Clemson vs. Arizona Final Score Prediction for NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
The Arizona Wildcats were upset in the opening round of last year's NCAA Tournament against Princeton, but has gotten over that hump in this year's edition of it and has advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Wildcats pulled away from Long Beach State in the second half, beating them by a final score of 85-65 in the Round of 64 and then took down No. 7 Dayton, 78-68, in the Round of 32. Now, they have a matchup against No. 6 Clemson in the Sweet 16.
Meanwhile, the Clemson Tigers have been one of the more surprising teams so far this tournament. They beat up on No. 11 New Mexico, beating them 77-56, and then upset No. 3 Baylor in the Round of 32, beating them comfortably by a score of 72-64.
Our very own Reed Wallach has already broken down his full betting preview for the game, but in this article I'm going to attempt to do the improbable and predict the exactly final score.
Let's dive into it.
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Clemson vs. Arizona odds, spread, and total
Clemson vs. Arizona expert prediction
Reed Wallach broke down his prediction for the game in his full betting preview. He's taking Arizona to cover:
Clemson’s offense has been dynamic all season, capable of scorching the nets from the perimeter with the likes of Joe Girard shooting 41% from distance with Hall playing inside and out, but the concern has constantly been the defense.
The Tigers don’t turn you over, bottom 25 in the country in TO%, but its compact nature has been able to turn teams into jump-shooting outfits and outlast its opponent in that style of game.
However, Arizona can play inside and out, while also running off of misses. The Tigers are a middling transition defense, and also can’t stop post-ups. The team is 46th percentile in terms of points allowed per possession on post-ups, per Synergy Sports, which is a big issue against Ballo and Arizona. Hall and fellow big man Ian Schieffelin are the only two who can hang on him, but the Tigers have been prone to fouling in the front court.
Clemson may be able to hang around if its shots are falling, but the team’s inability to slow down Arizona around the rim or in the open court will lead to this game getting out of hand.
The Tigers were able to catch Baylor on an off-shooting night as the team shot 25% on three-point shots and 61% from the free-throw line but did let the Bears shoot 50% on twos. Arizona is a more dynamic offense than the Bears, who are far more reliant on its jump shooting. I think this is a big step up in class and Arizona rolls to the Elite Eight.
Clemson vs. Arizona Final Score Prediction
Reed is backing Arizona to cover, but I think Clemson may be able to keep it within seven points, but I'm going to predict the final score to be right around what the spread indicates, which is a seven point game.
The total for the game is set at 152.5, so we should see a relatively high-scoring game. Arizona plays one of the fastest paces in the country, ranking seventh in college basketball in possessions per game, averaging 76.4.
With that being said, we should also keep in mind that Clemson plays at a slow pace, ranking 236th in possessions per game averaging just 69.5. The Tigers also have a great shooting defense, ranking 52nd in opponent effective field goal percentage. The Wildcats are right behind them in that stat, ranking 59th in in opponent effective field goal percentage.
There were only 133 points scored in Clemsons' first game against New Mexico and 136 were scored in their second game against Arizona. Therefore, I think the total in this game is set a bit too high.
I'm going to predict this game finishes right around the set spread of seven with the total staying UNDER 152.5.
Final score prediction: Clemson 70, Arizona 77
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.