UCLA vs. Arizona prediction, odds, time: 2023 Pac-12 Tournament final picks, best bets by proven model
It's a battle of top-10 teams and the top two tournament seeds when the second-ranked UCLA Bruins face the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats in Saturday night's 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game. Both teams cruised in their semifinal matchups, with UCLA (29-4) routing Oregon 75-56 and Arizona (27-6) crushing rival Arizona State 78-59. This is the rubber match, as the Bruins beat the Wildcats 82-73 a week ago at home, while Arizona won 58-52 in Tucson in January. UCLA has won 12 in a row, while Arizona has lost two of its last five -- to Arizona State and the Bruins.
Tipoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Caesars Sportsbook lists the game as a pick'em in the latest UCLA vs. Arizona odds, and the over/under for total points scored is set at 147.5. Before locking in any Arizona vs. UCLA picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's advanced computer simulation model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters conference tournament week 76-51 on all-top rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,200 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now the model has zeroed in on Arizona vs. UCLA and just locked in its picks and CBB predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Now, here are several college basketball odds and betting lines for UCLA vs. Arizona:
- UCLA vs. Arizona spread: PIck'em
- UCLA vs. Arizona over/under: 147.5 points
- UCLA vs. Arizona money line: UCLA -110, Arizona -110
- UCLA: 19-13-1 ATS this season
- AZ: 9-5 ATS this season against teams with a winning percentage of .650 or higher
- UCLA vs. Arizona picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why UCLA can cover
UCLA has covered the spread in four straight Saturday games, and it has been rolling since back-to-back losses to Arizona and UCLA in January. Jaime Jaquez, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the victory against the Wildcats last Saturday. Tyger Campbell scored 21, and he comes off a 28-point game against the Ducks. Jaquez averages 17.5 points and 8.1 rebounds, while Campbell averages 13.5 points and 4.8 assists.
The Bruins are the Pac-12 regular-season champs after going 18-2 in conference, while the Wildcats went 14-6. UCLA has the best defense in the Pac-12, allowing 60.3 points per game, and is second in scoring at 74.4. Arizona leads the conference in scoring (83.3) but has the worst defense in the conference (71.9). The Bruins had nine steals and forced 17 turnovers in the meeting last weekend, cruising to victory after spotting Arizona a 13-2 lead. The Bruins went 13-8-1 ATS in conference games and have won their past four games by at least nine points.
Why Arizona can cover
Arizona is looking to avenge its loss to the Bruins last week, and it is on quite a revenge tour. The Wildcats have lost three of their past 15 games, and the past two tournament victories came against two of those teams. They beat Stanford 95-84 on Thursday, then beat Arizona State by almost 20. They have the highest-scoring team in the Pac-12 and rank fourth in the nation at 83.3 points per game. They also lead the conference in field-goal percentage (49.9) and 3-point shooting (38.4%). They hit 40% from long range in the last meeting with UCLA.
The Wildcats are 8-2 ATS in their past 10 against teams with a winning percentage of .600 or better. They are led by big men Azuolas Tubelis, who averages 19.8 points and 9.1 rebounds, and center Oumar Ballo (14.2 points, 8.5 rebounds). Tubelis had 17 points and nine rebounds Friday and had 24 and 10 in the matchup with the Bruins last week. Ballo had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds against the Ducks. Three other Wildcats average at least 10 points. Kylan Boswell and Kerr Kriisa went a combined 7-for-11 from outside last Saturday.
How to make Arizona vs. UCLA picks
SportsLine's model is leaning Over on the total, projecting 149 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread has all the value. You can only see the model's picks at SportsLine.
