Central Florida and UCLA hook up in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in Philadelphia. UCLA's problem this year was not playing well away from Pauley Pavilion, but they took a major step forward in the Big Ten Tournament, beating Michigan State and playing well against Purdue despite the loss. They covered all three of their tournament games and seven of their last eight. They're playing their best basketball right now, while Central Florida has lost four of their last five games. UCLA to cover.
For all the success of Donovan Dent here in the second half of the conference schedule, UCLA has also lost a step defensively since the start of February. That’s got to be the path for UCF here, the only problem is that the Knights’ best offensive performances away from home (wins at BYU and Colorado) required out-of-body three-point shooting. It's tough to count on that against a UCLA team that seems to be getting healthier and may be poised to conquer the dreaded Eastern Time Zone.
