Oregon vs UCLA Free NCAA Hoops Pick

The struggling UCLA Bruins don’t have much to play for besides a berth in the NIT tournament, but they can still throw a wrench into streaking Oregon’s postseason plans by pulling off the home upset when they host the Ducks on Wednesday night. With No. 9 Oregon looking to win the Pac-12 title and get as high a seed as possible come March Madness tourney time, let’s find out if they can avoid the College hoops betting upset.

How To Bet The No. 9 Oregon Ducks vs. UCLA Bruins NCAAB Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, March 2, 2016, 9:00 PM  ET Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California TV: ESPN2, ESPN3 NCAAB Odds: TBA

Why Bet The Oregon Ducks

There are plenty of reasons to back Oregon (26-3 SU, 15-11 ATS) in this contest, staring with the fact that they’re playing excellent basketball right now. The Ducks have won three straight and eight of their last 10 games overall including their 86-73 victory over Washington as an 11-point home favorite on Sunday. Elgin Cook equaled his career-high with 26 points to lead Oregon to victory while Dillon Brooks added 19 points in the win. Oregon is a perfect 18-0 at home this season and has won 25 straight on their home floor dating back to last season, to extend their school record. “We just want to finish out strong,” Cook said. “We just want to take our home mentality and go on the road with it.” The Ducks owned the painted area, outscoring Washington 44-26 inside and out-rebounding the Huskies 40-26. “The rebounds and (the Huskies) shooting only 39 percent were the two stats that were really important to us,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said.

Why Bet The UCLA Bruins

Outside of the fact that they’re playing at home, there really isn’t much reason to believe that UCLA (15-14 SU, 11-18 O/U) will win or cover the spread in this contest. The Bruins have lost two straight and three of their last four games overall, including their 79-70 loss against Stanford on Sunday as a 1-point road favorite. Bryce Alford scored a team-high 20 points and Isaac Hamilton added 19 points for UCLA, but the Bruins have dropped five of their last seven games overall. “Same old stuff. We’ve got to figure out what we have to do,” Bryce Alford said. “As a team, we’re kind of a lost cause right now. We’re trying to stay together and that’s the hardest part.” UCLA averages 77.9 points per game but give up almost that much defensively (75.8 ppg).

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

I’m expecting the Ducks to be favored by somewhere in the neighborhood of three or four points, but it won’t mater as the Ducks win by a half-dozen points. The Ducks are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games against a team with a winning straight up record and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games following a straight up win. Conversely, the Bruins are just 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning percentage above .600. The Favorite in this Pac-12 rivalry is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings while Oregon has gone 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings. My final score prediction: Oregon 77 UCLA 71