UCLA vs Northwestern Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 18 NCAA Tournament Game (Bruins Punch Sweet 16 Ticket)

UCLA vs Northwestern Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
• No. 7 UCLA (30-5) vs. Northwestern (22-11)
• Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023
• Time: 8:40 PM ET
• Venue: Golden 1 Center -- Sacramento, California
• Coverage: TNT

The 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 continues Saturday night with a West Region collision between the No. 2 UCLA Bruins and No. 7 Northwestern Wildcats.

UCLA was hardly challenged in its dominating 86-53 win over No. 15 UNC Asheville in the first round. Meanwhile, Boo Buie led all Northwestern players with 22 points and five assists in the Wildcats' 75-67 win against No. 10 Boise State on Thursday.

So, which team will be the one to advance to the Sweet 16?

UCLA vs Northwestern Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: UCLA: (-320) | NWSTRN: (+255)
• Spread: UCLA: -7.5 (-110) | NWSTRN: +7.5 (-110)
• Total: 127.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

UCLA enters this contest as a clear favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 8:40 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 127.5 points with both sides sitting at -110 odds.

UCLA vs Northwestern Betting Trends

• UCLA has beaten the spread 21 times in 35 games.
• Against the spread as 7.5-point favorites or more, the Bruins are 14-9.
• UCLA has played 35 games this year, and 17 of them have hit the over.
• Northwestern has covered the spread 20 times in 33 games.
• As a 7.5-point underdog or more, the Wildcats have two wins ATS (2-1).
• Northwestern has played 33 games this season, and 13 of them have gone over the total.

UCLA Rank	UCLA AVG		Northwestern AVG	Northwestern Rank
118th	74.3	Points Scored	67.9	275th
5th	60.1	Points Allowed	62.6	18th
120th	32.6	Rebounds	32.1	157th
39th	10.3	Off. Rebounds	8.9	142nd
311th	6.1	3pt Made	7.7	137th
83rd	14.4	Assists	12.8	197th
10th	9.4	Turnovers	9.1	7th

UCLA vs Northwestern Prediction & Pick

While upsets add to the March Madness excitement, don't expect one here. A few things are working against Northwestern. For starters, the Wildcats have fallen against five of their last six Pac-12 opponents. They've also lost 11 of their last 13 road games played on a Saturday.

UCLA has only lost twice in its 31 games as the favorite this season and has covered in five straight games when the odds are on its side. The Bruins also have the No. 5 scoring defense in the country (60.1 PPG) and won't have any issues shutting down the Wildcats, who only score 67.9 PPG (No. 251).

In a battle between two top-15 defenses, it's a no-brainer to go with UCLA. The Bruins are the No. 7-ranked team in the NCAA for a reason and have what it takes to make their third straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Final Score Prediction: UCLA: 78 | Northwestern: 65

UCLA vs Northwestern Best Bet

There aren't a ton of betting options at the time of writing, so I'm going with UCLA on the spread. On top of their success as the favorite, the Bruins are 5-1 ATS in their last six outings and 4-1 ATS in their last five on a Saturday. Meanwhile, Northwestern is an unimpressive 2-3 ATS in its last five contests.

With an elite defense on its side, expect UCLA to create a fair amount of separation from Northwestern.

Bet: UCLA -7.5 (-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.