Arizona vs UCLA Odds and Picks (Jan. 25)

• The Arizona vs UCLA odds favor the Wildcats by 2.5-points on Tuesday (Jan. 25) at 11 pm ET
• The Wildcats have won five straight, all by 16 points or more
• Read below for odds, analysis and a betting prediction

Who’s ready for the biggest Pac-12 hoops game of the season? #3 Arizona visits #7 UCLA on Tuesday (Jan. 25th) in a clash of college basketball heavyweights.

Both teams enter play riding lengthy winning streaks, and currently sit first and second in the loaded Pac-12 standings. The squads are also the Pac 12’s top two contenders in the Conference Championship odds.

Arizona vs UCLA Odds

Odds as of Jan 25th at BetMGM

The Wildcats opened up as a 2.5-point road favorite, in a game that features a total of 151.5. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 pm ET at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA, with ESPN providing the broadcast coverage for this massive tilt.

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Arizona’s Won & Covered in Two Straight

Arizona (16-1, 6-2 Pac-12) is fresh off a 96-71 victory over California, its fifth straight win overall. Christian Koloko led the way offensively with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks, while leading scorer Bennedict Mathurin added 14 points and 8 boards.

Final from California ✌️#BearDown #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/hX9gBfZbRz

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) January 23, 2022

The Wildcats were without second leading scorer Azuolas Tubelis due to an ankle injury, but it didn’t matter one bit. They shot 48.4% from the field, and 40.7% from three, while getting double-digit points from five different players.

Tubelis suffered the injury last Thursday versus Stanford, and while it hurts losing a 6-11 force, Arizona still has plenty of size. 7-foot towers Koloko and Oumar Ballo combined for 33 points and 16 rebounds versus Cal, with 20 of those points coming in the first half alone.

Have a game, @kolokojunior1 😳

17 points and a career-most 12 boards for Koloko. Fourth career double-double.

📺 @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/Gi99IXsb0X

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) January 23, 2022

The Wildcats led by 14 points just six minutes in, and stretched that lead to 21 by the half. Blowout victories are nothing new to this program, as they rank second in the country in average score margin (+24.4), and have won 14 games by double-digits.

Arizona ranks second in the country in points per game (88.7), while leading all of college hoops in effective field goal percentage, assists, and total rebounding.

We aren't talking enough about how good Arizona is.

Fastest Offense in the country

Top 10 in both offense and defense efficiency
(one of two teams in country)

In their only loss, they were down 22-7 to Tennessee early. Came back and only lost by 4.

UCLA-Zona gonna be big!

— Prime Tide Sports (@ThePrimeSports) January 24, 2022

Defensively, they’re nearly as strong. They’re top-50 in scoring defense (64.4 PPG), while checking in at number two in opponent effective field goal percentage and defensive rebounding percentage, and third in blocks.

UCLA Riding 3-Game Winning Streak

The Bruins meanwhile, have won three straight, most recently completing a rare mountain sweep. They knocked off Utah 63-58 on Thursday, and then took down Colorado 71-65 on Saturday.

Successful mountain trip for the Bruins. 👏

No. 9 @UCLAMBB survives a tough fight from Colorado, prevailing 71-65 in Boulder.#GoBruins | #Pac12MBB pic.twitter.com/7EmdeQjxW9

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 23, 2022

Leading scorer Johnny Juzang led the way versus the Buffaloes with 23 points, continuing his torrid stretch. He’s averaging 24.5 points and 6 rebounds over his past four games, connecting on 46.7% of his triples – although he’s still on the outside of the top contenders in the Wooden Award odds.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. also added 14 points, as UCLA narrowly avoided blowing a 15-point second half lead. They never trailed in the game, but their lead was trimmed a single point with 1:55 remaining before they put the contest away.

The Bruins shot 43% both from the field and from beyond the arc, but struggled with their perimeter defense. They yielded a 50% field goal percentage to Colorado, while the Buffaloes made 40% of their threes. UCLA’s saving grace was its ability to cause turnovers. They forced 21 overall, which helped cover up a lot of defensive warts.

“Once you get into conference play, every game is a battle… You can’t take a second off.”

Johnny Juzang joins @BillWalton to recap No. 9 @UCLAMBB’s win over the Buffs and discuss its attitude moving forward.@ZayoGroup | #GoBruins | #Pac12MBB pic.twitter.com/n3JxbjiIoR

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 23, 2022

The Bruins are an above average team defensively this season, surrendering only 66.1 points per outing, but it’s their offense that pays the bills.

UCLA ranks 22nd in points per game (78.8), while shooting 45.5% from the field, and committing the 10th fewest turnovers.

Arizona vs UCLA Pick & Predictions

On paper, this is a mismatch despite their relatively similar records. The Wildcats are one of only two teams to rank inside the top-10 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency per KenPom. These National Championship contenders have manhandled good teams just as easily as bad ones, and have a remarkable combination of size, speed, and athleticism.

Very few things better than top 10 UCLA vs. top 10 Arizona in Pauley Pavilion. https://t.co/aCUkTgkyAZ

— David Woods (@daviddavidwoods) January 24, 2022

They’ve covered in three of their past four games overall, while going 4-1 against the spread as a visitor, and 4-2 ATS in conference play.

The Bruins on the other hand, have piled up a lot of wins, but not a lot of covers. They’re 1-5 against the spread in their past six outings, and 1-4-1 ATS against Pac-12 opponents.

• Pick: Arizona Wildcats -2.5 (-110)