Two teams locked in the middle of the Pac-12 standings meet up on Wednesday night when the UCLA Bruins (11-11, 6-5 Pac-12) travel to take on the Stanford Cardinal (11-10, 6-5 Pac-12). UCLA is fresh off a home win over Oregon, winning 71-63 as two points underdogs. Stanford just took on #11 Arizona on the road and left with an 82-71 loss, easily covering as 18-point underdogs. These teams met back in early January, with Stanford winning 59-53 on the road. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 EST from Maples Pavilion and can be found on the Pac-12 Network.
If you are struggling to pick winners, you've come to the right place. We have the best NCAAB Predictions available.
The UCLA Bruins are getting hot, and hopefully its not too little too late in terms of an at-large bid. They come into this matchup on a three game winning streak, and have also won five of their last six. Their lone loss in the stretch came at #12 Arizona, while the best victory came in defeating USC on the road as 4.5-point underdogs. In their most recent game, they were led by guard Dylan Andrews with 24 points in the win over Oregon.
#Pac12MBB Player of the Week, presented by @Nextiva: Dylan Andrews ??
Full release ?? https://t.co/5zmiZCx8B0 pic.twitter.com/QOXKoFzO2X
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) February 5, 2024
UCLA has four players averaging double figures and they all play their role. Sebastian Mack is the top all-around scorer, he is 6'3 freshman guard averaging 13.1 PPG and 3.8 RPG. Mack had 16 points in the win over Oregon and is strong at attacking the basket. Adem Bona is their big man inside, he is a 6'10, 245-pound sophomore inside averaging 12.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG. Bona blocks 1.9 shots per game, and has only attempted one three pointer on the season. Dylan Andrews was just named Pac-12 Player of the Week, he is a 6'2 sophomore playmaker, he leads the team in assists with 3.8 per game and scores 11.0 PPG. Finally, their top shooter is Lazar Stefanovic, he is a 6'7 junior who has made 32 threes on the season on 34.0% shooting from deep while averaging 11.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG.
The Bruins are currently ranked 97th overall according to KenPom. They are much better defensively where they rank 31st in the nation in efficien cy, while their offense ranks 194th in efficiency. They play at a very slow pace offensively, they rank 344th in the nation in tempo out of 362 Division I teams. Joe Lunardi only has three teams from the Pac-12 getting to the NCAA Tournament, and neither UCLA or Stanford currently make the cut.
Injury Report: None listed