UCLA vs Gonzaga Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 23 NCAA Tournament Game (Bruins, Bulldogs Put on a Show)

UCLA vs Gonzaga Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
• No. 7 UCLA (31-5) vs. No. 9 Gonzaga (30-5)
• Date: Thursday, March 23, 2023
• Time: 9:45 PM ET
• Venue: T-Mobile Arena -- Las Vegas, Nevada
• Coverage: CBS

The 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 kicks off on Thursday, March 23. The No. 2 UCLA Bruins have a huge matchup on their plate as they're set to face the No. 3 Gonzaga Bulldogs in West Region action.

UCLA is coming off another strong defensive performance, shutting down the opposition in a 68-63 win over No. 7 Northwestern. Meanwhile, Gonzaga didn't take its foot off the gas in an 84-81 victory against No. 6 TCU, which was made possible thanks to Drew Timme's game-high 28 points in 31 minutes of action.

Can UCLA advance to the Elite 8? Or will Gonzaga put an end to the Bruins' March Madness dreams?

UCLA vs Gonzaga Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: UCLA: (-132) | GONZ: (+110)
• Spread: UCLA: -2.5 (-105) | GONZ: +2.5 (-115)
• Total: 145.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

UCLA enters this contest as a slim favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 9:45 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 145.5 points with both sides available at -110 odds.

UCLA vs Gonzaga Betting Trends

• UCLA has 21 wins in 36 games against the spread this year.
• The Bruins' ATS record as 1.5-point favorites or more is 20-12.
• UCLA has played 36 games this season, and 18 of them have gone over the total.
• Gonzaga's record against the spread is 14-20-0.
• The Bulldogs have one win ATS (1-2) as a 1.5-point underdog or more this season.
• This year, 20 of Gonzaga's 34 games have hit the over.

UCLA Rank	UCLA AVG		Gonzaga AVG	Gonzaga Rank
120th	74.1	Points Scored	87.3	1st
6th	60.2	Points Allowed	73.1	269th
135th	32.4	Rebounds	33.9	56th
48th	10.1	Off. Rebounds	9	133rd
311th	6.1	3pt Made	7.7	134th
83rd	14.4	Assists	16.4	15th
10th	9.4	Turnovers	10.3	37th

UCLA vs Gonzaga Prediction & Pick

You only have to go back two years for the last time that UCLA and Gonzaga met at the NCAA Tournament. The two juggernauts clashed in the 2020-21 Final Four, ending in a 93-90 shootout victory for the Bulldogs. The win is also just one of five that they have in seven all-time matchups with the Bruins.

Having said that, I'm going with UCLA getting some revenge. The Bruins have one of the country's best defenses, allowing just 60.2 PPG (No. 5) as opponents shoot 40.5% from the floor (No. 18) and 31.0% from three-point range (No. 29). They also average 15.7 takeaways (No. 18) and will be pressuring the Bulldogs all night long.

Gonzaga's mediocre defense will allow UCLA to have some decent scoring opportunities. The Bulldogs give up 74.0 PPG (no. 264) and just allowed TCU to score 81. The Bruins' offense is far from elite, but they've stilled tallied 75-plus points in seven of its previous 10 outings.

As long as UCLA's defense holds up, it should be enough to get past Gonzaga.

Final Score Prediction: UCLA: 79 | Gonzaga: 76

UCLA vs Gonzaga Best Bet

The best bet for this game is to expect more points than projected. For starters, the OVER is not only 9-3 in Gonzaga's last 12 games but also 5-0 in the Bulldogs' last five outings as the underdog. Furthermore, UCLA has experienced the OVER in five of its last seven games, as well as in each of its last five matchups on a Thursday.

With both sides being more than capable of scoring the ball, expect a fair bit of offense in what should be a competitive affair.

Bet: Over 145.5 Points (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.