UCLA’s Juzang Doubtful
UCLA won’t be winning the Pac-12 regular-season title but Monday’s matchup at Washington is still a key game for the Bruins to give themselves the best seed in the March Madness bracket. It will also keep UCLA on the opposite side of Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament bracket.
No. 17 UCLA could be without leading scorer Johnny Juzang for the third game in a row and that leaves a huge hole in the Bruins’ lineup. UCLA has almost as good a record on the road (7-4) as Washington has at home (9-5).
The Huskies are 0-4 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
UCLA (+2500) is tied for the 10th-best odds to win the national championship according to the March Madness predictions.
Sorry, but former UCLA great Bill Walton will not be providing his rather unique perspective in this one. Sean Farnham will be the color commentator alongside Dave Pasch.
UCLA dials long distance the last time out
UCLA seems to have rediscovered its shooting touch.
After going 10 of 44 from 3-point range in their previous two games, the Bruins were 13 of 20 in Saturday’s win at Oregon State. For the sake of full disclosure, last-place Oregon State has allowed more 3-pointers and a higher 3-point percentage than any other Pac-12 team, but 13 for 20 is still 13 for 20.
The 13 made 3-pointers were the most for UCLA in conference play this season and the most since going 14 of 34 in a win over Long Beach State on Jan. 6.
Tyger Campbell led the way by making 4 of 6 from downtown. Jules Bernard (3 of 5), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (2 of 2) and David Singleton (2 of 2) were other Bruins with more than one trey in the game.
The shots weren’t needed to beat Oregon State but with leading scorer Juzang doubtful and in danger of missing his third game in a row, the offense will have to come from other sources.
Mick Cronin on Johnny Juzang’s status for Monday at Washington: “I’d say doubtful but you never know. He puts a lot of work on his body with flexibility and stuff like that, so he’ll surprise you at times.”
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) February 26, 2022
UCLA is a No. 5 seed in Jerry Palm’s latest March Madness bracket on the CBSSports.com site, and a win will be crucial to keep the Bruins in contention for a 4 or 5 seed.
Washington has allowed opponents to make 33.8 percent on 3-point attempts, which is the second0worst mark in the Pac-12, so don’t be surprised if UCLA fires up shots from the perimeter early and often. UCLA is 5-0 when making at least 10 3-pointers and one of those games came against Washington.
UCLA has covered against the college basketball spreads in four of its last five games.
Washington Playing Portal Game
There might not be a team in the country which benefited more from major college transfers than Washington.
Not only is former Arizona guard Terrell Brown Jr. the Pac-12 leader in both scoring (21.5 points per game) and steals (2.3), but four of the Huskies’ top five scorers are transfers.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. (West Virginia) contributes 11.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, PJ Fuller (Texas Christian) averages 8.4 points per game and Daejon Davis (Stanford) is second only to Brown in assists and steals per game to go with 7.8 points per contest.
Davis missed the first game against UCLA but the other three combined for 27 of Washington’s 50 points.
Good luck finding Washington in the March Madness odds as nothing short of a Pac-12 tournament title will secure a spot for the Huskies in the NCAA Tournament field. This game could have a postseason feel to it and get Washington ready for the conference tourney.
Brown had one of his worst shooting games in the first matchup with UCLA and he is coming off a 25-point effort in a win over Washington State. Davis had nine points, seven rebounds and five assists on Saturday. He needs seven assists to hit the 500 mark in his career.
Washington has covered against the Las Vegas odds in 10 of its last 14 games.
UCLA vs Washington Head-to-Head
UCLA has won the last five meetings with Washington, including a 26-point win on Feb. 19 as a 15-point favorite at home. Washington had covered in the two games played in 2021, including a three-point loss as a 9½-point underdog the last time the Bruins came to Seattle.
UCLA has won the last two games played at Washington but those games were decided by a combined total of five points.
Something to consider for those who bet online: Eight of the last nine games in the series finished under the total while UCLA is 6-3 against the spread in the last nine matchups.
UCLA vs Washington Game Information
- Game: UCLA (21-6) at Washington (14-13)
- Location: Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, Washington
- Day/Time: Monday, 11 p.m. ET
- Television: ESPN2
UCLA vs Washington Betting Lines
UCLA vs Washington Prediction
Washington leads the Pac-12 in steals and is third in blocked shots so the ability to disrupt the UCLA offense will be crucial if Washington wants to pull off the upset.
The 139½-point total seems like a reasonable number for those who bet online to take the over, especially since it seems unlikely for Washington to be held to 50 points by UCLA for the second game in a row.
The only other time that Washington was listed as a home underdog by at least eight points, the result was a 24-point loss to Arizona as a 14½-point underdog. This game figures to be closer than that one. However, it is still hard to go against UCLA with or without Juzang.
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