The Utah State Aggies will face the UCLA Bruins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 20, 2025. Both of these teams earned at-large bids in the Big Dance, with Utah State getting the 10-seed and UCLA getting the 7-seed in the Midwest Region. This game will put one of the all-time great programs in college basketball in one of its all-time great venues, as UCLA will be playing at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
Here, we break down Utah State vs UCLA and make our prediction for the game in the betting markets. According to legal sports betting sites in the US, UCLA is favored by 4.5 points going into the action, while the total for the game has been set at 143.5 points.
Utah State Looks to Take Advantage Of At-Large Bid
Utah State went 26-7 this season and finished third in the Mountain West Conference in the regular season. They fell in the semifinals of the MWC tournament, losing to Colorado State, thanks to a 26-point outburst from Colorado State’s Nique Clifford. Here, the Aggies will look to bounce back from that loss and get a first-round win in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row after advancing and losing to Purdue in the second-round of last year’s tourney.
This Utah State team is dangerous offensively, which they will look to use to pull an upset in this matchup with the Bruins. The Aggies average 80.9 points per game, thanks largely to great ball movement, as they average 17.4 assists per contest. If they can move the UCLA defense around effectively with their passing here, they could steal this game to open their tournament with a win.
UCLA Enters First Tourney As a Big Ten Team
UCLA’s first appearance in the Big Ten tournament did not go the way they had hoped. The Bruins went one-and-done in that tournament, losing in the quarterfinals to the Wisconsin Badgers. In that game, UCLA allowed Wisconsin to shoot over 50% both from the field and from three-point range, including a 9/10 performance from the field for Wisconsin star John Tonje. Here, the Bruins will hope to be better defensively to advance in the NCAA Tournament.
This season, UCLA was a very good team against the spread, which is worth keeping in mind for bettors this March Madness season. The Bruins went 18-13-1 against the spread on the season, covering the number 58.1% of the time. If they can cover the number here and advance to the second-round of the tournament, they can erase the taste of their Big Ten tournament debut from their mouths.
Utah State vs UCLA Prediction
Over 143.5 (-110)
220K Gold Coins & 10 FREE Sweeps Coins
Claim Bonus - Utah State’s offense should do its part here, as they average 80.9 points per game.
- UCLA’s defense struggled against Wisconsin in the Big Ten tourney and they could allow Utah State to hang around and drive up the total here.
