Miss Valley State at UCLA

The biggest mis-match of the tournament, according to the odds-makers, is UCLA appearing as a 30+ point favorite over the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State. Looking at some of the scores the Delta Devils have put up vs some of the top games on their schedule, it isn't pretty. They managed just 26 vs Pac-10 Washington State, 45 vs Pittsburgh, 46 vs Creighton, 46 vs Tulsa and 40 vs Air Force. They did play good defense, though and held three of their last four opponents to under 59 or less.  UCLA's calling card is defense, as they give up under 60 per game. Bruins early out-of-conference schedule shows eight UNDERs to just 4 OVERs, with lots of low scoring games. They could hold this team in the 30s, and the Bruins have not touched 90 all season. Under Ben Howland, they are 31-20 UNDER in non-conference games and 12-4 UNDER on the road vs. slow-down teams like their opponent today that take under 54 shots per game. UCLA is not a team to run it up, and therefore we look for this game to play UNDER.