College Basketball Picks: Oregon State Beavers vs. UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins (14-3) will be out for revenge against the Oregon State Beavers (10-6), an important handicapping angle to consider when making your college basketball picks. The two Pac-12 Conference rivals meet up at Pauley Pavilion Thursday night.

Sports bettors will find that the Bruins are 13.5-point home favorites in the NCAA basketball odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total sits at 153 in the market.

UCLA head coach Ben Howland has compiled a dominating 15-4 record versus the Beavers since arriving in Westwood, but the Bruins suffered an 87-84 setback as two-point road underdogs in last year's meeting.

Let's take a closer look at this affair from a betting perspective, while offering an against-the-spread pick along the way. 

Oregon State Beavers

The Oregon State Beavers will be playing their first road game since December 12, as they attempt to snap a three-game losing streak, including an 80-70 setback to the Arizona Wildcats as 11-point home underdogs Saturday.

Sports bettors will find that the Beavers are 6-14 ATS on the road over the last two-plus seasons, with the UNDER going 11-9 in that situation.

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins have won nine games in a row, including a 78-75 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes as 2.5-point road underdogs Saturday.

Sports bettors will find that the Bruins are 27-16 ATS versus Pac-12 Conference opponents over the last two-plus seasons.

Prediction

I recommend that readers back the UCLA Bruins as one of their college basketball picks against the spread Thursday night, as the favorite is 19-7-1 ATS in the last 27 meetings in this series.

College Basketball Pick: UCLA Bruins -13.5

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