Experts Predict Results For UCLA Men's Basketball, NCAA Tournament East Region

Top analysts from The Athletic, Bleacher Report and the LA Times made their picks for how far the Bruins will go in March Madness with the Sweet 16 starting Thursday.

The Bruins have advanced to the Sweet 16 and a matchup with a fellow blue blood program looms.

No. 4 seed UCLA men’s basketball (27-7, 15-5 Pac-12) is attempting to return to the Final Four for the second consecutive year, but on their path to San Antonio lies No. 8 seed North Carolina (26-9, 15-5 ACC). The Tar Heels defeated No. 1 seed Baylor in Saturday’s opening contest and they could create a highly competitive affair with the Bruins with a trip to the Elite Eight at stake.

According to SI Betting, UCLA is favored in the contest by 2.5 points. However, the status of guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. – who suffered an ankle sprain in the second round contest against Saint Mary’s – may throw a wrench into coach Mick Cronin’s gameplan and therefore the overall atmosphere of the matchup.

Here is how the Bruins’ battle with the Tar Heels is being predicted by college basketball analysts across the internet.

Los Angeles Times

J. Brady McCollough: UCLA def. North Carolina, 69-66

“In the first round, I had a lot of confidence in UCLA, and the Bruins got lucky to win against Akron. In the second round, I flipped to St. Mary’s, and UCLA looked like a Final Four team once again. My gut says the Tar Heels’ Armando Bacot will feast inside and that the Bruins are in trouble if Jaime Jaquez Jr. can’t go. But I’ll go against my instincts and trust UCLA’s poise in tough moments whether Jaquez plays or not.”

Bleacher Report

David Kenyon: North Carolina def. UCLA
Kerry Miller: North Carolina def. UCLA
Joel Reuter: North Carolina def. UCLA

UCLA wins if: "Its mid-range shots are falling. In Saturday's win over Saint Mary's, UCLA shot 17-of-31 (54.8 percent) in the area between the three-point arc and the restricted arc, per ESPN. Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr. basically live in what most offenses consider no man's land. And in games that both of those guys are making those buckets, UCLA is very tough to beat, in large part because the Bruins' last 12 opponents have averaged just 61.0 points."

UNC wins if: "Brady Manek stays hot. North Carolina has won nine consecutive games in which Manek scores at least 13 points and has a year-to-date record of 19-3 when he reaches that mark. And he's averaging 27.0 in the tournament—this despite missing about 35 percent of Saturday's game against Baylor after getting ejected for elbowing Jeremy Sochan. If he starts raining in threes (20 made in his last six games), it'll more than counterbalance UCLA's mid-range twos."

The Athletic

Seth Davis: North Carolina def. UCLA

"The big question going into this game will be the health of Jaime Jaquez Jr., the Bruins’ 6-7 junior forward who missed the last seven minutes of their second-round win over Saint Mary’s because he tweaked his chronically injured right ankle. It’s a shame, too, because the Bruins had started to show their Final Four form while winning six of their last seven games. Johnny Juzang has also battled some injuries and been struggling of late, averaging 10.0 points on 19.0 percent 3-point shooting over his last eight games. Between those two question marks, and between the surge that North Carolina is on, I’ll go with the underdogs. The Tar Heels were about to coast home to a huge win over reigning champ and top-seeded Baylor when 6-8 super senior forward Brady Manek, who had already scored 26 points, was ejected with nearly nine minutes remaining. North Carolina’s backcourt duo of Caleb Love and R.J. Davis have been brilliant of late, and 6-10 junior forward Armando Bacot, who is averaging 17.0 points and 13.8 rebounds over his last nine games, is well-equipped to take advantage of UCLA’s lack of size. The Tar Heels had the highest scoring average (94.0) and most made 3s (24) of any team in the tournament during the first two rounds. I don’t see them cooling off anytime soon."

CBS Sports HQ

Todd Furman: UCLA def. North Carolina

"When you look at Johnny Juzang, the story of last year's NCAA tournament, he scored single figures in three out of his six games since returning from injury in his own right. So I think, when you look down that Bruins roster, guys like Jules Bernard and Tyger Campbell have to be outstanding. The one thing about UCLA that makes them such a difficult out in this setting – they don't turn the basketball over. And North Carolina isn't great as far as their halfcourt defense is concerned. Where North Carolina makes their hay is getting to the offensive glass and controlling the defensive glass. RJ Davis has been tremendous so far shooting the basketball, I'm not sure that keeps up, but if you like UCLA, wait this game out as long as possible. Because if Jaquez is ruled out, I can see a scenario where this game goes around a pick 'em, and if he's officially upgraded, UCLA could leak the three. I think the Bruins win this game and I'll back them on the money line. 

247Sports

Isaac Trotter: UCLA def. North Carolina, advance to Final Four

"The last (Final Four) team for me is UCLA. And what are the four teams, these four teams, what are their common denominators? They all just don't have any flaws. All four of them defend, all four of them take efficient, good shots offensively. All four of them have multiple options that can score, they're deep, they have weapons all over the place, really good coaches on all four of these teams."

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