[12:35 PM] #11 UCLA @ #1 Kentucky

What will be the GAME RESULT?

#11 UCLA: Wins or Single Digit Loss

@ #1 Kentucky: Wins By Double Digits

 

• The line for this game is Kentucky by 9.5 points.

• Saturday’s showdown between No. 1 Kentucky and No. 9 UCLA before some 23,500 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., and millions on TV could more resemble a track meet rather than an elite college basketball game between undefeated teams. Each squad averages less than 14 seconds per possession and Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley told reporters “I don’t think I’ve seen a faster team in my years of coaching” after Kentucky dismantled his team 115-69 on Monday.

• Senior guard Isaac Hamilton (team-high 18 points per game) and 6-10 freshman forward TJ Leaf (17.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 8-for-16 from 3-point range) lead the team in scoring. Senior guard Bryce Alford (15.5 points), sophomore guard Aaron Holiday (12.9 points, 4.1 assists) and 7-0 junior center Thomas Welsh (10.8 points, club bests of 9.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks) all contribute significantly. The Bruins were second in the nation through Wednesday’s games in 3-point percentage at 45.4 percent with Holiday (51.9), Leaf (50.0) and Ball (47.4) exceeding that number, and Hamilton (44.1) and Alford (41.4) not far below.

• Sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe (18.4 points) returned Monday after missing two games with a buttocks contusion, recording 20 points and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Wenyen Gabriel (8.6 points) averages the fourth-most minutes on the team at 22.1 and his 5.7 rebounds per game match Fox as the second-highest on the club. The Wildcats shoot 32.3 percent from 3-point range and 57.6 percent inside the arc.

• The Bruins led the nation in field goal percentage through Wednesday’s games at 55.3 percent. Kentucky shoots 49.6 percent.

• The Wildcats last scored 100 or more points in three straight games in 1977 while their 59 rebounds Monday were their most since 1995.

• UCLA and Kentucky are third and fifth, respectively, in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.01 and 1.82.

 

StreakSmarts Pick: #11 UCLA: Wins or Single Digit Loss

Confidence: 5/10

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