Samford vs Arizona Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/18/24

The Samford Bulldogs and the Arizona Wildcats meet Wednesday in college basketball action from McKale Center. Here’s a Samford vs Arizona prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Samford vs Arizona pick. We will examine:

The Samford Bulldogs’ recent form and player performance

The Arizona Wildcats’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Samford Bulldogs

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Arizona Wildcats

Recent betting trends in games played between Samford and Arizona

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Samford vs Arizona game

Samford Bulldogs Betting Preview

The Bulldogs beat Mississippi College, Rhodes, North Alabama, and Texas Southern in their first five games before a loss to Michigan State. Samford has since beaten North Dakota State, Utah Valley, West Georgia, South Carolina State, and Austin Peay in the last five.

Back on December 8 versus Austin Peay, the Bulldogs didn’t have any issues. Samford hit a 26-22 run in the first half and finished with a 46-25 second for a 72-47 blowout. Both Trey Fort and Riley Allenspach scored a team-high 15 points each.

Arizona Wildcats Betting Preview

Over on the Arizona side, they were able to beat Canisius, Old Dominion, and Davidson in their first five games. The Wildcats are just 1-3 since then with losses to Oklahoma, West Virginia, and UCLA (and a win over Southern Utah).

In the UCLA game on Saturday, the Wildcats were down by two after one half. Arizona was outscored 27-26 in the second for a 57-54 loss. Jaden Bradley led the team with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and five steals.

Why the Arizona Wildcats will win

• Arizona has won each of its last 17 games at McKale Memorial Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Samford has lost seven of its last eight Wednesday night road games against non-conference opponents.

Why the Samford Bulldogs will win

• Samford has won eight of its last nine games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Samford vs Arizona Prediction

I’m going to try Samford here. The Bulldogs rolled past Austin Peay in their last game (despite a slow start and 40.9 percent shooting) with a 46-33 rebounding edge and 18 assists. Samford has scored 72 or more points during all five games of this current win streak and 84 or more in four of them.

As for Arizona, they put up a good fight versus a talented UCLA team in their last outing but ended up with 22 turnovers for 27 Bruins points. The Wildcats have played some pretty stiff teams this year and been competitive, but just can’t get over the hump during this 2-5 run. I think Samford can keep a cover pace here. Should be an interesting matchup.