Rider vs UCLA prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball
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It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Rider-UCLA prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Rider-UCLA.
The 2023-2024 college basketball season was a hugely frustrating one for UCLA and head coach Mick Cronin. The Bruins made the 2021 Final Four and reached the Sweet 16 in both 2022 and 2023. UCLA was in the midst of a really good run, but 2024 brought it to a screeching halt. Cronin did not get high-end players in the transfer portal, instead landing on a series of European imports who simply did not blend together very well and did not possess the upside Cronin had hoped for. UCLA was a clunky, ineffective team at the offensive end of the floor. Cronin’s teams are always defense-first, and this one was no exception, but the Bruins were so bad at the offensive end that they just couldn’t display enough consistency or stability to win at the rate they needed. UCLA missed the NCAA Tournament and looked like a hollowed-out team without program stalwarts Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell. The Bruins couldn’t find equally dependable players to replace the men who gave the Bruins a lot of winning basketball over the previous few seasons.
Cronin enters the new season with a lot of transfers, but this is no longer a Eurocentric operation. Tyler Bilodeau from Oregon State and Skyy Clark from Louisville are some of the pieces Cronin has assembled. The backcourt has Dylan Andrews and Sebastian Mack returning from last season. Both players need to develop as offensive threats and show the consistency last season’s team fundamentally lacked. How the transfers blend in with the returning starters is an obvious plot point to watch as UCLA — expected to be a top-35 team in the country and a top-six team in the Big Ten — tries to restore what it lost last season. If the Bruins aren’t a top-six seed in the NCAA Tournament, and if they can’t at least win one game in March Madness, they will have fallen short of their central goals for the coming campaign.
Here are the Rider-UCLA College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Rider-UCLA Odds
Rider: +20.5 (-104)
Moneyline: +2000
UCLA: -20.5 (-118)
Moneyline: -7000
Over: 136.5 (-115)
Under: 136.5 (-105)
How to Watch Rider vs UCLA
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT
TV: FS1
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Rider Will Cover The Spread/Win
The spread is huge, and UCLA — after missing the NCAA Tournament last season — is getting a little too much respect with this line. There are a lot of new pieces Mick Cronin must fit together in Westwood, and since Cronin teams can look very bad on offense when the pieces of the puzzle don’t smoothly fit, we’re not sure UCLA deserves the benefit of the doubt in this particular betting situation. We would feel a lot more comfortable taking UCLA if the line was 15.5 points, not 20.5.
Why UCLA Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Bruins have a ton to prove after missing the NCAA Tournament last season. The new transfers on the roster are going to fit together a lot better than last season’s European transfers did. Better roster construction combined with Cronin’s coaching acumen should make UCLA a lot better this season, and that should manifest itself in a game against a Rider team which is unlikely to be able to keep pace for 40 minutes. At some point, the dam is going to break, and UCLA can run up the score.
Final Rider-UCLA Prediction & Pick
Sit back and observe UCLA before making a bet on the Bruins. It’s night number one of the season. It’s a great time to sit back and take notes instead of betting on uncertain teams in uncertain situations.
Final Rider-UCLA Prediction & Pick: UCLA -20.5
The post Rider vs UCLA prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball appeared first on ClutchPoints.
