College Basketball Picks: Oregon Ducks vs. UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins will be without the services of freshman guard Jordan Adams in the Pac-12 championship—which can't be ignored when making your college basketball picks Saturday—as they prepare to meet the Oregon Ducks in Las Vegas.

Sports bettors will find that the Bruins are one-point underdogs in the NCAA basketball odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total sits at 138.5 in the market.

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

Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks are just 3-11-1 against the spread in their last 15 Pac-12 Conference games, but they did come away with a 64-45 victory over the Utah Utes as 7.5-point favorites Friday night.

During the course of the 2012-13 NCAA basketball season, the Ducks have gone 7-4 against the spread after allowing 60 points or less.

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins have won seven of their last eight games, including a 66-64 victory over the Arizona Wildcats as four-point underdogs Friday night.

During the 2012-13 campaign, the Bruins are 12-1 when freshman star Shabazz Muhammad scores 20 or more points.

Prediction

I'm going to recommend that readers back the Oregon Ducks as one of their college basketball picks Saturday, as I established them as 3.5-point neutral-site favorites over the UCLA Bruins.

College Basketball Pick: Oregon Ducks -1

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