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<p>The Trojans and Razorbacks are set to face off at 9:00 ET on SECN. The Razorbacks will host the game at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, AR. The over/under for this game is set at 144 points, and Arkansas is favored by -21 against Little Rock in a non-conference matchup.</p><h3>LITTLE ROCK TROJANS VS ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS BETTING PICK</h3><p>The Pick: Little Rock Trojans +21</p><p>This game will be played at Bud Walton Arena at 9:00 ET on Friday, November 22nd.</p><h3>WHY BET THE LITTLE ROCK TROJANS:</h3><ul><li>We have this one finishing with a projected score of 77-70 in favor of the Razorbacks.</li><li>Even though we have Arkansas winning straight-up, we like Little Rock at +21.</li><li>The over/under is currently sitting at 144 points, and we like the over with a projected 147 points.</li></ul><h3>Can the Trojans Grab a Win in Fayetteville?</h3><h3>Little Rock Trojans Recent Game/Games</h3> <p>Little Rock pulled off a significant upset on Wednesday, defeating Tulsa 71-57 on the road. Entering the game as +12.5 point underdogs, the Trojans not only secured the win but also covered the spread.</p> <p>After trailing 25-20 at halftime, Little Rock exploded for 51 points in the 2nd half while holding Tulsa to 32. The game’s total points of 128 fell under the O/U line of 150.5.</p><p>Little Rock's offense put up 71 points in their last game, shooting 46.4% from the field and hitting 44.4% of their threes (8/18). Their effective field goal percentage stood at 53.6%, and they connected on 73.3% of their free throws (11/15).</p> <p>Johnathan Lawson led the way with 23 points, shooting 75% overall and 50% from deep. Mwani Wilkinson contributed 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Tyshawn Archie added 15 points, hitting 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.</p><p>Little Rock's defense held their opponent to just 57 points, with a field goal percentage of 36% (18/49). They allowed 8 two-point field goals on 16 attempts, a 50% shooting rate.</p> <p>From beyond the arc, Little Rock's opponent shot 30%, making 10 of 33 three-point attempts. At the free-throw line, they went 11/17, hitting 64% of their shots. Little Rock gave up 8 offensive rebounds.</p><h3>Can the Razorbacks Live Up to the Hype at Home?</h3><h3>Arkansas Razorbacks Recent Game/Games</h3> 

<p>Arkansas improved to 3-0 with a 91-72 win over Pacific on Monday. The Razorbacks were -21.5 point favorites going into the game, but they didn’t cover the spread. The total points for the game ended at 163, surpassing the over/under line of 149.5.</p> 

<p>Arkansas led 44-37 at halftime and extended their lead in the 2nd half, outscoring Pacific 47-35. While they got the win, the Razorbacks will look to tighten up defensively and cover the spread in future games.</p><p>Arkansas put up 91 points in their last game, shooting 59.6% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 69.2%. They hit 71% of their two-point attempts (22/31) and connected on 42.9% from beyond the arc (9/21). At the free-throw line, they shot 80%, making 20 of 25 attempts.</p> <p>Adou Thiero and Elijah Fisher led the way with 23 points each, both shooting 8/10 from the field. Fisher hit 3 of 4 from deep, while Boogie Fland added 20 points, going 2/4 from three. Lamar Washington contributed 19 points and 5 assists, and Jefferson Koulibaly knocked down 4 of 6 threes, finishing with 12 points.</p><p>Arkansas struggled defensively, giving up 72 points on 59% shooting from the field. They allowed 31 made baskets on 52 attempts.</p> <p>Inside the arc, Arkansas gave up 22 two-point baskets on 31 attempts, a 71% success rate. From three, they allowed 9 made threes on 21 attempts, a 42% clip. They also sent the opposing team to the line 25 times, where they hit 20 free throws, an 80% rate.</p>

Little Rock Trojans vs Arkansas Razorbacks NCAA Basketball Betting Pick & Prediction 11/22/24

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The NCAA Tournament officially starts today with the four play-in games with tip times (ET) of 5:10, 6:27, 8:40, and the late one at 9:57 between UCLA and Michigan State. The NIT also continues tonight with NC State vs. Davidson and SMU vs. Boise State. Only six games are on the card, but all of them have some degree of importance.

