UCLA Bruins vs. St. Bonaventure Bonnies Odds, March Madness Betting Pick

East meets West when the Atlantic 10's St. Bonaventure Bonnies meet the Pac-12's UCLA Bruins in the second NCAA tournament First Four game Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio. The Bruins are favored on the betting line, but are the Bonnies upset-bound?

March Madness point spread: The Bruins opened as 3.5-point favorites; the total is at 153, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report.)

March Madness betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 71.8-68.6, Bruins (March Madness picks on every game.)

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Why UCLA can cover the spread

The Bruins finished tied for third in the Pac-12 this season at 11-7 in conference play. UCLA lost three in a row back in January but recovered to win seven of its last 10. The Bruins then won one game in the Pac-12 tournament before falling to eventual champion Arizona in overtime in the semifinals.

With its at-large bid, UCLA is back in the Big Dance after reaching the Sweet 16 last season.

The Bruins can run a bit hot-and-cold; they own victories this season over Kentucky and Arizona and, as mentioned above, had a chance to beat Arizona twice. But they also lost a couple of games they probably should have won. UCLA is better, obviously, when it plays a little defense, going 17-4 SU and 12-9 ATS this season when holding opponents to under 80 points.

Why St. Bonaventure can cover the spread

The Bonnies finished second in the Atlantic 10 this season at 14-4 in conference play. They won 11 of 12 games early this season, struggled through a 1-4 stretch in January, then won their last 12 in a row. St. Bonaventure then won one game in the A-10 tournament before falling to eventual champion Davidson in the semifinals.

With their at-large bid, the Bonnies are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012. St. Bonaventure is 4-4 both SU and ATS this season against teams that made the Big Dance, with wins over MAC champion Buffalo, Syracuse, Rhode Island and Davidson.

Smart betting pick

This should be an entertaining game to wager with two fairly evenly matched teams. However, St. Bonaventure might be without a key cog in Courtney Stockard (13 points, six rebounds per game this season), who suffered a leg injury last week and missed the A-10 championship game. Smart money here probably bets UCLA.

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