UCLA vs Utah State Prediction, Preview & Odds: NCAA Tournament First Round

UCLA vs Utah State How To Watch

Date: Thursday, March 20
Venue: Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
Time: 9:25 pm ET
TV: TNT
Teams: (10) Utah State (20-12), (7) UCLA (22-10)
Region: Midwest 
NCAA Tournament Schedule, Predictions, Previews

Why Utah State Will Win

The Aggies can shoot.

They aren’t a big bunch like past teams, but they’re great at getting to rim, move the ball around extremely well, and they score in bunches.

It’s all about the field goal percentage. Utah State is 22-1 when it hits 43% or more of its shots.

It doesn’t have to rely on the three, but it led the Mountain West in attempts and makes - it can attack on the inside and on the move, too, when teams freak about stopping things from the outside.

The UCLA defense allows teams to hit 43.1% of their shots. But …

Why UCLA Will Win

For the most part, the Bruins don’t have a big problem when the defense stumbles.

The defense forced plenty of takeaways, and overall the offense is good from the field. There’s nothing the team does particularly well on a regular basis, but it has to be aggressive against the Utah State guards and keep them from easily making the extra passes.

Again, the Aggies don’t have to hit threes to win, but lately in this run of inconsistency, they’ve been off from the outside.

UCLA vs Utah State: Who Will Win?

Good luck trying to figure out UCLA.

It’s been one of those teams that just sort of wins games when everything clicks, but it’s also the type that can hang with and push Michigan State, and collapse against Minnesota and struggle against Northwestern.

So beware of this - the Bruins might be the hardest team in the field to read and predict.

The UCLA rebounding problems will matter, and so will its ability on the free throw line. Neither team is good at making free throws, but the Aggies will have their chances.

UCLA will be the definition of survive and advance.

UCLA vs Utah State Prediction, Betting Lines

Prediction: UCLA 75, Utah State 70
UCLA vs Utah State Betting Lines
BetMGM Line: UCLA -5.5, o/u: 144.5
DraftKings Line: UCLA -5.5, o/u: 143.5
FanDuel Line: UCLA -5.5, o/u: 142.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5

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