UCLA vs UCF: Game Preview & Best Bets (East Region, 2025-2026 NCAA Tournament)

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UCLA vs UCF: Game Preview

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin has been quite the character this year, and we have a weird feeling we will see a lot more of him this tournament than people may expect. UCLA is a trendy pick to work their way through the East region despite being a 7 seed, and for good reason: Donovan Dent has arguably been one of the best point guards in the nation for the past month plus, and with pick-and-pop stud Tyler Bilodeau as the number two on this team, you have some legitimate offensive firepower.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to talk UCLA vs UCF in the first round, and with both of those guys dinged up a bit (we expect them to play, but not at 100%), this isn't going to be a cakewalk.

UCLA is known for their hedging defense, but if they start getting beat in isolation, they have swapped to a zone. In either case, UCF has just the player to take advantage of this in Riley Kugel, who likes to work in isolation but also shoots well over the top. He's the X-factor for UCF staying in this game and will need a monster game to pull off the upset.

UCLA vs UCF: Best Bet

• Riley Kugel over 13.5 points (-125 on most books as of this writing)

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