Alabama vs UCLA CBB Picks
The UCLA Bruins have looked far from elite throughout the 2013-14 college basketball season, but their 10-2 record shows they have it in them to be a competitor in conference play. [ad-4468020]
Alabama (5-6, 0-0 SEC) at UCLA (10-2, 0-0 Pac-12)
Saturday, Dec. 28 10:00 PM ET at Pauley Pavilion
Spread: UCLA -9
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UCLA begins Pac-12 competition after its game with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, Dec. 28. Alabama brings in a 5-6 record on the year, having lost its last two outings against No. 11 Wichita State and unranked Xavier.
Alabama
Entering Saturday night, UCLA is the far superior offensive squad. This is going to cause a nightmare for the Alabama Crimson Tide unless they can step up defensively on the road.
Alabama enters this contest scoring 73.9 points per game, ranking them 155th in the nation in that particular category. The Bruins, however, are seventh, as they’re scoring 86.4 points per outing. UCLA is also shooting the second-highest field-goal percentage in the nation, and is collecting the third-most assists.
Containing the two-headed monster of Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson is going to be crucial for the Crimson Tide. Adams is the team leader in points per game (18.9) and Anderson is second (14.7) while also dominating down low (8.9 RPG, 0.8 BPG).
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Alabama also has a two-headed monster of sorts in Trevor Releford and Retin Obasohan. Releford is leading the way with a points-per-game average of 17, while Obasohan is second with 13.9.
UCLA
No player in the country is closer to averaging a triple-double than Kyle Anderson. Along with his scoring and rebounding, he is posting 6.7 assists per contest. He’s a threat to do just about everything on the court—including three-point shooting (60 percent)—and a good game from him should mean success for the Bruins.
The fear for fans in L.A. is that the team’s hot start to the season is merely a mirage. A 10-2 record is nothing to overlook, but you also can’t ignore the strength of schedule.
The Bruins have played one ranked team—No. 8 Duke on Dec. 19—and the game resulted in an 80-63 loss. The Bruins have dominated games offensively, but when faced against a top-tier program, they simply couldn’t get the job done.
Luckily for this team, Alabama is just the kind of program UCLA can strut its stuff against. At home, the Bruins will put on a show offensively, and simply put, the Crimson Tide will struggle keeping up. Look for the Bruins to pull ahead early, not looking back en route to a big win.
Prediction: UCLA 84 – Alabama 69
