The Daily Sweat: UCLA-Arizona rematch hopefully will be better than first meeting – Yahoo Sports

One of the best matchups this college basketball regular season will be No. 3 UCLA at No. 7 Arizona.

There aren't many other conference combinations that include two top-10 teams (Kentucky-Auburn and Baylor-Kansas are the others). The problem is, the first UCLA-Arizona meeting didn't turn out to be a very good game.

The Bruins blew out Arizona at Pauley Pavillon on Jan. 25. Arizona shot 30.7 percent from the field and UCLA dominated in every way possible on its way to a 75-59 win.

The rematch comes on Thursday night on ESPN. The game was moved up to 8 p.m. Eastern time to accommodate a larger TV audience. It should be a much better showdown than the first meeting. Arizona is a 6.5-point favorite at BetMGM. Bruins guard Jaime Jaquez Jr., who averages 12.3 points per game, has an ankle injury and his status is unclear.

Arizona has played only one truly poor game all season. The Wildcats are 17-2. They play fast, share the ball and are efficient on offense and defense. They are a Final Four contender, though the failure against UCLA will be hard for some to forget.

UCLA is 16-2 and has been almost as good as advertised coming off a Final Four trip last season. They have won 11 of 12 since a loss to Gonzaga. The only other loss came against Oregon in overtime. The blowout against Arizona proved the Bruins have the ability to go right back to a Final Four.

There won't be many better matchups on paper before conference tournaments start in March. Hopefully this time the game matches the hype.

Here's the first look at the sports betting slate for Thursday:

While UCLA-Arizona is the only game between ranked teams, Iowa at No. 16 Ohio State is an intriguing matchup. Iowa is comfortably in the NCAA tournament field, and is a capable team due to a very good offense. The Hawkeyes have lost three of four and could use a big road win to get back on track. Ohio State is favored by 5.5.

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The TNT doubleheader for Thursday isn't bad. In the first game the Phoenix Suns, who have the NBA's best record, face the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks have been a bit disappointing this season but they still have the talent to compete with the Suns. Phoenix is a 5.5-point favorite. In the second game, the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams are struggling to stay out of the play-in games in the NBA playoffs. The Clippers are 2.5-point favorites. LeBron James is likely out with a knee injury.

The best game of the day could be the Chicago Bulls at the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls have the best record in the East, and the Raptors have been playing better lately.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am starts on Thursday. Yahoo Sportsbook's Pam Maldonado had a look at some head-to-head betting matchups.

That's about it, as the NHL takes some time off before the All-Star break.

While UCLA could be without Jacquez, I still think they're getting too many points. This should be a closer game than the first one, and while Arizona won't play as bad as they did in the first meeting, perhaps the Bruins match up well. I'll take UCLA.

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The Daily Sweat: UCLA-Arizona rematch hopefully will be better than first meeting - Yahoo Sports