NCAA Tournament Predictions: 6. UCLA vs. 11. Minnesota

By Kels Dayton
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Updated: March 18, 2013

Guard Shabazz Muhammad

6 UCLA (25-9, 13-5 Pac-12)- The Bruins are led by super-freshman Shabazz Muhammad, who will be one of the top picks in the NBA Draft come June. Muhammad has the capability to take over games, and rebounds very well for a 2-guard at 6-6. Despite Muhammad’s star power, this team shares the ball well, ranking 11th in the country in assists. Point guard Larry Drew II is a terrific distributor and does an outstanding job of running the team. He averages 7.4 assists per game.

UCLA lost second-leading scorer Jordan Adams to a broken foot on the final play of their conference semifinal win over Arizona State. That injury could cripple the Bruins’ chances of advancing far in the NCAAs and probably hurt their seeding. Adams was averaging 15.3 points per game.

KEY STATS:

28th Points Per Game (74.7)

11th Assists Per Game (11.7)

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Forward Trevor Mbakwe (AP)

11 Minnesota (20-12, 8-10 Big Ten)- The Gophers have a ton of athletes and a tremendous inside presence in forward Trevor Mbakwe (10.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg). Senior forward Rodney Williams is also a handful inside (10.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg), and the all-Hollins backcourt of Austin and Andre (no relation) is terrific. Still, the Gophers have been maddeningly inconsistent and have collapsed under the pressure of the Big Ten schedule.

Minnesota backed its way into the field, going 5-11 in its final 16 games after starting the season 15-1. The Gophers have some terrible losses (at Nebraska, at Purdue) down the stretch and will not have much confidence heading into the tournament.

KEY STATS:

5-11 Last 16 games

17th Rebounds Per Game (38.8)

50th Assists Per Game (14.8)

PREDICTION: UCLA

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