North Carolina Tar Heels vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/25/2022

Game Time: 9:39 pm ET, Friday, March 25, 2022

Venue:  Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA 

Where to Watch:  CBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UNC +2.5, UCLA -2.5; Over/Under:  141.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UNC +2.5, UCLA -2.5; Over/Under:  141.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UNC +2.5, UCLA -2.5; Over/Under:  141.5 points

 

North Carolina Tar Heels:  26-9 (2nd place, ACC)

UCLA Bruins:  27-7 (2nd place, Pac-12)

 

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North Carolina Tar Heels:  4-1 last 5

UCLA Bruins:  4-1 last 5

 

 

 

UNC is coming into this game with a 26-9 record overall and they are 3-4 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 8 of their last 9 games and are coming into this one on a 2 game winning streak. Their last loss was against the Virginia Tech Hokies while their last 5 wins in that span came against the Syracuse Orange, the Duke Blue Devils, the Virginia Cavaliers, the Marquette Golden Eagles, and the Baylor Bears in their last game. RJ Davis led the team in points in that game with 30 while Brady Manek was next on the team with 26 points. RJ Davis and Leaky Black both led the team in assists in that game with 6 each while Armando Bacot led the team in rebounds with 16. They were 49.1% from the field, 44% from 3-point range, and 70.3% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 78.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 71.9 PPG against them. UNC has an ATS record of 18-16-1 this season and their O/U record is 21-14.

 

 

UCLA is coming into this game with a 27-7 record overall and they are 5-2 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 7 of their last 8 games and are coming into this one on a 2 game winning streak. Their last loss was against the Arizona Wildcats while their last 5 wins came against the USC Trojans, the Washington State Cougars, USC again, and the Akron Zips, and the Saint Mary's Gaels in their last game. Tyger Campbell led the team in points in that game with 16 while Jaime Jaquez Jr. was next on the team with 15 points. Tommy Kuhse led the team in assists in that game with 6 while Matthias Tass led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 40.8% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range, and 75% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 75.7 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 64.2 PPG against them. UCLA has an ATS record of 18-15-1 this season and their O/U record is 17-17.

 

UNC is coming into this game as a 2.5 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. UNC has been playing very well in their recent games, they finished their season off playing very well in those games but they have really been heating up in this tourney with some of their recent wins. They smashed Marquette in round 1 with a win by over 30 points and that was only an 8 vs 9 seed in that game. UNC followed that up with an even better game against Baylor, knocking them out in OT. They even took a lead by over 20 points in that game, they ended up blowing the lead in that game sending it to OT but they also had to deal with a key player getting ejected in that game and even though they fumbled around for a while near the end, they still rallied to get the win in the end. They are going up against a UCLA team that is trying to repeat last season and make it back to the final four again but their recent wins have not been that great. UCLA has won 2 straight since getting to this tourney but their round 1 win was a very close game as they only made it by Akron by 4 points. They only scored 57 points in that game as well. They played much better in their last game with a big win against Saint Mary's by double digits but UNC has been heating up and UCLA is about to run into them while they are playing their best basketball all season. UNC has the confidence after taking down the number 1 seed Baylor in the last round and they will keep up their great play in this game as well. UNC has a very good chance of winning this game straight up so they will cover the spread in this game.

 

North Carolina UCLA Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Friday, March 25, 2022 (9:39 pm ET start time) is UNC 79 UCLA 71.

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North Carolina Tar Heels: 9-18 ATS when the line is +3 to -3. 16-23 ATS as a neutral court underdog or pick. 18-10 OVER as an underdog.

UCLA Bruins: 30-20 ATS after a game where they covered the spread. 17-7 ATS after 2 straight games committing 8 or less turnovers. 16-9 OVER when the total is 140 to 149.5. 

 

 

North Carolina Tar Heels:  D. Garcia (F) out for season - Personal. A. Harris (G) out for season - Undisclosed injury.

UCLA Bruins:  J. Jaquez Jr. (G) Ques Thurs - Ankle injury. M. Etienne (F) Out indefinitely - Knee injury.

 

 

"All year we've just been hearing different things about us, how we're a soft team, how we don't like to fight. Today, I think we really showed that we can fight. To persevere in a moment like that and just come together, I'm just so proud of everyone." - Armando Bacot after their win against Baylor in the last round.

 

 

“We tried to make them into a non-passing team and make guys score on us off the dribble.” - Mick Cronin on his team’s win against Saint Mary’s in the last round.

 

 

 

A. Bacot 

L. Black 

R. Davis 

C. Love

B. Manek 

 

J. Bernard 

T. Campbell 

J. Jaquez 

J. Juzang

C. Riley

 

 

PPG: A. Bacot (16.6)

APG: C. Love (3.7)

Reb/G: A. Bacot (12.5)

 

PPG: J. Juzang (16.7)

APG: T. Campbell (4.3)

Reb/G: M. Johnson (5.8)

 

Coaches:

North Carolina Tar Heels: Hubert Davis (1st season)

UCLA Bruins: Mick Cronin (3rd season)