#5 UCLA Bruins at Arizona State Sun Devils Betting Preview
The Arizona State Sun Devils (15-3, 6-1 Pac-12) face the #5 UCLA Bruins (16-2, 7-0 Pac-12) in a Pac-12 Conference showdown featuring the top two teams in the league. These two conference championship hopefuls will meet up again toward the end of the regular season.
Thursday’s Pac-12 matchup tips off at 10:30 p.m. EST inside Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona. The Bruins are a 4.5-point favorite, and the over/under total is 135 points.
What to Know – #5 UCLA Bruins
UCLA takes the floor Thursday night looking for its 14th win in a row as the Bruins continue to climb in the national rankings. The Bruins haven’t lost since before Thanksgiving, including a perfect 4-0 mark on the road.
On offense, UCLA scores 76.7 points per game behind 47.5% shooting from the field and 36.1% shooting from beyond the arc. The Bruins defense limits opponents to 59.8 points per game, 40.9% shooting from the floor, and 29.0% shooting from deep.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. leads the Bruins in scoring averaging 16.7 ppg thanks to 51% shooting from the field. Jaylen Clark is second on the team, adding 14.2 ppg, and sharp-shooters Tyger Campbell (13.3 ppg) and David Singleton (10.2 ppg) give the Bruins a pair of threats from the outside.
The Bruins are 11-7 against the spread this season and 3-1 ATS on the road. UCLA is 2-7-1 ATS over its previous ten games against The Sun Devils.
What to Know – Arizona State Sun Devils
Since suffering a nine-point loss to Arizona on New Year’s Eve, the Sun Devils have won all four of their contests played in 2023. ASU sits second in the Pac-12 conference with just one loss in conference play.
ASU averages 73.3 ppg offensively and connects on 43.4% of its shots from the floor and 32.2% from the 3-point line. Defensively, the Sun Devils limit opposing teams to 65.6 ppg, 37.7% shooting from the field and 31.2% from three.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. leads the Sun Devils in scoring averaging 12.8 ppg. Cambridge Jr. hits 42.9% of his shots from the floor and leads the team connecting on 36% of his attempts from the 3-point line. Marcus Bagley (12.5 ppg) and DJ Horne (12.1 ppg) are next in line in scoring for the hosts.
The Sun Devils are 10-8 ATS and 4-5 ATS on their home floor. Arizona State is 7-1 ATS over its last eight contests played on a Thursday.
The Pick is In
Both teams ride a lot of momentum into Thursday’s contest and on paper the two teams appear pretty similar. What will be the difference in this one is the veteran leadership on the Bruins side and toughness on defense. That defense will create problems for the ASU offense and allow UCLA to control the game from start to finish.
The Pick: #5 UCLA Bruins -4.5
