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The UCLA vs. Kentucky betting line for their Sweet 16 game had the Bruins as a -1 favorite at some books though this was a PICK’EM throughout much of the week after the Wildcats opened at -1.
UCLA was hovering right around the .500 mark coming into this game. They have covered in 40 percent of their last ten games overall.
The Bruins beat Cincinnati 79-67 to advance to the Sweet 16 thanks to solid production from Lonzo Ball, scoring 19 points.
''I don't know of a more fun basketball team to watch when we're clicking and we've had a lot of games where we've been clicking,'' UCLA coach Steve Alford said following that victory.
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The Wildcats nearly missed out on this year's Sweet 16
Kentucky, despite being the number two seed here versus UCLA as the number three seed, enters this year’s Sweet 16 technically the underdog.
Part of the reason for this is that the Wildcats just barely escaped against Wichita State with a 3-point victory.
Bam Adebayo had 13 points and 10 rebounds. De'Aaron Fox had 14 points, including a late steal and dunk. Malik Monk blocked a shot and made a pair of free throws in the final 13 seconds. Adebayo clinched it by blocking Landry Shamet's 3-pointer shot at the buzzer.
UCLA beat the Wildcats in Kentucky back in December by 5 points and as an 11-point underdog.
The Bruins were seeing 60 percent of the spread action here.
UCLA has made 22 appearances in the Elite Eight with 11 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament championships under their belt. Their last title was in 1995.
Kentucky has seen a whopping 36 Elite Eight appearances and eight championship titles, the last being in 2012.
- Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com
