Arizona vs Wright State 3/18/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The 16-seed Wright State Raiders & 1-seed Arizona Wildcats will square off at Viejas Arena this Friday night in the 1^st round of the NCAA Tournament – South Region.

The 16-seed Wright State Raiders improved to 22-13 on the season after defeating the 16-seed Bryant Bulldogs, 93-82, last night in a NCAA Tournament First Four matchup. Wright State was outstanding on the offensive end against Bryant and was able to pull away in the 2^nd half after a 7-0 Raiders run gave Wright State a 77-61 lead with 6:50 left in regulation. Wright State shot 47.5% from the field & 42.9% from beyond the arc while allowing Bryant to shoot 43.7% from the field & 16.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Raiders was Tanner Holden who had a double-double with 37 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, & 2 steals.

On the season, coming into their game against Bryant, Wright State was averaging 75.5 ppg on 46.5% shooting from the field. The Raiders were averaging 6.3 three-pointers per game on 32.9% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Wright State has been led by Tanner Holden (19.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg), Grant Basile (18.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.6 bpg), Trey Calvin (14.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.6 spg), & Tim Finke (8.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.6 apg).

Defensively, prior to their game against Bryant, Wright State is allowing their opponents to an average of 71.1 ppg on 45.0% shooting from the field. The Raiders had a rebound margin of 1.6 and a turnover margin of 0.6.

The 1-seed Arizona Wildcats finished their regular season with an overall record of 31-3 while finishing Pac-12 play with an impressive 18-2 record. Arizona earned the 1-seed in the Pac-12 Championship and was able to capture the Championship after defeating the 13-ranked UCLA Bruins by an 84-76 margin this past Saturday. Arizona went 10-1 in their non-conference schedule and have plenty of impressive wins this season, led by victories over Michigan, Wyoming, Illinois, USC (twice), & UCLA (twice).

On the season, Arizona is averaging 84.6 ppg on 49.6% shooting from the field. The Wildcats are averaging 7.8 three-pointers per game on 35.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Arizona has been led by Bennedict Mathurin (17.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.0 spg), Azuolas Tubelis (14.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.1 spg), Christian Koloko (12.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.2 apg, 2.7 bpg), Kerr Kriisa (10.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.9 apg), & Dalen Terry (7.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.2 spg).

Defensively, Arizona is allowing their opponents to average 67.5 ppg on 38.7% shooting from the field. The Wildcats have a rebound margin of 7.9 and a turnover margin of -0.2.

The Raiders are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600, however, are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win. The Wildcats are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 neutral site games & 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.

Wright State has been led by their offense which ranks 60^th in scoring offense & 50^th in FG%, however, the defense has struggled as the Raiders come into this game ranked just 228^th in scoring defense & 276^th in defensive FG%. Arizona has been solid on both ends of the court as the Wildcats come into this game ranked 3^rd in scoring offense, 3^rd in FG%, 129^th in scoring defense, & 11^th in defensive FG%.

Wright State has a great duo in Tanner Holden & Grant Basile, however, the Raiders just don’t have the defense that is going to have any answers for the Arizona offense. Wright State had no answers for Purdue early in the season in a 96-52 loss and as I expect Arizona to have similar success, I’m taking the Wildcats to cover this large spread. Good Luck!