5:30 pm
March 11

Pac-12 Tournament: Oregon State v. UCLA

Who will WIN this matchup?

Oregon State Beavers (14-12)

UCLA Bruins (17-8)

 

Current odds:

Oregon State Beavers: (+175)

UCLA Bruins: (-200)

 

• The line for this game is UCLA by 5 points.

• UCLA aims to begin its postseason Thursday with a reversal of fortunes, facing Pac-12 tournament quarterfinal opponent Oregon State in Las Vegas. The Bruins (17-8, 13-6 Pac-12) lost their final three games of the regular season, which dropped a team with Pac-12 regular-season championship aspirations to the No. 4 seed in the league tournament.

• Last of UCLA’s three losses was a 64-63 defeat to USC on March 6. After leading most of the game, the Bruins surrendered a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left — a finish almost identical to how their 2019-20 regular season concluded.

• UCLA played its final four weeks without Jalen Hill due to personal issues. The Bruins were also without Cody Riley for a stretch, and lost standout Chris Smith to a season-ending ACL injury in early January.

• Cronin said he does not view Thursday’s quarterfinal as, “we’ve got to win Thursday to secure a bid.” With the Bruins owning a NET ranking of No. 41 at the beginning of the week, a tournament-opening loss would make UCLA’s Selection Sunday more tenuous.

• Oregon State (14-12, 10-10), meanwhile, can likely reach the NCAA Tournament only by winning the Pac-12 tournament.

• The Beavers closed out the regular season on March 7 with an 80-67 loss to Oregon that snapped their three-game winning streak. Oregon hit 15-of-23 from 3-point range in the regular-season finale, a deviation from Oregon State’s typically solid defense of the arc. The Beavers have held opponents to a 31.2-percent 3-point average on the season.

• The Beavers held UCLA to 6-of-24 3-point shooting in their Jan. 30 meeting in Los Angeles, but lost 57-52 after committing 15 turnovers to the Bruins’ seven.

• UCLA forces an average of 11.8 turnovers per game for the season, but is committing 11 per game.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
UCLA Bruins
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