Nebraska Cornhuskers vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 3/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Location: Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA

TV: FS1

The UCLA Bruins (19-9) are hosting the Nebraska Cornhuskers (24-4) at Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers took the court against USC and went home with a win by a final score of 82-67 in their last game. Nebraska ended with a 44.1% field goal percentage (30 of 68) and made 8 out of their 23 three-point shots. At the free throw line, the Cornhuskers converted 14 of their 15 attempts for a percentage of 93.3%. In regard to rebounding, they earned 38 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 20 assists in the matchup while creating 13 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In terms of defense, Nebraska let their opponent shoot 45.1% from the field on 23 out of 51 shooting. USC recorded 17 dimes and had 5 steals for the game. Moreover, USC snagged 20 rebounds (4 offensive, 16 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. USC finished the game at 94.4% at the charity stripe by burying 17 of their 18 shots. They made 4 out of their 21 tries from 3-point land. When it comes to personal fouls, the Cornhuskers ended up walking away with 17 and USC accumulated 15 personal fouls.

Pryce Sandfort is someone who was a contributor in the game. He racked up 32 points on 12 out of 21 shooting. He played 38 mins played and also snagged 6 rebounds. He finished 57.1% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists.

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Nebraska will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 24-4 on the year. They have an average of 78.5 points per contest (125th in college) while connecting on 47.0% from the field. The Cornhuskers are shooting 35.7% on 3-point shots (304 of 851) and 76.1% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Nebraska is pulling down 35.1 boards per contest and has tallied 510 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 20th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are turning it over 9.5 times per game and as a team they commit 14.5 fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Cornhuskers are forcing 13.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.6 personal fouls. They currently rank 183rd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 385 surrendered for the year. The Cornhuskers defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 39.6% (650 of 1,640) and they surrender 35.0 rebounds per game as a squad. They are conceding 29.7% on shots from distance and they are 16th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (65.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the UCLA Bruins took a defeat with a final score of 78-73 against Minnesota. Concerning rebounding, UCLA allowed Minnesota to grab 19 overall (2 offensive). They finished shooting 52.2% from 3-point land by connecting on 12 of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 8 of 9 from the free throw line (88.9%). The Bruins permitted Minnesota to bury 29 of their 50 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 58.0% in the matchup. In all, the Bruins ended up shooting 29 out of 57 from the field which had them at 50.9%. In the matter of 3-pointers, UCLA converted 10 of 24 tries (41.7%). They were able to convert 5 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 83.3%. Minnesota committed 8 fouls for the game which got the Bruins to the free throw line for a total of 6 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 5 times, while getting 3 steals in this game. The Bruins corralled 20 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 for this game.

Tyler Bilodeau ended up being a major contributor for the Bruins for the contest. He scored 32 points in his 36 mins on the hardwood and had 2 dimes for the matchup. He converted 13 out of 21 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 61.9%, and totaled 8 rebounds.

UCLA has a win-loss mark of 19-9 for the season. The Bruins have committed 17.4 personal fouls every game and they connect on 76.8% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 15.6 times per game (89th in the country) and they are turning it over 9.2 times per game. UCLA has scored 2,183 points for the campaign (78.0 per game) and they collect 32.3 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Bruins are hitting on 46.7% from the floor, which is 103rd in college.

The UCLA defense allows 30.9% from downtown (219 of 708) and opponents are connecting on 75.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 14.4 dimes and 33.4 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 267th and 116th in those defensive categories. The Bruins are ranked 108th in college in points per game surrendered with 71.4. They have forced 12.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.1% from the floor (118th in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCLA

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