UConn vs UCLA Prediction and Preview: NCAA Tournament Second Round

UConn vs UCLA Game Preview: Do the Huskies Have Another Level?

UConn vs UCLA How To Watch

Date: Sunday, March 22
Venue: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Time: 8:45 pm ET
TV: TNT
Streaming: March Madness Live App, Paramount+, HBO Max
Teams: (2) UConn 30-5, (7) UCLA 24-11
CFN Spring Football Rankings
UCLA 25 | UConn 94
First Round
UCLA 75, UCF 71
UConn 82, Furman 71

- CFN NCAA Tournament Schedule, Previews

Key Stats

- UConn outrebounded Furman 44 to 23 in the first round game.

- UCLA came up with 13 steals against UCF in the first round and forced 17 turnovers.

Why UCLA Will Win: Do All the Little Things Right

UConn is awful on the free throw line. It doesn’t take enough attempts considering how powerful it is, and it doesn’t always make them when it takes them - it hit 13-of-18 against Furman.

UCLA is usually great when it gets to the line - it has to be better than the 13-of-18 against UCF.

UConn loses a few too many turnovers, doesn’t get on the move, and it doesn’t get much scoring from a somewhat stunningly thin bench.

UCLA is amazing at winning the turnover margin, pushed the ball better against UCF than it did for most of the season, and the starting five has held up extremely well.

If the Bruins are the sharper team, they should have this.

Why UConn Will Win: Can Tarris Reed Do THAT Again?

The 6-10, 260-pound All-Big East performer has been good throughout the season, averaging over 14 points and close to nine rebounds per game, and then he put up an all-time great NCAA Tournament game against Furman.

If Bilodeau can’t go, or is limited, the Huskies have to keep pounding the ball on the inside to the guy who came up with 31 points and 27 rebounds.

Even when Bilodeau was playing, the Bruins weren’t all that great on the boards - UCF came up with 53 rebounds in the first round against UCLA, including 25 on the offensive end.

If UConn does that - uh oh.

UConn vs UCLA Prediction, Betting Lines

UCLA won’t outrebound UConn, but it has the size to not get totally destroyed.

With Bilodeau out, 6-11, 220-pound Xavier Booker has stepped up with 15 points and eight rebounds against UCF.

Also rising up and rocking is 6-8, 230-pound Eric Dailey, who scored 20 in the first round. Dailey also came up with ten boards against both Purdue and Michigan State.

UConn will do a great job of passing the ball around to get the right shots, but UCLA will hit shots.

The Bruins are 17-2 when making 46% or more of them, and UConn has allowed that or more in three of the last six games, including losses to Marquette and St. John’s.

And then comes another big program fight against Michigan State.

Prediction: UCLA 72, UConn 69
Consensus Line: UConn -4.5, o/u: 136.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2

Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.