Long Beach vs Arizona Odds, Prediction | How to Bet March Madness Matchup

It's not often that a No. 2 seed stumbles into the NCAA Tournament, but the Arizona Wildcats did. In the big picture, the Wildcats had a dominant season, going 25-8 and winning a Pac-12 regular-season title.

However, they also nearly lost the regular-season title down the stretch to Washington State, who beat them twice. Then they were bounced in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament by the eventual champions, the Oregon Ducks.

Arizona will now have a chance to start clean and begin its run to a national title by facing off against Long Beach State. The Beach come into the NCAA Tournament off a Cinderella run through the Big West Conference tournament after finishing fifth in the regular season.

Long Beach State's run to the big dance was quite unprecedented. Its run in the Big West tournament came after dropping its last five games of the regular season.

If you haven't seen much of this team, don't worry, you're in the majority. The one thing that stands out about Long Beach State is its tempo. The Beach have the 13th-fastest tempo in terms of average offensive possession length in the country.

They parlay that with a lot of hustle on the offensive glass, ranking 53rd in offensive rebounding rate. They also move the ball well, as they were No. 1 in the Big West in assist-to-field goal ratio.

While hustling is a big part of their identity, the numbers show that it made up for poor shooting throughout the season. Long Beach State is not a threat from the perimeter and is ranked 255th in effective field goal percentage.

In addition, it has yet to play a team anywhere near the caliber of the Arizona Wildcats. Long Beach State will be greatly undersized on the glass, and its up-tempo style plays into the strength of Arizona as well.

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I highlighted a lot of Arizona's journey to this point in the open. However, all its recent turmoil puts it in a prime spot to come out and dominate. This game will be played at a high tempo, which the Wildcats thrive in. They were the eighth-fastest team in terms of average offensive possession length.

But unlike their opposition, the Wildcats are highly efficient at a fast pace, as they ranked eighth in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency. That number stems from ranking 26th in effective field goal percentage and 16th in offensive rebounding rate, all while being slightly above average in turnover rate.

Arizona can beat teams from anywhere. The Wildcats have elite size on the inside with Oumar Ballo, and they can also stretch the floor with the dynamic backcourt of Kylan Boswell and Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love.

We should see Arizona's offense firing on all cylinders against a Long Beach State team that is below average defensively.

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The Wildcats are projected to roll in this game, as everything seems to be in their favor. The pace of this matchup has already been adjusted to by the market — as the total has gone up two points since opening — but there is still one way we can get in on the total.

As I mentioned above, Arizona has to be a bit disappointed with how its season ended, dropping games to conference opponents and losing out on a Pac-12 tournament title.

With six days since their last game, they should be ready to go from the jump. Add their efficiency to a fast-paced game, and we should see a significant number on the scoreboard in the first half.

Take the over on Arizona's first-half team total.

Pick: Arizona 1H Team Total Over 44.5 (-115)