Northwestern vs UCLA NCAA Tournament Second Round odds, tips and betting trends

Watch the No. 2 seed UCLA Bruins (30-5) and the No. 7 seed Northwestern Wildcats (22-11) meet in the NCAA Tournament with a ticket to the Sweet 16 of the West Region bracket on the line on Saturday at Golden 1 Center, tipping off at 8:40 PM.

The Bruins are an 8-point favorite against the Wildcats when the Bruins and the Wildcats square off. The matchup’s over/under is set at 127.

UCLA has a 20-14-1 record against the spread so far this season compared to Northwestern, who is 20-13-0 ATS. The Bruins have gone over the point total in 17 games, while Wildcats games have gone over 13 times. The teams score an average of 142.2 points per game, 15.2 more points than this matchup’s total. UCLA is 6-3-1 against the spread and 9-1 overall over its last 10 games, while Northwestern has gone 7-3 against the spread and 6-4 overall.

Before this college basketball showdown, here is everything you need to get ready for Saturday’s action.

Northwestern at UCLA odds, spread and lines

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list.

Spread: UCLA -8
Total: 127
Moneyline: UCLA -394, Northwestern +310

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UCLA vs. Northwestern prediction

UCLA 71, Northwestern 61

Moneyline

UCLA has been the moneyline favorite 31 times this season. They’ve gone 29-2 in those games.
The Bruins have played in 21 games as a moneyline favorite with odds of -394 or shorter and won each time.
Based on this matchup’s moneyline, UCLA’s implied win probability is 79.8%.

Northwestern has been underdogs in 16 games this season and won nine (56.2%) of those contests.
The Wildcats have not entered a game this season with longer moneyline odds than +310.
The moneyline for this contest implies a 24.4% chance of a victory for Northwestern.

Against the spread

UCLA has won 20 games against the spread this season, while failing to cover or pushing 15 times.
Northwestern has covered 20 times in 33 chances against the spread this year.
The Bruins put up 74.3 points per game, 11.7 more points than the 62.6 the Wildcats allow.
UCLA is 17-9-1 against the spread and 24-3 overall when scoring more than 62.6 points.
When Northwestern allows fewer than 74.3 points, it is 18-8 against the spread and 20-6 overall.
The Wildcats’ 67.9 points per game are 7.8 more points than the 60.1 the Bruins give up to opponents.
When it scores more than 60.1 points, Northwestern is 17-7 against the spread and 19-5 overall.
UCLA is 15-10 against the spread and 24-1 overall when it allows fewer than 67.9 points.

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Over/Under

The Bruins have an average implied point total of 74.9 this season, which is 6.9 points higher than their implied total in Saturday’s game (68).
This season, UCLA has put up more than 68 points in 26 games.
The average implied point total on the season for the Wildcats (70.3) is 10.3 more points than the team’s implied total in this matchup (60).
So far this season, Northwestern has scored more than 60 points 27 times.

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