No. 11 seed UCLA tries to continue their great tournament run against a tough No. 2 seed Alabama team. The Tide simply have too many offensive weapons for the Bruins to win this game.
The Bruins disposed of Michigan State in their First Four game, BYU in the first round, and then Abilene Christian 67-47 on Monday. The Bruins lost their final four regular-season games, but have managed to become the fifth team in tournament history to go from the First Four to the Sweet 16. UCLA got 17 points from guard Johnny Juzang and 12 points and 12 rebounds from forward Cody Riley in their win over Abilene Christian. The Bruins held the Wildcats to 29.8 percent shooting from the field and 21.1 percent shooting from 3. Juzang leads the Bruins in scoring with 15.1 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting. Chris Smith (12.6 PPG) Jaime Jaquez Jr. (12.2 PPG) and Jules Bernard (10.4 PPG) make up a trio of guards who are scoring threats for the Bruins, and all are shooting over over 40 percent from 3. Tyger Campbell (10 PPG) isn’t as accurate from behind the arc, but he creates opportunities for his teammates and leads the Bruins in assists at (5.4 APG). Alabama beat No. 15 seed Iona 68-55 in the first round, then rolled over Maryland 96-77 on Monday. The Tide shot 48.5 percent from 3 and won for the 11th time in 12 games. Guard Jaden Shackleford had 21 points and was five-for-eight from 3, while John Petty Jr, scored 20, 12 of which came on 3s in the win. Herb Jones. John Petty Jr. Jaden Shackleford. Jahvon Quinerly. If you’ve been following college basketball this season and certainly the tournament, you already know these names. All are averaging point totals in double-digits this season and can shoot from 3-point range, particularly Quinerly, who will enter Sunday’s matchup shooting 44.2 percent from deep. Alabama dominates on the glass, and they showed it Monday, out rebounding the Terrapins 40-19. They are averaging 40.5 rebounds per game this year, good for 15th in the country. Jones is their leading rebounder (6.5 RPG) and was the SEC defensive player of the year. The March Madness sports betting sites in New Jersey have Alabama listed as 6.5 point favorites. I want to give UCLA credit for making it this far. They definitely backed into the tournament, losing their last four games, but they’ve turned it around for March. They haven’t played a team like Alabama though. I don’t think this will be a blowout, but the Crimson Tide will cover. Alabama has lost just once since 2/6, and they’ve had double-digit margins of victory in six of their last eight games. In their current eight game winning streak, Alabama is 5-3 ATS. I like Alabama at -6.5 at -110 odds (Sugar House). I’m not seeing too many player props for this game, but if you’re looking for something in that area, Jaden Shackleford to score the first basket at +600 (SugarHouse) looks good.
Alabama -6.5 Points Alabama gets it done against a Bruins team that has exceeded expectations, but doesn’t have enough to keep their run alive.
