Tennessee vs UCLA Prediction, Preview & Odds: NCAA Tournament Second Round

Tennessee vs UCLA How To Watch

Date: Saturday, March 22
Venue: Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
Time: COMING
TV: COMING
Teams: (7) UCLA (23-10), (2) Tennessee (28-7)
Region: Midwest
NCAA Tournament Schedule, Predictions, Previews

Why UCLA Will Win

The defense is tremendous, especially from three.

The Bruins led the Big Ten allowing just under 66 points per game, and it starts by pressuring the ball and coming up with a ton of takeaways.

Utah State couldn’t find room to breathe. It didn’t give the ball away all that much, but it hit just 13% from three - 4 of 31 - and didn’t have any other ideas once the game started to slip away. UCLA didn’t take any chances and just let the win happen.

Against Tennessee, the Bruins have to avoid getting frustrated. The Vols will be great for stretches, and it’ll be tough to buy a few buckets, but they don’t force mistakes like UCLA does.

Why Tennessee Will Win

UCLA’s offense is okay, but not good enough.

It’s a defensive-oriented team that has to come up with the stop and takeaway and convert it into points. It doesn’t do much on the boards, it’ll lose the rebounding battle, and even just a few second chance points might be enough for the Vols to push ahead.

The offensive pop isn’t there to keep up in a wild shootout. UCLA is 15-0 when allowing fewer than 64 points, and it’s 10-0 when scoring 90 or more.

Neither of those things will happen in this against a Tennessee team that should be - in a good way - methodical.

Tennessee vs UCLA: Who Will Win?

UCLA isn’t the type of team Tennessee likes, mainly because it can handle itself just fine in a low scoring game coming down to a few key possessions.

The problem, though, is the lack of size - the Bruins won’t have any answers when the Vols bring in the bigs.

Rebounding margin matters here in a tough game that will start to get away from UCLA late.

Tennessee vs UCLA Prediction, Betting Lines

Prediction: Tennessee 72, UCLA 64
Tennessee vs UCLA Betting Lines
BetMGM Line: Coming, o/u: Coming
DraftKings Line: Coming, o/u: Coming
FanDuel Line: Coming, o/u: Coming
ATS Confidence out of 5: COMING
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