Arizona vs Memphis | Prediction & Pick

Wildcats and Tigers no strangers to March Madness

Two programs with a history of selection into the NCAA Tournament return after one-year absences as the No. 5 seeded Arizona Wildcats tangle with the No. 12 seeded Memphis Tigers in a second round game on Friday in Tulsa.

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#12 Memphis (25-9, 10-6 Conference USA) vs. #5 Arizona (27-7, 14-4 Pac-10)

Date/Time: Friday, March 18, 2:45 PM ET
Venue: Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa, OK.
Broadcast: CBS

Money Line: Arizona -255, Memphis +215
Spread: Arizona -6
Over/Under: 139

The Tigers qualified for the tournament by defeating UTEP tow in the Conference USA championship game, finishing the game with a 17-4 to win by one point. The Tigers played just six teams that are in the tournament, but went 3-3 against them.

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After missing the tournament in 2010, the Tigers are back for the seventh time in the last eight years, and for the 33 rd time in program history. Memphis has won at least two tournament games in each of the last four tournament appearances, and they haven’t been bounced out of the tournament in just one game since Arizona State knocked them off in 2003.

The Wildcats won the regular season title in the Pac-10 Conference. They’ve been a ranked team in the Top 25 much of the season, but haven’t fared well against good competition this season. Counting the three conference foes which qualified for the big dance, Arizona finished the season with a 5-6 record against tournament teams, including losses to Kansas and BYU.

Like Memphis, the Arizona program is back in the dance after sitting out in 2010. Before that, they had played in every NCAA Tournament held since 1985 – a string of 25 consecutive appearances.

The current Wildcats squad is led by the play of Derrick Williams, who was recently named the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Williams finished second in league and tops on the team in scoring with a 19.1 per game points average. Williams also finished fourth in the league in rebounds at 8.1 per game, and was the conference’s best shooter from the floor with a 61.5% field goal percentage.

The Tigers counter with four players averaging more than nine points per game: Will Barton (12.3 PPG), Joe Jackson (9.9), Tarik Black (9.2), and Wesley Witherspoon (9.0). Black shoots from the floor at a 53.1 percent field goal completion rate.

The odds makers have the Arizona Wildcats as a -6 point favorite with an over/under of 139.

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Prediction: This game will feature some athletic skill all over the floor, as both teams will try to use their speed to win the game. In the end, we think Arizona will win but by the slimmest of margins.

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Arizona Wildcats Betting Trends:

• Arizona is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games
• Arizona is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Arizona’s last 7 games