Arizona vs Princeton Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 16 NCAA Tournament Game (Don't Expect Big Upset)

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Arizona vs Princeton Game Info

2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
No. 8 Arizona (28-6) vs. Princeton (21-8)
Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023
Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
Venue: Golden 1 Center -- Sacramento, California
Coverage: TNT

The 2023 NCAA Tournament continues on Thursday with an exciting Round of 64 matchup between the No. 15 Princeton Tigers and No. 2 Arizona Wildcats. Princeton is back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2017, while Arizona is making its eighth appearance in the last nine NCAA tournaments.

Princeton enters as a victor in five of its last six games after taking down Yale by a score of 74-65 to win the Ivy League title. Meanwhile, Arizona has now won six of its last eight games thanks to a 61-59 victory over UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship game.

Which team will come out on top on Thursday? Let's dig in.

Arizona vs Princeton Odds & Spread

All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: ARIZ: (-1400) | PRINCE: (+800)
Spread: ARIZ: -14.5 (-110) | PRINCE: +14.5 (-110)
Total: 154.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Arizona enters this contest as a massive favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 4:10 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 154.5 points, which is above average compared to Thursday's projected totals.

Arizona vs Princeton Betting Trends

Against the spread, Arizona is 18-16-0 this season.
Against the spread as 13.5-point favorites or more, the Wildcats are 5-6.
Out of 34 Arizona's games so far this year, 18 have gone over the total.
Princeton has covered the spread 15 times in 27 games.
There have been 16 Princeton games (out of 27) that went over the total this year.

Arizona Rank	Arizona AVG		Princeton AVG	Princeton Rank
4th	82.7	Points Scored	76	78th
224th	71.5	Points Allowed	68.6	134th
11th	36.1	Rebounds	35.8	15th
156th	8.8	Off. Rebounds	8.7	165th
55th	8.6	3pt Made	8.5	62nd
2nd	19.2	Assists	13.4	150th
292nd	13.1	Turnovers	11.9	185th

Arizona vs Princeton Prediction & Pick

Princeton's offense is centered around Tosan Evbuomwan, who is averaging a reliable 15.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists on the year. The versatile big man (6-foot-8, 217 pounds) would've given the Tigers a chance at earning an upset in the right matchup, but Arizona is far from the right matchup.

The Wildcats are strong in size with Oumar Ballo (7-foot) and Azuolas Tubelis (6-foot-11) guarding the paint on every possession. Taking away Princeton's top offensive threat would give Arizona a chance to run away in this one, as it ranks 11th in average scoring margin this season (+11.2) for a reason.

The Wildcats have won 13 of their last 15 games as a favorite, so trust Arizona to avoid a big upset.

Final Score Prediction: Arizona: 87 | Princeton: 70

Arizona vs Princeton Best Bet

Arizona needs to make sure it isn't looking past Princeton here, but it is worth noting the Wildcats are in the same region as offensive powerhouses like Alabama and Baylor. Finding an offensive groove as early as possible will be crucial to building momentum. Early shooting woes would be concerning.

Look for the Wildcats to come out firing as a reult and never take their foot off the gas pedal. They are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last five games overall and have tallied an impressive 19 wins by a double-digit margin this year. Head coach Tommy Lloyd will have his boys ready to go on Thursday.

Bet: Arizona Wildcats -14.5 (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.