UCLA and Arizona Basketball Game Preview and Prediction

The Bruins and Wildcats play one another in a non-conference showdown as both teams are members of new conferences this season.

 Mandatory Credit: Yannick Peterhans-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Yannick Peterhans-Imagn Images | Yannick Peterhans-Imagn Images

Arizona is now a member of the Big 12 conference, and UCLA is a member of the Big Ten this season; they play each other in the showdown between two former Pac-12 rivals.

Team ranking with various analytical and metric rankings for each team.

UCLA

NET: #15

KenPom: #15

EvanMiya: #17

Bart Torvik: #13

BPI: #26

Jeff Sagarin: #3

Team Rankings: #16

Arizona

NET: #45

KenPom: #30

EvanMiya: #27

Bart Torvik: #24

BPI: #12

Jeff Sagarin: #8

Team Rankings: #17

Historical Records against one another.

All-time series record: UCLA leads this long-time and storied rivalry by a 63-50 margin.

The last 20 times they have played one another: Each team has won ten times during the past twenty games they have faced off against one another on the basketball court.

The last 10 times each team has competed against each other: Arizona has won six of the last ten times they have played UCLA.

Winning streak in this series: The Wildcats have won three consecutive games against the Bruins.

Prediction for this game.

This game is technically on a neutral court, but it is being played in the state of Arizona, and the majority of the crowd should be Wildcat fans. However, UCLA has played better of late in comparison to Arizona, who has lost four of their last six games. The Bruins are on a seven-game winning streak, but to be fair to the Wildcats, Arizona has played a more difficult schedule. Despite this, UCLA is playing with a strong sense of purpose this season.

Yes, Arizona has played Wisconsin, Duke, West Virginia, and Oklahoma, but UCLA, with their win at Oregon, has shown they can win difficult and challenging games away from their home court. The Bruins will be tested today, but UCLA will win this game by a final score of 75-70.

Schedule

Schedule