UCLA vs. St. Bonaventure: First Four Odds, March Madness Prediction
The first night of First Four action Tuesday in Dayton wraps up with a pair of No. 11 at-large teams facing off in St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10 and UCLA of the Pac-12.
NCAA Tournament Odds and Betting Analysis
If you are playing in the First Four, then you were one of the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament. Elderly St. Bonaventure fans probably are thrilled to finally get a shot at UCLA. Why? The Bonnies and Bruins were both in the 1970 Final Four. St. Bonaventure lost to Jacksonville by eight, while UCLA routed New Mexico State and would then win the national championship.
It’s the seventh all-time NCAA Tournament for St. Bonaventure and it is 6-8. It last made it in 2012 and was beaten by Florida State in the first round. Of course, UCLA has won the most national titles of any school with 11 and is in the Big Dance for the 49th time with a record of 105-41. Last year’s team, led by current L.A. Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, beat Kent State 97-80 in the first round and Cincinnati 79-67 in the second before falling to Kentucky 86-75 in the regional semifinal. UCLA opened as a 3.5-point favourite in March Madness betting. The winner of this NCAA Tournament matchup faces East Region No. 6 Florida in the Round of 64 on Thursday in Dallas.
UCLA Bruins
UCLA (21-11, 16-16 ATS) finished tied for third in the Pac-12 – a game behind USC, which was left out of the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins’ season sweep no doubt was why they got in ahead of the Trojans. The one returning starter from last season’s team is 7-foot center Thomas Welsh, who averages 13.0 points and 10.7 rebounds. St. Bonaventure has no one really to deal with Welsh size-wise. The Bruins’ star is junior guard Aaron Holiday, who led the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.3 ppg. This is an excellent offensive club, averaging 81.9 points per game.
St. Bonaventure Bonnies
The Bonnies (25-7, 15-14 ATS) finished second in the Atlantic 10 to Rhode Island and were upset in the conference tournament semifinals 82-70 by Davidson, which would then knock off Rhody in the final to get the league’s automatic bid and knock out some unlucky at-large hopeful like a Notre Dame or USC. St. Bonaventure had won 13 in a row before that defeat. It features one of the nation’s best backcourts in Jaylen Adams (19.8 ppg, 5.4 apg) and Matt Mobley (18.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg). The Bonnies own wins over NCAA Tournament teams Rhode Island, Davidson, Buffalo and Syracuse. They didn’t face any Pac-12 teams this season.
