The Bruins have won five straight and eight of nine, and Mick Cronin's defense is in top form. UCLA held USC to 59 points in the tournament semis and hasn't allowed more than 68 points in any of the last 10 games. This is a matchup in which Arizona could feel the absence of point guard Kerr Kriisa. These teams split in the regular season, each winning convincingly at home. Despite Arizona's crowd edge in Vegas, I think UCLA's defense will decide it.

T-Mobile Arena looked and sounded like the McKale Center on Friday night as Arizona battled back from a slow start and cruised to a double-digit win. The Wildcats fans are rolling deep and feeling the buzz of a national title contender rounding into form, so I don't think this will be much of a "neutral" court for the Bruins. But I don't need a home court advantage to be confident in Arizona winning by a bucket, because the combination of pace and versatility can overwhelm the Bruins and power the Wildcats' first conference tournament title since 2018.

Arizona and UCLA have met twice this season, and each won and covered at home, Both games stayed under, with the totals set at 149 and 150. The teams are playing at their best right now and are playing at faster paces. That has helped UCLA go over in four games during its five-game win streak. The Wildcats' matchups have gone over in all five during their current win streak.