Ken Pomeroy Predicts BYU-UCLA in the NCAA Tournament

UCLA will take on BYU in the Round of 64 after beating Michigan State in overtime.

On Thursday night, UCLA took down Michigan State in overtime during the 'First Four' round of the NCAA Tournament. Now, the Bruins will face #6 seed BYU in the Round of 64 on Saturday night. Shortly after the matchup was finalized, Ken Pomeroy submitted his prediction for the game. KenPom gave BYU a 61% chance to win with an expected final score of 71-68.

KenPom's prediction was in line with other predictive models - ESPN BPI and FiveThirtyEight gave BYU a 62% chance to win and a 57% chance to win, respectively. 

It's important to note that most predictive models don't factor in the impact of individual player injuries. Injuries could impact UCLA on Saturday night. During their overtime victory over Michigan State, UCLA's Johnny Juzang left the game with a right ankle sprain. He needed to be helped off the court with a few minutes remaining. Juzang averages 14.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists for the Bruins. His status for Saturday is unclear - he was walking gingerly on the sideline following the injury.

BYU and UCLA tip off on Saturday night at 7:40 PM MDT or 9:40 EST on CBS. The winner BYU-UCLA will face the winner of Texas-Abilene Christian on Monday.

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