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Princeton vs. Arizona prediction and odds for NCAA Tournament First Round

By Josh Yourish

Mar 11, 2023; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Kerr Kriisa (25) celebrates after scoring against the UCLA Bruins during the second half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2023; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Kerr Kriisa (25) celebrates after scoring against the UCLA Bruins during the second half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /
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On Saturday night, the Arizona Wildcats won the PAC-12 Tournament by beating UCLA, 61-59.

Now the No. 2 seed in the South Region will start their journey to win the NCAA Tournament against the 15 seed, the Princeton Tigers. Princeton got the automatic bid from the Ivy League by taking down Yale, 74-65 in the championship game. While they dethroned No. 1 seed Yale in the Ivy ranks, they are not expected to hold up against the vaunted Wildcats.

Let’s check out the odds for Princeton and Arizona in Sacramento on Thursday at 4:30 EST .

Princeton vs. Arizona odds, spread and total

Princeton vs. Arizona prediction and pick

March is all about guards, but the Arizona Wildcats are all about their big men.

Azuolas Tubelis was a National Player of the Year candidate, who averaged 19.8 points and 9.3 rebounds this year and Oumar Ballo, their center and second leading scorer, averaged 14.2 and 8.5. They also have Kerr Kriisa and Texas transfer Courtney Ramey, who are experienced players on their backcourt.

Arizona turns the ball over 13.4 times a game which is 11th out of 12 in the Pac 12. They also don’t force a lot of turnovers, just 12.4. That’s due to shaky guard play and is emblematic of a team that plays fast and tries to force the ball downlow to their big men. That can lead to transition opportunities the other way for Princeton and the game could certainly get away from them.

The Wildcats will need to rely on their size, but Princeton is 18th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage, so they won’t get dominated on the glass. The Tigers are also led by a forward, Tosan Evbuomwan, but they attempt 24.7 three pointers a game, so they could shoot themselves into it. To me this seems like a game that will be sneaky close the whole way, Princeton will never really threaten to win it, but Arizona will never put them away. Give me the Tigers catching a ton of points.

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change