Posted on
1/11/2008 4:20:25 PM
NCAAB Betting - Washington State Cougars vs. UCLA Bruins
By D.S. Williamson
I am officially off the USC Trojan’s bandwagon and on the one that says Cougars on the side of it. WSU is for real. I don’t know why I ever doubted the Cougars, but I did and it’s hurt my bankroll lately.
UCLA has been pretty solid, but before getting into where my money will be, let’s look at some trends:
The Washington State Cougars are 6 and 0 against the spread in their last 6 games.
The Washington State Cougars are 4 and 1 against the spread in their last 5 games versus a team with a winning percentage above .600.
The UCLA Bruins are 5 and 1 against the spread in their last 6 games following an against the spread loss.
A lot of NCAAB betting writers are labeling this as the year of the freshman. Uh, I’m not ready to do that yet since great freshman play has to translate to wins (are you reading this O.J. Mayo?). But I will say that the Bruins do have a freshman that I haven’t been paying enough attention to.
Kevin Love is every bit as good in the center as advertised. The reason I bring him up in this game is because Washington State plays that three guard line-up that, up to this point, has been absolutely effective versus every team they have faced.
Not so in this game. Love is too good and the Bruins are too good to let the Cougars get away from them. They will take their time establishing Love in the post.
I do believe that the Cougars are probably the class of the Pac-10 this year. The way they just dominated the Trojans the other night proves it to me. But this is UCLA I’m writing about here. The same UCLA Bruins who have made the Final Four two years in a row.
I see them doing it three years in a row. UCLA’s eyes are on a patented run in the Big Dance come March. They’ve got to win the Pac-10 to do it.
The predicted BetUS NCAAB betting line is UCLA Bruins – 2.5 against the spread at home versus the Washington State Cougars.
I like the Bruins up to 6.5 points in this one. Anything more than that and we should all think about taking the Cougars.
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