PREMIUM
Rogers' Wooden Classic Final >> 2-0 Sweep Saturday! 18-8-1 This Year!
(NCAAB) Texas A&M vs. UCLA,
Point Spread: -3.50 | -106.00 UCLA (Home)
Result: Win
Point Spread: -3.50 | -106.00 UCLA (Home)
Result: Win
The set-up: The 14th-ranked UCLA Bruins are 6-0 and will get a chance to win a tournament named after the program's patriarch when they meet 4-1 Texas A&M in the championship game of the Wooden Legacy tournament Sunday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Ca. UCLA has reached the championship game with a 99-77 win over Portland and an 82-71 win over Nebraska. Texas A&M's only loss this season was a two-pointer to USC but the aggies have rebounded to win won two in a row since, beating Cal State Northridge 95-73 and then stormed back from a 17-point second-half deficit to edge Virginia Tech 68-65.
Texas A&M: The Aggies won 28 games last year, advancing to the Sweet 16 but lost their three best players from that team. Gone are the team's top-two scorers, House (15.6 & 4.8) and Jones (15.3 & 7.2), two 6-7 players who were tough to defend. Also lost was PG Caruso (8.1 & 5.0 APG), the team-leader. Three players who contributed last year are back and the 6-9 Hogg (15.6 & 6.2), the 6-10 Davis (12.2 & 7.2) and guard Gilder (11.2-4.6-5.2) are A&M's top-three scorers so far. The Aggies have also have benefited from a strong start to the season by 6-9 freshman Robert Williams (10.2 & 6.4) and J.C. Hampton (4.8 PPG), a senior graduate transfer from Lipscomb, is staring in the backcourt alongside of Gilder.
UCLA: Steve Alford needs a "breakout season" in Westwood, as his first three seasons at UCLA have gone in the wrong direction. He won 28 games his first season, 22 in his second and then came last year's 15-17 ‘nightmare.' Two outstanding freshman have led the turnaround, the 6-10 Leaf (17.8 & 8.8) and the "do-everything" 6-6 Ball (16.0-5.3-9.0). That duo has joined senior guards Alford (17.7) and Hamilton (16.7 & 4.2 APG) plus sophomore guard Holiday (13.0-4.-4.2) and the 7-0 junior Welsh (11.3 & 9.7) to give UCLA six, double digit scorers. No wonder UCLA is second in the nation in scoring at 100.7 PPG and its FG percentage leads all Division I schools (55.8 percent).
The pick: UCLA coach Steve Alford was asked what it will mean to his team to play in the championship game of the Wooden tournament."It means a lot for different reasons," he said. "Coach Wooden's name is on it, and what he means to our institution and his legacy of creating excellence both in the classroom and on the basketball court, that is something our guys take seriously. Secondly, we have talked this as a team, and it's our first chance to win a championship. It doesn't mean that you'll have postseason success, but the Final Four teams last year all won an exempt tournament. If that is a goal of ours, as it is, we want to take those steps towards trying to get to that point. Knowing that this championship could have Coach Wooden's name on it is an extra bonus." The A&M football team upended the then-16th Bruins to open the 2016 season, a loss the football team never recovered from. Maybe the basketball team can serve up a little cross-sport revenge? That's my bet, as I make UCLA a 10* play.
Texas A&M: The Aggies won 28 games last year, advancing to the Sweet 16 but lost their three best players from that team. Gone are the team's top-two scorers, House (15.6 & 4.8) and Jones (15.3 & 7.2), two 6-7 players who were tough to defend. Also lost was PG Caruso (8.1 & 5.0 APG), the team-leader. Three players who contributed last year are back and the 6-9 Hogg (15.6 & 6.2), the 6-10 Davis (12.2 & 7.2) and guard Gilder (11.2-4.6-5.2) are A&M's top-three scorers so far. The Aggies have also have benefited from a strong start to the season by 6-9 freshman Robert Williams (10.2 & 6.4) and J.C. Hampton (4.8 PPG), a senior graduate transfer from Lipscomb, is staring in the backcourt alongside of Gilder.
UCLA: Steve Alford needs a "breakout season" in Westwood, as his first three seasons at UCLA have gone in the wrong direction. He won 28 games his first season, 22 in his second and then came last year's 15-17 ‘nightmare.' Two outstanding freshman have led the turnaround, the 6-10 Leaf (17.8 & 8.8) and the "do-everything" 6-6 Ball (16.0-5.3-9.0). That duo has joined senior guards Alford (17.7) and Hamilton (16.7 & 4.2 APG) plus sophomore guard Holiday (13.0-4.-4.2) and the 7-0 junior Welsh (11.3 & 9.7) to give UCLA six, double digit scorers. No wonder UCLA is second in the nation in scoring at 100.7 PPG and its FG percentage leads all Division I schools (55.8 percent).
The pick: UCLA coach Steve Alford was asked what it will mean to his team to play in the championship game of the Wooden tournament."It means a lot for different reasons," he said. "Coach Wooden's name is on it, and what he means to our institution and his legacy of creating excellence both in the classroom and on the basketball court, that is something our guys take seriously. Secondly, we have talked this as a team, and it's our first chance to win a championship. It doesn't mean that you'll have postseason success, but the Final Four teams last year all won an exempt tournament. If that is a goal of ours, as it is, we want to take those steps towards trying to get to that point. Knowing that this championship could have Coach Wooden's name on it is an extra bonus." The A&M football team upended the then-16th Bruins to open the 2016 season, a loss the football team never recovered from. Maybe the basketball team can serve up a little cross-sport revenge? That's my bet, as I make UCLA a 10* play.
