Oregon State vs UCLA Prediction Basketball Picks 12-28-23

The UCLA Bruins and the Oregon State Beavers meet in college basketball action from the Gill Coliseum on Thursday night. Who starts conference play off on the right foot? Let’s dive in and find out with our UCLA vs. Oregon State Prediction.

UCLA Team Preview

The UCLA Bruins come into this one looking to get back to .500 after a 4th straight loss in a 69-60 loss to Maryland last time out. Sebastian Mack leads the Bruins in scoring with 15.2 PPG along with 4.5 RPG while Adem Bona has 12.1 PPG with a team-high 6.5 RPG to lead the Bruins on the glass. Lazar Stefanovic has 10 PPG with 6 RPG and Dylan Andrews has 11.5 PPG and a team-high 3.7 APG to lead the Bruins in assists and to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for UCLA up to this point in the year. As a team, UCLA is averaging 67.7 PPG on 42.2% shooting from the field, 29.4% from three and 72.2% from the foul line this season.

Oregon State Team Preview

The Oregon State Beavers come into this one looking to add to their current five-game win streak after a 76-57 win over Idaho State last time out. Jordan Pope leads the Beavers in scoring and assists with 16.9 PPG along with 3.4 APG in addition to 2.7 RPG while Tyler Bilodeau has 11.5 PPG with a team-high 5.4 RPG to lead the Beavers on the boards. Dexter Akanno also has 11.7 PPG with 3.1 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Oregon State up to this point in the year. As a team, Oregon State is averaging 71.5 PPG on 43.8% shooting from the field, 29.3% from three and 75.6% from the foul line this season. Oregon State is 8-3 in the Pac-12 with the same record as Oregon and Washington.

UCLA vs. Oregon State Prediction

I’m siding with the under here. This is a matchup between two of the better defensive units in the Pac-12, and two teams that tend to play at a snail’s pace. I think this is another one of those low-scoring slugfests, and a game that ends up coming in under the number.