Nova Report
The UCLA faithful were yelling ?We Want Nova? the other night when they beat Cal State Bakersfield by 38. Well?the Cats are in LA ready to do battle at 11:30 eastern. Current line is UCLA-3/140. Money has been pouring in on Nova since the line went from 2.5 to 4.5.
THE Bruins return pretty much everyone from their Final Four team. Cody Riley sprained his knee vs. Bakersfield and is out. However, this big will be replaced by two other 6?10? monsters who could wreak havoc on Nova?s inside game. UCLA is led by All American Johnny Juzang. Jaime Jaques JR. Is right behind him in athleticism and scoring. Tyger Campbell runs the show and may be the most difficult matchup for the Cats. Jules Bernard shoots over 40% from deep and Peyton Watson is their 5 star Freshman stud. The bottom line is these guys are good! Of course, they ARE ranked #2 in the country.
And for your #4 ranked Wildcats?.Colin Gillespie will have to go head to head with Campbell. Slater will probably draw Juzang as he is their best defender. Watson is a 5 star Freshman for the Bruins but he will struggle against Justin Moore. The Cats will probably need Samuels to step up and have a stellar game if they are to win this one. Their D in their last game was pretty good but it was verses Mt. St. Mary?s.
What will happen: UCLA allowed Bakersfield to shoot just under 42% from deep in their recent game. Yes, some were in garbage time. Nonetheless, Nova will test them and launch a barrage of 3?s. UCLA will use Campbell to drive, penetrate and dish to exploit the Cat?s defense. In 2016, in an early season game, Nova was wiped out by Oklahoma only to meet them in the Final Four and win by over 40. Will something like this happen? I don?t think so. Yes, the fans will be rabid. Yes, the Bruins will go on some runs and will look like they will run Nova out of Westwood. However, Nova doesn?t quit. I certainly liked the 4.5 better than the 3.
My bet: 5 point teaser Nova+8/Over 135
Go Cats!
Nova Record: 0-1