UCLA Bruins play Southern Jaguars in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Southern Jaguars (21-14, 18-3 SWAC) at UCLA Bruins (30-2, 18-2 Big Ten)

Los Angeles; Friday, 10 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: No. 1 UCLA plays Southern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins are 18-2 against Big Ten opponents and 12-0 in non-conference play. UCLA is the top team in the Big Ten with 40.8 points in the paint led by Lauren Betts averaging 15.9.

The Jaguars’ record in SWAC play is 18-3. Southern ranks eighth in the SWAC with 30.9 rebounds per game led by Aniya Gourdine averaging 4.8.

UCLA averages 6.9 made 3-pointers per game, 2.3 more made shots than the 4.6 per game Southern allows. Southern averages 5.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.6 fewer makes per game than UCLA gives up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Betts is averaging 19.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks for the Bruins. Londynn Jones is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Dakiyah Sanders is averaging 4.4 points, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals for the Jaguars. Soniyah Reed is averaging 12.8 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 8-2, averaging 72.4 points, 34.4 rebounds, 19.0 assists, 6.9 steals and 5.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.0 points per game.

Jaguars: 9-1, averaging 62.5 points, 31.4 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 10.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 39.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 48.2 points.

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