UCLA And Rutgers Can Light Up Scoreboard

UCLA vs. Rutgers, 6:30 ET

We had a weekend of excitement at the college level. We had some pretty entertaining college football with Notre Dame and Penn State having a down-to-the-wire game on Thursday, and then a relatively easy win for Ohio State over Texas on Friday. Then Saturday there were a ton of good games for College Basketball. Now we head to the hardwood for a bet on one of the more exciting games of the day. If you're looking to watch a good team face a team with a potential #1 draft pick, this is the one as UCLA takes on Rutgers. 

UCLA has put together a good season to this point at 11-5, but they've struggled in their conference games going just 2-3 to this point. They also have struggled significantly lately as they have lost four of their past five games. I'm a bit shocked about their losses as they have dropped three straight to Nebraska, Michigan, and Maryland. Those aren't bad teams, and Michigan was ranked at the time of the loss, but I think they probably should've beaten at least one of the three. Their last win came against a very good Gonzaga team, so the way the Bruins are playing at the moment is just rather inconsistent. For the year, the Bruins only have two guys averaging over 10 points per game (a third is at 9.8, so at least there is a close option). This can be a benefit to the Bruins, because multiple people can get involved in the scoring. It can also be a problem because it doesn't seem like they have a guy that can take over a game. 

Jan 10, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Dylan Andrews (2) takes a shot over Maryland Terrapins guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie (0) during the second half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

That isn't a problem for Rutgers as they have a potential #1 pick option with Dylan Harper. They also have Ace Bailey, another really good option and someone that was viewed as a potential first pick in the draft. With those two guys, you would think Rutgers has been doing better, but they are just 8-8 for the year, and they are 1-4 in the Big Ten. It is still early, and maybe they need time to gel, but the team has two guys averaging 19 and 20 points per game. Their losses this season came at Kennesaw State, a two-point loss that is understandable I guess, but probably not acceptable. They then dropped games to Alabama, Texas A&M, and Ohio State in three consecutive games. They've also lost four of their past five games, losing to Princeton, Indiana, Wisconsin and Purdue in their last game. Harper was ill or something during the game against Wisconsin and contributed very little, and missed the game against Indiana, so maybe they would've had better outcomes. Unfortunately, the only loss of the four was against Princeton. 

I don't feel like either team is playing very good basketball at the moment, and I attribute most of that to the defense not being very good. This game has a total of just 138.5. Over the past five games, UCLA would be 3-2 to the over, and Rutgers would be 3-2 as well with one of those under games landing at 138. I think both offenses are more likely to find success in this game than both defenses. Neither seems like they can get a stop when they need it, so I'll back the over in this game. 

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