UCLA vs. Northwestern NCAA Tournament: How to Watch, Betting Odds

Before they start facing each other in Big Ten play, the Bruins and Wildcats will go head-to-head in the second round of March Madness on Saturday night.

WHO: UCLA vs. Northwestern

DATE: Saturday, March 18

TIME: 5:40 p.m. PT

LOCATION: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

TV: TNT – Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Brendan Haywood (analyst), Dana Jacobson (sideline)

STREAMING: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

RADIO: AM 570, Sirius TDB, SXM App TBD – Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)

SPREAD: UCLA -7.5 (-118), Northwestern +7.5 (-110)*

MONEY LINE: UCLA -400, Northwestern +290*

OVER/UNDER: O 126.5 (-118), U 126.5 (-110)*

UCLA came in at No. 7 in the most recent AP Poll and No. 6 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and is currently No. 3 in the NET Rankings, No. 2 in the KenPom, No. 3 in the T-Rank and No. 4 in the BPI. Northwestern received votes in the AP and Coaches Polls, and is currently No. 41 in the NET, No. 37 in the KenPom, No. 29 in the T-Rank and No. 37 in the BPI.

The Bruins enter the tournament as a No. 2 seed, and the Wildcats are a No. 7 seed. When the full seed list came out following Sunday's bracket reveal, UCLA came in at No. 5, while Northwestern came in at No. 28.

Per T-Rank, UCLA has a 76% chance of beating Northwestern. ESPN's Matchup Predictor gives them a 84.8% chance.

UCLA is led by coach Mick Cronin, who is in his fourth season with the program. Cronin boasts an 98-35 record since arriving in Westwood and a 463-206 record as a head coach overall, including his previous stints at Murray State and Cincinnati. This marks his 12th-straight NCAA tournament bid.

The Bruins entered March Madness 29-5, boasting an 18-2 record in Pac-12 play. Following a winless weekend against Illinois and Baylor in Las Vegas in November, UCLA rattled off 14 wins in a row with victories over Maryland, Kentucky and USC. The streak came to an end thanks to back-to-back road losses against Arizona and USC, but the Bruins closed things out by winning 10 in a row and winning the regular season conference championship by four games.

In the Pac-12 tournament, UCLA beat Colorado and Oregon, but lost 61-59 to Arizona in the conference title game. The Bruins beat No. 15 seed UNC Asheville 86-53 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

UCLA is averaging 74.3 points per game while allowing 60.1 points per game, which rank No. 120 and No. 5 in the country, respectively. The Bruins have the No. 21 adjusted offense and No. 1 adjusted defense in the KenPom. Their 15.9 turnovers forced per game and their 10.2 turnovers per game both rank inside the top 25 in the country.

Guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. leads UCLA with 17.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Point guard Tyger Campbell is averaging 13.4 points and 4.9 assists per game. Freshman guards Amari Bailey and Dylan Andrews, meanwhile, have each emerged as secondary options alongside veteran sharpshooter David Singleton.

Guard Jaylen Clark was averaging 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game, but he went down with a lower leg injury against Arizona on March 4. Cronin said on Sunday that Clark will be out for the NCAA tournament.

Center Adem Bona, on the other hand, was medically cleared to play Thursday but was ultimately held out by Cronin due to the shoulder injury he suffered on March 10. Bona is averaging 7.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and he is likely a game-time decision again Saturday. Veteran Kenneth Nwuba, who scored a career-high 10 points Thursday, will likely be the starter down low Saturday if Bona is held out again.

Jaquez won Pac-12 Player of the Year, Clark won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Bona won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Cronin won Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Campbell joined Jaquez on the All-Pac-12 First Team, while Clark made the Second Team and Bona and Bailey made the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team.

Northwestern is led by coach Chris Collins, who is in his 10th season with the Wildcats. This is Morrell's second NCAA tournament, and he has a 156-161 career record as a head coach in Evanston.

The Wildcats entered March Madness 21-11, having gone 12-8 in Big Ten play. After losing to Auburn and Pitt in the nonconference, Northwestern picked up ranked wins over Michigan State and Indiana. The Wildcats rode a five-game winning streak to a top-25 ranking themselves in late February, but they suffered a three-game losing streak towards the end of the year.

In the Big Ten tournament, Northwestern went one-and-done against Penn State. The Wildcats beat Boise State 75-67 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

Northwestern is averaging 67.9 points per game while allowing 62.6 points per game, which rank No. 274 and No. 18 in the country, respectively. The Wildcats have the No. 99 adjusted offense and No. 17 adjusted defense in the KenPom.

Senior guard Boo Buie is the engine of the Wildcats' offense, averaging 17.1 points and 4.5 assists per game while hoisting 6.1 triples a game. Fellow veteran guard Chase Audige is averaging 13.8 points per game on 5.9 3-point attempts per game in addition to his 2.4 steals per game.

Audige was named co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and he was joined on the All-Big Ten Second Team by Bouie. Collins earned Big Ten Coach of the Year, while Chris Lowery picked up the conference’s Assistant Coach of the Year Award.

Northwestern had never made the NCAA tournament before 2017, and this is the first time they’ve made it since. The Wildcats went 1-1 in their last trip to March Madness, and they have never made it to the Sweet 16.

UCLA, conversely, owns a record 11 NCAA championships and has been to the second most Final Fours with 18. The Bruins have only gone one-and-done twice in their last 12 tournament trips, making at least the Sweet 16 in five their last six trips to March Madness.

No. 2 seeds are 59-26 against No. 7 seeds all-time, but just 7-8 over the last seven tournaments.

*Odds via SI Sportsbook

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