The Clemson Tigers and the Arizona Wildcats meet Thursday in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 college basketball action from Crypto.com Arena. Here’s a Clemson vs Arizona prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for the game. We will examine:
- The Clemson recent form and player performance
- The Arizona recent form and player performance
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving Clemson
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving Arizona
- Recent betting trends in games played between Clemson and Arizona
- A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Clemson vs Arizona game
Clemson Tigers Betting Preview
The Tigers had a rough run in the middle of the year, going just 3-6 at one point. Clemson closed strong on a 7-3 stretch, then fell to Boston College in the first game of the conference tournament. The Tigers would then take out New Mexico and Baylor in the first two rounds of the national tourney. They lost only one non-conference game this year, and won several big ones, including the victory over Alabama.
Matched up against Baylor back on Sunday, the Tigers came out of the break with a 35-25 edge. Clemson posted another 37 points in the second half for a 72-64 win. Chase Hunter was the top team scorer on 20 points with six assists, two steals and two rebounds in 39 minutes of work.
Arizona Wildcats Betting Preview
Over on the Arizona side, they also stumbled a bit in the middle of the year on a 6-5 run. Otherwise, the Wildcats have been remarkably consistent, though. Arizona beat USC in their conference tournament before a loss to Oregon. Since then, it’s been wins over Long Beach State and Dayton in the NCAA Tournament.
In their matchup versus Dayton on Saturday, the Wildcats were ahead 40-33 going into the second half. Arizona hit a 38-35 run the rest of the way in a 78-68 victory. Tops in scoring on the team was Caleb Love with his 19 points, five assists and three rebounds. Jaden Bradley added 12 points off the bench as well.
Arizona Wildcats Team Facts
- Arizona has won 40 of its last 45 games against non-Conference opponents.
- Each of Arizona’s last five day games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue have produced a total of 150 or fewer points.
- Arizona has won the first half in each of its last 14 games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
Clemson Tigers Team Facts
- Clemson has won 12 of its last 13 games against non-Conference opponents.
- Twelve of Clemson’s last 13 day games against AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 143 or fewer points.
- Clemson has won the first half in each of its last six games against non-Conference opponents.
Clemson vs Arizona Prediction
I’ll lean toward Arizona. You could make a case either way here, though. The Wildcats shot well against Dayton in their last game, hitting 52.8 percent from the field and 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from 3-point range. The 14-of-20 (70 percent) from the line and the 15 turnovers (for 11 Flyers points) need to be cleaned up, though. Arizona has scored 70 or more points in every win so far this year, so if they can hit that mark on Thursday, the Wildcats should be in good shape.
As for Clemson, they shot well against Baylor (48.9 percent) and held the bears to just 38.9 percent on the other side. The Tigers have hit 72 or more points in four of the last five games, so this one could very well be a high total. In the end I like Arizona a little better on the cover, though.