The Wildcats aren’t playing as well as they were over the early part of February – including a 76-66 win over UCLA – but they’re pulling away when they need to.

They slipped past Stanford in a battle, and they held on late to get by a dangerous Colorado team by hitting 24-of-25 tries on the free throw line.

Guard Kerr Kriisa is out with an ankle injury, but the inside game is still strong enough to hit 50% from the field against the UCLA D.

UCLA doesn’t do enough from three to make much of a dent, it’s not going to outrebound the second-best team in the nation on the boards, and …

– Latest Polls AP | Coaches

Arizona has been a wee bit off.

The Stanford game was too tough, and Colorado were amazing at generating the extra pass for scores. Now comes the ultra-efficient UCLA offense that managed to hit 49% from the field in the win over USC in the semifinal.

The Bruins aren’t going to turn the ball over enough to give Arizona a ton of easy points, and the defense should be able to hold up on the inside. It might not come up with a ton of rebounds, but it’s not going to let the Cats dominate on the offensive boards.

Beyond that …

– Conference Tournament Game Previews, Predictions

The veteran Bruins will come up big in the clutch.

Arizona has a team built to win the national championship – put it in the Final Four in your brackets – but Kriisa’s injury is going to matter against the loaded UCLA backcourt.

Both teams will be effective and mistake-free – for the most part – offensively, both will pass the ball around well, and they’ll play the best of the big conference championships with plenty of momentum shifts and a whole lot of fire and intensity.

– CFN Latest NFL Mock Draft: Post-Combine

UCLA 78, Arizona 75
Line: Arizona -1.5, o/u: 143
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5

UCLA vs Arizona Must See Rating: 5

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1: Bee Czar

2022 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams