UCLA Bruins vs. Washington Huskies Prediction & Game Preview - 2/28/2022

Time: 11 p.m. ET

Venue: Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, WA

Where to watch: ESPN2

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Caesars: Check back later

No. 12 UCLA: 21-6 (13-5 Pac-12)

Washington: 14-13 (9-8 Pac-12)

So I think we can all agree here that the PAC 12 conference is in a little bit of a weird mishmash of confusion that I don't think any of us are really ready to understand. And at the forefront of the majority of how the PAC 12 looks right now or the UCLA Bruins and their very odd season.

I think we all looked at UCLA when the season began and initially thought that they were going to run away with this conference. I think we looked at UCLA and thought that the Bruins were going to be the best team in the PAC 12 and I think once we started crowning them with that distinction, either they took a nosedive or we just completely forgot that they were even relevant.

Because I look at UCLA right now and I see a team that is very much capable of doing some damage in the NCAA tournament. they have talent across the board guys who can score, guys who can rebound, guys who can pass, and they make it look a little flashy here and there, sort of like the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers only a much more toned down version of it and a college version of it.

And yet somehow I think this wave of inconsistency did not help matters at all. I think the way UCLA is balanced might be a bad thing. Case in point, UCLA last two games. Both on the road, both in the state of Oregon, but in understanding that UCLA might not be as good as we think they are.

And I don't want this to come off as a slight when it involves the Oregon Ducks because they absolutely earned that victory against UCLA on Thursday night. But UCLA should not be losing as often as they have in conference play. And when I talk about the inconsistencies with this team, I know it's not entirely fair to put the onus on a team losing its best player when Johnny juzang left with an ankle injury in the first half against Oregon.

But even with Juzang out of the lineup there are other players that should be able to step up and play as well as they possibly can. Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been one of those players that I think a lot of people expected to kind of take the reins and be a star player. But he finished with just 10 points on four of nine shooting in 27 minutes. Tyger Campbell another person that should be a little bit better than what he's done, finished five of 12 from the field and made only one of his six three point attempts.

It's just a giant realm of inconsistency to which I'm not really sold on UCLA making a deep run into the tournament. now yes comma they followed the loss to Oregon with a dominant victory against Oregon State on Saturday. They didn’t need Juzang, which is fine. Campbell had 20 points, Jacquez had 17 and Jules Bernard had 16.

But you and I could go out to the local gym right now and play Oregon State 5 on 2 and we would probably win the game because Oregon State has been God awful this season. There's a reason why they've only won three games other very possible 27. They are not good and have not been this season. So UCLA had better have done enough to at least show there is a talent discrepancy between themselves and the Beavers.

Which is why this upcoming matchup against the Washington Huskies is a little bits odd in the sense that Washington could probably play a much better game against UCLA than it did last time, but Washington is also not a good team. And despite coming off a 78- 70 victory over Washington state on Saturday, it's been a rough go for the Huskies. It's been an average season with a lot of average play primarily against the top teams in the PAC 12.

I don't anticipate this being any trouble for UCLA. I think this is going to be an easy victory, probably not as easy as it as it was against Oregon State but I think well enough to where they could at least get a cover and control this game from start to finish. I will stress though that if that does not come to pass, I don't wanna hear about UCLA for the rest of the season. I just don't have any belief in this team and I don't really trust them to do anything when they get to the field of 68. Right now, they are not the best team in the PAC 12 and honestly I think we were all fooled from the very beginning and that's on us. UCLA by 20

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PG: Tyger Campbell

SG: Jules Bernard

SF: Johnny Juzang

PF: Jaime Jaquez Jr.

C: Myles Johnson

PG: Terrell Brown Jr.

SG: P.J. Fuller

SF: Jamal Bey

PF: Emmitt Matthews Jr.

C: Nate Roberts

Points: Johnny Juzang -- 17.0

Rebounds: Myles Johnson -- 5.9

Assists: Tyger Campbell -- 4.3

Points: Terrell Brown Jr. -- 21.5

Rebounds: Nate Roberts -- 6.7

Assists: Terrell Brown Jr. -- 4.3