UCLA vs Oregon Odds, Pick
| UCLA Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Point Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+7.5 -115 | 136.5 -110o / -110u | +260 |
| Oregon Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Point Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-7.5 -105 | 136.5 -110o / -110u | -350 |
The Pac-12 is starting to look light on potential NCAA tournament bids as UCLA, Oregon and USC look like bubble teams at best. Two of those teams play today as the Bruins head to Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene to face the Ducks.
Here's NCAAB odds and a pick, including a UCLA vs Oregon preview.
UCLA Bruins
The Bruins are 6-6 and their tournament hopes are on life support.
UCLA's early season struggles have stemmed from having a lack of scorers. The Bruins rank 308th nationally in effective field goal percentage, 246th in 3-point percentage and 312th in 2-point percentage. You shouldn't expect to win many games when your offense is that inefficient. The only reason people remain optimistic about UCLA turning things around is because it's UCLA. The Bruins have done nothing to make me feel like they've found a way to score.
The Bruins evaded the landmine of Oregon State on Thursday, edging out a 69-62 road victory. For those hoping Mick Cronin could put some magic together and fix the offensive issues, well, the Bruins only mustered 69 points despite shooting 9-of-19 from 3. I'm less encouraged, if anything.
Oregon Ducks
All things considered, I'm incredibly impressed by Oregon's first 12 games. If you told me after the opening game against Georgia that Nate Bittle and N'Faly Dante would miss significant periods of time with injury, I probably wouldn't expect Oregon to be 9-3.
However, the emergence of a pair of freshman standouts — KJ Evans and Jackson Shelstad — has been huge for the Ducks. Shelstad is a shifty, scoring point guard from West Linn, which is coincidentally the hometown of Oregon legend Payton Pritchard. Shelstad has scored 16 or more points in the past four games and is already the focal point of Oregon's offense. He's surely the best freshman guard in the contest, though there's another really good freshman on UCLA's side.
Evans, an uber-versatile, floor-stretching forward, is no slouch himself. He scored a career-best 22 points against USC and makes a seismic impact for the Ducks on both ends of the court. If the Ducks' strong run continues, Evans will likely play a huge role in the success.
The Ducks are pretty even on both ends of the floor. Oregon ranks 48th in offensive efficiency and 61st in defensive efficiency, but looks a little better on defense than the numbers indicate. A rough two-game stretch against Alabama and Santa Clara, in which Oregon gave up 88 and 99 points, negatively shifted the metrics. In the past five games, Oregon allowed over 75 points just once, in a strange loss against Syracuse on a neutral floor. Oregon's defense now looks locked and loaded, even without Dante.
UCLA vs. Oregon
Betting Pick & Prediction
UCLA will exert more effort than USC, but Oregon completely dominated the Trojans for 40 minutes and I don't see this game being any different. The only way UCLA will stay competitive is if Adem Bona generates a ton of fouls on an already depleted Oregon front. Oregon's options are thin if Mahamadou Diawara gets in foul trouble, so UCLA should look to establish the paint early and often.
