2022 NCAA Tournament Second Round: No. 4 UCLA Bruins vs. No. 5 St. Mary’s Gaels
How to Watch:
- Date: Saturday, March 19
- Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
- Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR
- TV: TBS
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 4 UCLA | STAT | No. 5 SMC |
| Pac-12 | Conference | West Coast |
| 26-7 | Record | 26-7 |
| 76.4 (55th) | Points Per Game | 69.8 (236th) |
| 64.8 | Points Allowed Per Game | 60.5 |
| 0.6296 (10th) | RPI | 0.6398 (6th) |
| 37th | Strength of Schedule | 58th |
| At-Large Bid | Bid | At-Large Bid |
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UCLA leaders:
- Johnny Juzang, G, JR: 16.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, 36.2% 3PT
- Jaime Jaquez Jr., G, JR: 14.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.2 SPG
St. Mary’s:
- Matthias Tass, F, SR: 12.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 55.3% FG
- Tommy Kuhse, G, SR: 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 46.9 3PT%
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- UCLA Moneyline: -150
- SMC Moneyline: +130
- Spread: UCLA -3
- Over/Under: 126
- ATS Record: UCLA 17-15-1, SMC 19-10-2
- Over/Under Record: UCLA 16-17, SMC 15-15-1
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- The Gaels waxed popular upset-pick Indiana 82-53 in the first round. They show an impressive 51.7% from the field and 47.6% from deep. Meanwhile, the Bruins survived a scare against Akron 57-53 and only shot 35.2% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc. Johnny Juzang himself was just 3-11 from the field, so he’ll need to find that stroke for the Bruins to get to the Sweet 16.
- This game will likely be played at a slow pace, with the Bruins playing at the 258th in adjusted tempo and the Gael’s coming in at 338th. Both teams have strong defenses with UCLA ranking 12th in KenPom’s efficiency ratings and the Gaels finishing 9th, so this could be a grind-it-out type of game.
- The Gaels force seven steals a game but had eight on Thursday and forced a normally efficient Hoosiers offense into 13 turnovers during their first-round game. The Bruins also forced nine steals in their first round, so these are opportunistic units.
- The Gaels are also one of the worst rebounding teams in the tournament, ranking 258th in rebounds per game (although part of that is connected to their slower pace), but that could be an issue against the Bruins, who also play at a slow pace but rank 84th in the country with 37 rebounds per game.
- If this game is close at the end, both teams are strong from the free-throw line, with the Gaels ranking 37th (75.8%) and the Bruins ranking 99th (73.9%)
