Washington Huskies vs. UCLA Bruins 11:00 ET
College hoops betting action moves to Pauley Pavilion on Thursday night, where two of the elite teams in the Pac-10 will do battle for conference supremacy and March Madness rankings. The Washington Huskies (19-6, 15-8 ATS) will be looking to spring the upset and sweep the regular season series of the perennial Final Four contenders otherwise known as the UCLA Bruins (19-6, 12-12 ATS).
The Bruins have been tabbed as 8.5-point favorites in this Pac-10 showdown, with the ‘total’ coming in at a lofty 154.
When these two teams hooked up in Washington, the Huskies pulled off the 86-75 victory over the Bruins. The home team has won six straight in this series, but the Huskies have gone 6-4 SU and ATS in the L/10 meetings. U-Dub has the best ATS mark of any team in the Pac-10, and has gone a solid 8-5 ATS and 10-3 SU in conference games this season. The Bruins are only a .500 ATS squad in conference, and have churned out a relatively unimpressive 8-4 SU record to show for it.
The 19th ranked team in the land has been a tough nut for opposing defenses to crack this season. The high-flying Huskies just put up 103 points on Oregon; their highest point total of the season. Only Washington State and Kansas have held the mighty Washington offense under 60 points in a game this season. As a result, ‘over’ bettors have rejoiced, going 14-8 this year in Washington games, with an even better 6-3 mark in road games. Five of the L/6 road games in conference have eclipsed the ‘total’. The Huskies are well-rounded offensively, as four player’s average in double figures.
F Jon Brockman will continue to be a force in the middle tonight much like he’s been all season. He leads the team in minutes played (30.2) and rebounds (11.1), and is third on the team in points per game (14.9) scored. In the game against the lowly Ducks last weekend, Brockman went for 21 and 18, and was one of four Huskies to surpass the 20-point barrier on the night.
Is UCLA overrated this season? The schedule for the Bruins was littered with a bunch of high profile opponents at the beginning of the season, but truth be told, they really don’t have a signature win yet on the year. Their best conference victory probably came at home against California a few weeks ago, and their best non-conference win was against Notre Dame. Against current Top-25 teams, UCLA is 0-3 SU and ATS, which includes a loss to these Huskies back on January 24th.
The Bruins lost both of their games in the desert last week in brutal fashion. As a result, the March Madness betting odds have dropped on the Bruins dramatically. Earlier in the year, they were as low as 10-1 choices, but now they are 25-1. Never count out a Ben Howland coached group though, as UCLA is known for its stifling defense (62.0 points per game), and knows how to win the big game. Still, all signs for the Bruins point towards a high scoring game as well, as they are 16-8 for ‘over’ bettors this year, including a 9-5 mark at Pauley Pavilion.
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