Arizona vs. Princeton: 2023 NCAA Tournament Odds, Preview & Predictions

Mar 12, 2023 - 10:50 PM

March Madness is officially here! The 2023 NCAA Tournament Bracket has been announced, and the teams are lining up for the Big Dance. Let’s take a look at the early odds, previews, and predictions for the 2023 NCAA Tournament Round 1 game: Arizona Wildcats vs. Princeton Tigers.

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2023 March Madness Odds, Preview & Predictions: Arizona vs. Princeton

Arizona vs. Princeton Odds, Spread & Match Up Overview

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Arizona 2023 NCAA Tournament Betting Preview

After losing a lot of talent from last year, Tommy Lloyd has his current crew locked and loaded and seemingly poised for a solid tournament run. This Wildcats team is all offense, with a top-10 adjusted offensive efficiency and a top-25 ranked team in pace of play. This squad is a lot of fun to watch. Arizona runs effective sets, which leads to high assist rates and blowouts. But when the Wildcats’ offense doesn’t show up, the blowouts work both ways. Arizona lost games by double digits to teams like Utah and Washington State. But Arizona has been good in neutral-court games, having taken down San Diego State and Creighton in such contests.

This is a difficult team to prepare for, but Arizona is not immune from a bad game here and there. In their 81-66 loss to Utah, the Wildcats shot 28 threes, making only four of them. Kerr Kriisa is a “shoot out of a slump” kind of guy, which can be Arizona’s kryptonite if he’s having an off day. Their playing style also means they’re in very few close games — Arizona played fewer than five one-possession games all season. I can’t imagine that trend will continue in the tournament, and the Wildcats’ lack of experience late in games might bite them.

If Arizona’s sub-50th-ranked defense can step up at the right moments, the sky is the limit. The Wildcats have shown up against some of the best defenses in the nation and are quite the difficult team to prepare for if an opponent is unfamiliar with their style. This team should be a lot of fun to follow in March.

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Princeton 2023 NCAA Tournament Betting Preview

The Ivy League representative is always a difficult out in the tournament, and Princeton has to be planning on wreaking havoc with their all-around play. Offensively, the Tigers rank 108th in adjusted offensive efficiency with some pretty solid interior play, scoring at a 54 percent clip inside the arc. They take care of the ball well but don’t rebound at a high rate, so they will have to be hot, as their second-chance opportunities won’t be too often.

Defensively, however, they take away their opponents’ second chance looks with an effective perimeter defense. Tosan Evbuomwan and Keeshawn Kellman made up one of the best frontcourts in the Ivy, and their ability to kick to shooters like Matt Allocco and Caden Pierce – the Ivy League’s freshman of the year – makes their offense difficult to maintain. On paper, there is nothing flashy about Princeton, but their grit with Mitch Henderson at the realm will lead to a tough out.

Round 1 & First Four Betting Picks & Predictions

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East

West

Midwest

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The post Arizona vs. Princeton: 2023 NCAA Tournament Odds, Preview & Predictions appeared first on BettingPros.

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