of 10-2.
The Bruins already have some resumé-building wins, beating then-ranked #12 Oregon in early December. They did, however, suffer a loss to unranked and struggling North Carolina in their most recent game, having led by 16 points at one point.
UCLA is led this season by Tyler Bilodeau, who is averaging 15.1 points per game.
Apart from him, the Bruins have two other scorers who average more than 10 points per game - Eric Dailey Jr. (10.8 points per game) and Sebastian Mack (10.3 points per game).
While UCLA has the better record by one game, Gonzaga appear to be more battle-tested.
They have played more games against ranked opponents and, while they have lost a few of them, the Bulldogs offense is much more balanced with more contributors.
For that reason, backing Gonzaga -4 (-110) will be our first best bet.
For our second-best bet, we will be looking to back the over.
Gonzaga have shown balance this season, they are averaging 89.3 points per game, which is the most in the country, while defensively the Bulldogs are allowing 69.4 points per game, which ranks 137th in the country.
As for UCLA, they are averaging 78.4 points per game, which ranks 115th in the country, while their defense is allowing 58.4 points per game, which ranks 7th in the country.
It should also be noted that in the two ranked games for the Bruins, they have allowed an average of 73.5 points, which is more likely the range of what Gonzaga will score in this matchup.
Despite the fact that the Bruins’ defense has been elite, we are expecting the Bulldogs to play at a fast pace. This is likely to force UCLA to play fast to keep up.
Therefore, because of the expected pace at which these teams will play, backing the over 147.5 at -110 is our second-best bet for this game.
Read more betting picks and predictions for the NCAAB on site.
UCLA | +150 ML |
Gonzaga | -180 ML |
Spread | Gonzaga -4 |
Total Points | O/U 147.5 |
Read the latest NCAAB news on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.