St. Bonaventure vs. UCLA 2018 First Four NCAAB Betting Preview

St. Bonaventure and UCLA square off in the second First Four game on Tuesday night. They’ll play for an 11-seed position in the Big Dance. St. Bonaventure went 25-7 overall, and 14-4 in Atlantic 10 play. UCLA went 21-11 on the season, including 11-7 in Pac-12 play, finishing third overall in the conference. Take a look at our NCAAB betting preview for this college basketball matchup.

St. Bonaventure vs. UCLA 2018 First Four NCAAB Betting Preview

Off to Buffalo✈️ pic.twitter.com/3rU5vNmRMu

— Bonnies MBB (@BonniesMBB) March 12, 2018

When: Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 9:10pm ET Where: University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OH TV: truTV Radio: None Live Stream: March Madness Live NCAAB Betting Odds: UCLA -3

Why should you bet on the Bonnies?

St. Bonaventure had a 25-7 record on the season, including a 14-4 record in Atlantic 10 play. They beat Buffalo and Syracuse in non-conference play and played close with TCU in an early season tournament. Their leading scorer on the season has been Jaylen Adams, who puts up 19.8 points and 5.4 assists per contest. LaDarien Griffin is the biggest factor inside, grabbing 6.5 boards per game. The team scores at a high clip, putting up 77.9 points per game, and they make almost 40 percent of their shots from downtown. The Bonnies have covered the spread in five of their last seven games against winning teams — however, they have covered the spread just once in their last five contests. They played well against a tough Atlantic 10 schedule, and when teams do not show discipline on defense, they make the opposition pay. But can they work through a UCLA defense that has shown some inconsistency over the course of the regular season.

Why should you put your money on the Bruins?

UCLA finished with a 21-11 record in the regular season, including 11-7 in Pac-12 play. They finished in a tie for third in the regular season and took down Stanford in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, but then they lost to Arizona (the eventual tournament winner) in overtime. In non-conference play, they picked up some impressive wins over Kentucky, Wisconsin and Georgia Tech, although they also lost to Creighton, Michigan and Cincinnati. Aaron Holiday is the Bruins’ leading scorer with 20.3 points and 5.8 assists per contests. Thomas Welsh is the dominant rebounder, pulling down 10.7 boards pre game. UCLA is also a high-octane offense, putting up 81.9 points per game and shooting just over 46 percent from the floor. UCLA has covered the spread in just four of their last 13 non-Pac 12 games, and in just five of their last 18 games coming off a loss. With their quality guard play, UCLA has the ball security and the speed to put up points in a hurry. Given that both of these teams like to run and gun, this game could easily hit the over, so take a look at the updated point total before you lock in your wager.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

This is likely to be the highest-scoring affair of the four First Four matches in Dayton. These are two teams that could easily have earned a spot on Thursday or Friday without the play-in, but the tournament selection committee had a lot of difficult choices to make. If you like UCLA, you think that their guard play will be better than that of the Bonnies, and that the Bruins’ resume in Pac-12 play will help them take down this mid-major. If you like the Bonnies, then you think their late regular season play and their record in the conference tournament gives them the edge. Both teams have quick guards who take care of the ball, and they both have a lot of shooters. I like both teams, but given the poor play overall in the Pac-12 this year, I’m leaning toward the Bonnies. I predict a final score of St. Bonaventure 82, UCLA 78.