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The line on the UCLA vs. Baylor game should be coming in at Bears -2.
The 13th-seeded Zips led most of the way in a bitter battle with fourth-seeded UCLA in an East Regional game at the Moda Center on Thursday night before losing to UCLA 57-53.
Johnny Juzang knocked down a pair of free throws, and the Bruins moved on to face No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
“This reminds me of my Big East days. You’re going to win a rock fight, you’ve got to put your hardhat on and you’ve got to take care of the ball, get some extra possessions,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “And the offensive rebounding was huge, and we didn’t turn it over. We were able to finally get some — hang in there and get some stops and get a few shots to go down.”
Tyger Campbell finished with 16 points and Jamie Jaquez added 15. Jules Bernard, who hit a 3 to start UCLA’s run when it trailed 47-39, added 10 points.
Baylor demolished Norfolk State on Thursday.
Matthew Mayer scored a career-high 22 points, including that punctuating half-ending dunk with a salute, as the top-seeded Bears opened the NCAA Tournament with an 85-49 victory over Norfolk State on Thursday.
Jeremy Sochan did grab a rebound to start the play, and got credited with an assist on Mayer's dunk.
As a favorite, Baylor is 118-22 Straight Up for a win percentage of 84.3% since 2016. As an away favorite they have only lost five games in the last six seasons.
- Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com
