Arizona vs. Indiana Prediction and Pick for Saturday, December 10th (Wildcats Superior Team on Neutral Floor)
By Reed Wallach
Two of the country's elite do battle on a neutral floor in Las Vegas, Nevada when Indiana and Arizona do battle.
The Wildcats won the Maui Invitational, but came back to Earth with a road loss to Utah in PAC-12 play. Now, they look to remind people of their Final Four upside with a matchup against Indiana, who hasn't faced as tough of a schedule but does boast a home win against North Carolina and a win at Xavier to their name.
Who can score a massive win on Saturday night?
Here are the odds for one of the best games on the Saturday card:
Arizona vs. Indiana Odds, Spread and Total
Arizona vs. Indiana Prediction and Pick
The Hoosiers can match Arizona's size down low with Trayce Jackson-Davis on the block, but I'm afraid that IU lacks the shot making ability to outlast the inevitable Wildcats three-point shooting barrage.
Indiana will be able to limit Arizona's transition opportunities, they are bottom 25 in terms of opponent's transition opportunities and keep teams out of the paint at a high rate, but the Hoosiers are far more reliant on getting their offense inside, posting a bottom 50 three-point rate.
However, the Hoosiers lack the on-ball chops to create for others with Xavier Johnson turning the ball over at an alarmingly higher 26% and fellow ball handler Jalen Hood-Schifino could miss this game.
Arizona has the 13th highest assist rate in the country and the three-point shooters such as Kerr Kriisa (40%), Cedric Henderson (40%) and Courtney Ramey (50%) to outpace the Hoosiers.
Lastly, the strength of schedule argument might play a factor in this matchup with the Hoosiers playing their third game away from home this season. The team beat Xavier but also struggled at Rutgers, their only loss of the season. Arizona has wins over Creighton, San Diego State and will be playing in closer proximity to home than IU.
I think Arizona has matchup edges and a slight home court advantage, so I see value in betting them to win by a bucket.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.