Wright St. vs. Arizona Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
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The Raiders clinched the No. 16 seed with a 93-82 victory over Bryant in Wednesday’s First Four action. The Wildcats return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 on a 6-0 roll, capped by an 84-76 win over UCLA in the Pac-12 Tournament final.
The Wildcats have held steady since opening as lofty 21.5-point chalk. The Raiders enjoy the backing of 41 per cent of sports bettors, but remain pegged as distant +1218 moneyline underdogs on the college basketball odds. The total has climbed to 156.5 since opening at 155.5.
Wright St. vs. Arizona NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Friday night’s matchup at Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl in San Diego is scheduled for 7:27pm ET. It also marks just the second all-time meeting between these teams, and first since 2004.
With Wednesday’s victory, Wright State has now covered in four straight outings, ending a shaky 2-4 against the spread run. Currently ranked 54th in the nation in points scored per game, the Raiders have averaged 79.5 points per game during their 6-0 straight up run. However, the Raiders have lost by an average margin of 30 points in three previous Round of 64 appearances. They are also winless in 17 dates against Top 25 opponents, with four of their past six defeats coming by at least 26 points.
The Wildcats have rocketed to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 while racking up a 31-3 overall record. Arizona also trails only Gonzaga in the overall Kenpom ratings, and ranks third in the nation with 84.6 points per game this season. And with opponents tallying an average of 76 points per game during the Pac-12 Tournament, the OVER has now paid out in eight of their past nine outings. While the Wildcats sit among the nation’s elite squads, they have failed to advance past the First Round in two of their past three appearances at the Big Dance. In addition, they have covered just twice in five March Madness contests while favoured by 20 or more points.
Wright St. Raiders (12)
A big second-half effort proved to be the difference in the Raiders’ win over Bryant. And once again, it was senior guard Peter Kiss leading the attack. The top scorer in the nation this season with 25.2 points per game, Kiss continued his dominant play with a 28-point performance in Wednesday’s victory, and has now averaged 29.3 points per game over his past 12 outings. Trey Calvin contributed 21 points on Wednesday night. However, an illness has cast doubt on his availability for Friday’s contest.
Arizona Wildcats (5)
The Wildcats lineup features no shortage of offensive weapons. Sophomore Bennedict Mathurin has particularly impressed while piling up a team-leading 17.4 points per game, and is coming off a 27-point performance in last week’s win over the Bruins. Christian Koloko has remained a presence under the bucket. The junior big man tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds versus UCLA for his eighth double-double of the season, and now leads the team with 7.1 boards and 2.7 blocks per game.
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