With that in mind, our spotlight game does fall in the Big Dance and it will be the late game between UCLA and Michigan State. The Spartans have taken money throughout the week to push this line out to -2.5 with a total of 135 at <a href="http://bangthebook.com/sportsbooks/bovada"><strong>Bovada Sportsbook</strong></a>. This week is unique in that these first-round lines, play-in games, and NIT matchups have been up for several days in advance of the game and have had a lot of time to marinate.

While this isn’t the sexiest game of the play-in round, it is the late one and we like to highlight those as much as possible so readers have lots of time to find it.
<h3><strong><u>UCLA Bruins</u></strong></h3>
Is this a Pac-12 vs. Big Ten commentary more than anything? We all know that the Big Ten is clearly the best conference in college basketball this season. It is a big reason why Michigan State made the field of 68 to begin with. The Spartans scored some big wins and beat both #1 seeds from the conference and also Ohio State.

UCLA’s resume is a lot less exciting, especially because the end of the year featured four straight losses. The Bruins fell in overtime to eventual Pac-12 winner Oregon State in the conference tournament on the heels of losses to Colorado, Oregon, and USC. Even in the non-conference, UCLA lost to San Diego State and Ohio State. This is a Bruins team that went 2-6 in Quadrant 1 games, 3-3 in Quad 2 games, and padded some numbers by going 12-0 against Q3 and Q4 teams.

This is also a UCLA team that fell on the right side of variance in close games with a record of 10-3 in games decided by six or fewer points. So, no, it isn’t all about the gap between the Big Ten and the Pac-12. UCLA just doesn’t have a savory profile, even if Michigan State has plenty of warts as well.

What does UCLA do well? The Bruins do turn the ball over only 16.6% of the time, which ranks in the top 60 nationally. They’ve also made just shy of 37% of their three-point shots, a skill that will have to be on display here tonight if the Bruins want to have a good chance of advancing. The problem is that UCLA only takes a three 31.7% of the time, which ranks 300th in the nation.

The worst part for the Bruins is that this is the second year for defensive-minded head coach Mick Cronin and the Bruins are not good defensively. Their 50.7% eFG% against ranks 196th in the nation. They don’t force turnovers. They do rebound well overall and especially on the defensive end, but this is a hard profile to love.
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<h3><strong><u>Michigan</u></strong><strong><u> State</u></strong><strong><u> Spartans</u></strong></h3>
Speaking of hard profiles to love, Michigan State went 5-10 in Quadrant 1 games, but 10-2 against teams Quad 2 or lower. Unfortunately, you face a lot of really good teams in the Big Ten on a regular basis. At the time, Duke was a Quad 1 game back in December and that was a big non-conference win, but we saw what the Blue Devils did from that point forward.

Recency bias seems to be a big deal in the eyes of the Selection Committee. Nobody thought Michigan State had a chance to make the Dance with a 4-9 record in conference play and a 10-9 record overall, but Sparty went 5-2 over the last seven conference games, including wins over Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan, so that was enough for the Committee to give MSU the benefit of the doubt.

The Committee seemed to have its mind made up and ignored the 11-point loss to Maryland in Indianapolis during the Big Ten Tournament.

The Spartans have one of the lower turnover rates in the country on defense, which is both a byproduct of the Big Ten, where ball security is high, and also that this just isn’t that great of a defense. Opponents have only made 31.5% of their three-point attempts against the men from East Lansing. Michigan State has only made 32% of its own shots from beyond the arc.

This is a very experienced team, though. Upperclassmen play the bulk of the minutes and sophomore Malik Hall played a good amount as a freshman. UCLA is a team led by sophomores primarily, so it will be interesting to see which team has more poise in this win or go home format.
<h3><strong><u>Pick &amp; Analysis</u></strong></h3>
This game looks like an under to me. Games with high levels of importance are often played to slower tempos. UCLA will be happy to oblige, as they play at a glacial pace under Cronin. Michigan State is much quicker on the tempo side, but also a poor offensive team, so it would behoove them to slow it down.

Fouling at the end of the game would obviously be a concern, so maybe the FIRST HALF UNDER is the best look here at 63. I would anticipate a feeling-out process between these teams as well. There wasn’t a lot of non-conference basketball this season and these are two good coaches that should have been able to accomplish a lot during film study.

The official pick will be the full-game under, just to ensure that everybody has access to it, but I do think a slow start is my preferred course of action because teams foul religiously to extend games when they have one opportunity to extend the season.
<h4><strong>Pick: Under 135</strong></h4>
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UCLA vs. Michigan State College Basketball Free Pick and Preview 3/18/21

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