Minnesota Golden Gophers (24-8, 13-6 Big Ten) vs. UCLA Bruins (33-1, 21-0 Big Ten)

Sacramento, California; Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bruins -18.5; over/under is 130.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 2 UCLA faces No. 18 Minnesota in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins are 21-0 against Big Ten opponents and 12-1 in non-conference play. UCLA averages 22.3 assists per game to lead the Big Ten, paced by Charlisse Leger-Walker with 5.6.

The Golden Gophers’ record in Big Ten play is 13-6. Minnesota is fourth in the Big Ten with 11.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Sophie Hart averaging 3.5.

UCLA’s average of 7.5 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.7 more made shots on average than the 6.8 per game Minnesota allows. Minnesota scores 17.7 more points per game (74.6) than UCLA allows (56.9).

The teams meet for the second time this season. UCLA won 76-58 in the last matchup on Jan. 15. Kiki Rice led UCLA with 25 points, and Amaya Battle led Minnesota with 16 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Lauren Betts is scoring 17.1 points per game with 8.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Bruins. Rice is averaging 15.0 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 49.1% over the past 10 games.

Tori McKinney is scoring 12.9 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Golden Gophers. Battle is averaging 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 10-0, averaging 84.2 points, 39.9 rebounds, 22.3 assists, 8.0 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 56.6 points per game.

Golden Gophers: 8-2, averaging 72.9 points, 34.4 rebounds, 16.1 assists, 7.5 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.4 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.