The Washington Huskies (13-10, 5-7 Pac-12) square off with the No. 9 UCLA Bruins (17-4, 8-2) at Pauley Pavilion Thursday. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET (FS1). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Washington vs. UCLA odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
UCLA trounced Washington 74-49 as an 11-point road favorite on New Year’s Day, but enter on a 2-game losing skid. The Bruins fell 58-52 at current-No. 7 Arizona on Jan. 21 followed by a cross-town defeat 77-64 at USC last Thursday. The Bruins are still in 1st in the Pac-12 despite the losses.
Washington is a low-tier competitor in the conference and also enters off a loss, dropping a 95-72 decision to Arizona as an 8.5-point underdog last Thursday. The Huskies have struggled on the scoreboard this season with just 69.9 points per per game (213th) and will have an uphill battle against the 11th ranked scoring-defense in UCLA (60.6 points allowed per game).