Wildcats vs Bruins Online Betting Odds
Nick Johnson and the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats will be looking for a little retribution when the arrive in Los Angeles to take on the Bruins in a Pac-12 game on Thursday night. [ad-4468020]
The Bruins swept Arizona in three games last season, and is 14-6 against their division rival since the start of the 2005-06 season. Nevertheless, the Wildcats are on a roll, ubeaten in 15 straight.
Date/Time: 9 p.m. EST, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014
Venue: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California
Broadcast: ESPN
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Arizona (15-0) is led by Johnson, who although hasn’t had much individual success in his previous six games against the Bruins, is the current the leading scorer for the Wildcats.
And while he has shot just 34.5 percent from the floor against UCLA in the past, he could be in line for a breakout game after scoring a career-high 24 points in Saturday’s win against Washington, in a game the Wildcats dominated on the boards. Nothing new, as one of Arizona’s strengths this season has been its ability to outrebound every opponent in every game thus far.
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The Cats’ have also been very good defensively, limiting their opponents to 28.2 percent from beyond the arc this season.
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Meanwhile, the Bruins (12-2) will lean on Jordan Adams, who suffered a season-ending foot injury on the final play of the conference tournament semifinal against the Wildcats last season.
Adams is back and looking better than ever, leading the Bruins in scoring at 18.7 points and ranking third in the nation in steals at 3.5.
He will be joined by freshmen guards Zach LaVine, who is third on the team in scoring (12.4), and Bryce Alford, who is coming off a season-high 20 points in Sunday’s win against the Trojans.
The Wildcats meanwhile, are also relying on some freshman, including forward Aaron Gordon, who is averaging 12.8 points and eight rebounds, and giving the Wildcats the edge on defense they lacked last season.
Free Pick: Arizona- The Bruins have a deep backcourt with Adams, Anderson and junior Norman Powell, and will challenge the Wildcats perimeter defense with Adams, with LaVine shooting 45.3 percent and Alford at 48.8 from behind the arc.
But rebounding is key in college basketball as most shots miss the net, often times leading to points in the other direction.
And since Arizona has the edge in rebounds, I expect them to notch an important conference road win here.
