Abilene Christian Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins NCAA Tournament Betting Odds

The UCLA Bruins posted a pair of upset wins to reach the round of 32, but they aren’t the most surprising team in this second-round matchup. The Abilene Christian Wildcats pulled off a stunner on Saturday taking out No. 3 seed Texas in a Lone Star State battle. The Wildcats have won five straight and 13 of their last 14 games and proved they won’t be a pushover in any matchup. ACU has won 24 games this season, though they didn’t get much respect coming into the Tournament as champions of the Southland Conference. UCLA hit the board as 5-point favorite with the number wagered down to -4.5 on the college basketball betting line.  Bookmaker.eu is offering a generous CASH welcome bonus (max bonus $1600).

Abilene Christian Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins
Date and Time: Monday, March 22, 2021, 5:15 p.m. ET
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Opening College Basketball Odds: UCLA -4.5, O/U 133
Abilene Christian vs. UCLA TV Coverage: TBS

Odds Analysis

If you want to call Abilene Christian Cinderella the shoe definitely fits. But the Wildcats are a strong mid-major with 24 wins and now a win over a top program. I guess we can’t criticize their schedule too much. They also covered the spread in a close 51-44 loss to nationally ranked Texas Tech back in December. ACU is on a heater having won five in a row while going 5-0 ATS. They destroyed top-seed Nicholls 79-45 in the Southland Conference championship game and were catching 8.5-points against the Longhorns. The Wildcats improved to 24-4 SU and 18-6 ATS. The Bruins are hitting their stride at the right time. Losers in three straight to close the regular season and ousted in the first round of the Pac-12 tourney, they had lost four in a row going 1-3 ATS. They rallied to beat Michigan State in the First Four and posted their first regulation win since Feb. 25 by knocking off BYU 73-62 in the opening round. If the current line holds it will be just the second time in the last seven games UCLA plays as a favorite. They were spotting Oregon State 5.5-points in the Pac-12 tourney matchup.

Abilene Christian Wildcats

Not many folks gave the No. 14 seed Wildcats much of a chance to beat Texas in the first round. After all the Longhorns won the Big 12 tournament and played some of the best teams in the country during the course of the season. Nobody expected the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to beat the Soviet Union, either. Ah, the beauty of sports is that you just never know. And a team like ACU flies under the radar of the big time programs because they’re not considered a threat. “You gotta believe that you can beat any team that you’re playing. They’re just like us, you know – they put their pants on the saw way we do, one leg at a time,” Joe Pleasant said.

It was Pleasant believing on Saturday. A 58 percent free throw shooter this season, Pleasant calmly sank a pair in the waning seconds for the final 53-52 margin. It was exactly the kind of game ACU needed to play in order to have a chance. The Wildcats entered allowing only 60.5 points per game while leading the nation in takeaways. They bolstered both stat categories by holding Texas to a season-low point total while forcing 23 turnovers.

UCLA Bruins

The Bruins have history on their side, but that means nothing on Monday. They got some good news for the BYU game when Johnny Juzang was cleared to play. Juzang scored 23 points in the win over Michigan State but limped off the court late with an ankle injury. His status for the first round matchup with BYU was in doubt until just before tipoff. Well, he got the green light and looked just fine scoring 19 of his 27 points in the first half to help the Bruins build an 11-point advantage. Juzang got plenty of help. Jules Bernard scored 16 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. chipped in with 13.

The Bruins committed just four turnovers in the game allowing them to control the tempo. They’ll need to be just as disciplined with the basketball against a team that likes to take it away. “We had some tough times late in the year, but playing good teams, it can either kill you or it makes you better,” Mick Cronin said. It looks like the Bruins have gotten better.

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It’s one of the most unlikely matchups but it promises to be entertaining. There’s no overlooking Abilene Christian now after they showed poise down the stretch in taking out Texas. And the Bruins played two strong games against quality competition to advance. Both teams executed their game plan to perfection on Saturday and came out victorious. The Bruins need to value the basketball like they did against BYU and they should win, though it will be a battle.

NCAA Tournament Prediction: UCLA 71, Abilene Christian 65

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com