UCLA vs. UNC Asheville NCAA Tournament: How to Watch, Betting Odds

With March Madness finally tipping off, the Bruins and Bulldogs will play the nightcap in a classic No. 2 vs. No. 15 matchup.

March Madness is set to tip off Thursday, and the Bruins will be right in the thick of the action as a heavy favorite to move on to the next round.

WHO: UCLA vs. UNC Asheville

DATE: Thursday, March 16

TIME: 7:05 p.m. PT

LOCATION: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

TV: truTV – Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Brendan Haywood (analyst), Dana Jacobson (sideline)

STREAMING: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

RADIO: AM 570, Sirius Ch. 135 or 203, SXM App 966 – Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)

SPREAD: UCLA -17.5 (-118), UNC Asheville +17.5 (-110)*

MONEY LINE: UCLA -2500, UNC Asheville, +1000*

OVER/UNDER: O 135.5 (-118), U 135.5 (-110)*

UCLA came in at No. 7 in the most recent AP Poll and No. 6 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and is currently No. 3 in the NET Rankings, No. 2 in the KenPom, No. 3 in the T-Rank and No. 4 in the BPI. UNC Asheville was did not appear in either the AP or Coaches Polls, and is currently No. 140 in the NET, No. 146 in the KenPom, No. 177 in the T-Rank and No. 137 in the BPI.

The Bruins enter the tournament as a No. 2 seed, and the Bulldogs are a No. 15 seed. When the full seed list came out following Sunday's bracket reveal, UCLA came in at No. 5, while UNC Asheville came in at No. 62.

Per T-Rank, UCLA has a 95% chance of beating UNC Asheville, while ESPN's Matchup Predictor gives them a 96.4% chance.

UCLA is led by coach Mick Cronin, who is in his fourth season with the program. Cronin boasts an 97-35 record since arriving in Westwood and a 462-206 record as a head coach overall, including his previous stints at Murray State and Cincinnati. This marks his 12th-straight NCAA tournament bid.

The Bruins enter March Madness 29-5, boasting an 18-2 record in Pac-12 play. Following a winless weekend against Illinois and Baylor in Las Vegas in November, UCLA rattled off 14 wins in a row with victories over Maryland, Kentucky and USC. The streak came to an end thanks to back-to-back road losses against Arizona and USC, but the Bruins closed things out by winning 10 in a row and winning the regular season conference championship by four games.

In the Pac-12 tournament, UCLA beat Colorado and Oregon, but lost 61-59 to Arizona in the conference title game.

UCLA is averaging 73.9 points per game while allowing 60.3 points per game, which rank No. 125 and No. 7 in the country, respectively. The Bruins have the No. 24 adjusted offense and No. 1 adjusted defense in the KenPom. Their 15.9 turnovers forced per game and their 10.3 turnovers per game both rank inside the top 25 in the country.

Guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. leads UCLA with 17.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Point guard Tyger Campbell is averaging 13.6 points and 4.7 assists per game. Freshman guards Amari Bailey and Dylan Andrews, meanwhile, have each emerged as secondary options alongside veteran sharpshooter David Singleton.

Guard Jaylen Clark was averaging 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game, but he went down with a lower leg injury against Arizona on March 4. Cronin said on Sunday that Clark will be out for the NCAA tournament.

Center Adem Bona, on the other hand, was back in practice after hurting his left shoulder against Oregon on March 10 and missing the Pac-12 championship game the next day. Bona is averaging 7.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and he is likely a game-time decision Thursday.

Jaquez won Pac-12 Player of the Year, Clark won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Bona won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Cronin won Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Campbell joined Jaquez on the All-Pac-12 First Team, while Clark made the Second Team and Bona and Bailey made the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team.

UNC Asheville is led by coach Mike Morrell, who is in his fifth season with the Bulldogs. This is Morrell's first NCAA tournament, and he has a 73-75 career record as a head coach in Asheville.

The Bulldogs enter March Madness 27-7, having gone 16-2 in Big South play. UNC Asheville picked up an early nonconference road win over UCF back in November, but came up short against Georgia State before getting blown out by Dayton and Arkansas. The Bulldogs are 18-1 since Jan. 1, though, making them one of the hottest teams in the country.

In the Big South tournament – which concluded all the way back on March 5 – UNC Asheville notched three consecutive single-digit victories over Charleston Southern, South Carolina Upstate and Campbell to secure the conference crown.

UNC Asheville is averaging 75.0 points per game while allowing 68.6 points per game, which rank No. 99 and No. 137 in the country, respectively. The Bulldogs have the No. 195 adjusted offense and No. 115 adjusted defense in the KenPom. UNC Asheville ranks seventh in the country with a 39.0% 3-point percentage, but they are one of the 15-most foul-prone teams in the nation. 

Former Tennessee forward Drew Pember is averaging 21.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 37.3% from deep. Fifth-year starting guard Taijon Jones is averaging 15.0 points and 5.2 rebounds on .514/.456/.714 shooting splits.

Pember won Big South Player of the Year and Big South Defensive Player of the Year, and he was joined on the All-Big South First Team by Jones. Morrell won Big South Coach of the Year.

UNC Asheville is 2-4 all-time in the NCAA tournament, although both of those wins came in overtime in the First Four to get them into the field of 64. The Bulldogs have lost all four of their first round games – three of which by more than 20 points – although they did only lose by seven to No. 1 seed Syracuse in 2012.

UCLA, conversely, owns a record 11 NCAA championships and has been to the second-most Final Fours with 18. The Bruins have only gone one-and-done twice in their last 12 tournament trips, making at least the Sweet 16 in five their last six trips to March Madness.

No. 2 seeds are 138-10 against No. 15 seeds all-time, but a No. 15 seed has won a first-round game in each of the past two NCAA tournaments. No. 15 seed Oral Roberts beat No. 2 seed Ohio State in 2021, while No. 15 seed St. Peter's beat No. 2 seed Kentucky in 2022.

*Odds via SI Sportsbook

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