The No. 10 seed UCF Knights will battle the seven-seeded UCLA Bruins in a first-round matchup in the East Region of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Friday. Two of the top 12 assist leaders in the country will face off in this matchup. UCLA’s Donovan Dent, who piled up 250 assists at 7.6 per game, and UCF’s Themus Fulks, who dished out 214 at 6.7 per game. UCF (21-11) lost to Big 12 champion Arizona 59-81, while UCLA (23-11) lost to Big 12 tournament champion Purdue 73-66. UFC has some high-profile wins, including Texas Tech and Kansas, but has lost four of five entering the NCAA Tournament. This is UCF’s first NCAA tournament since 2019, and just the first time since joining the Big 12. 

Tipoff from the Xfinity Mobile Arena at Aztec Bowl in Philadelphia, Pa., is set for 6:25 p.m. ET. The Bruins are 5.5-point favorites in the latest UCLA vs. UCF odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 152.5. Before making any UCF vs. UCLA picks,  check out the men’s college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the NCAA tournament on a sizzling 11-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks. 

Now, the model has simulated UCLA vs. UCF 10,000 times and just revealed its men’s college basketball picks and March Madness predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball lines for UCF vs. UCLA:

Top UCLA vs. UCF predictions

After 10,000 simulations of UCLA vs. UCF, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (152.5 points). The total has gone over in five of the Bruins’ last seven games played on a Friday. UCLA is also 5-0 against the spread in its last five games.

The model projects the Knights to have four players score 10.7 points or more, including Themus Fulks, who is projected to score 14.7 points. The Bruins are projected to have five players score 13.3 points or more, led by Tyler Bilodeau, who is projected to score 20.3 points. The model is projecting the Over to clear in 52.5% of simulations. See the spread pick at SportsLine.

How to make UCLA vs. UCF picks

The model also says one side of the spread is the better value. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.

So who wins UCLA vs. UCF, and which side of the spread is the better value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to back, all from the advanced model that has simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.

The first day of the NCAA Tournament is in the books, and the results were mostly disappointing for teams from the West.

Of the five teams competing on Thursday, only No. 13-seed Gonzaga survived, defeating 4-seed Kennesaw State.

Thursday’s scores and Friday games appear below.

Henderson’s rink – Lisa Davie, Hailey Duff, Katie McMillan and Watt – are competing in their first World Championships after their recent national championship win in Dumfries. Sophie Jackson’s rink, who represented Great Britain at the Winter Olympics, were absent from that competition.

“This week maybe wasn’t about making play-offs for us, it was more about gaining the experience and enjoying the week as a whole, so we will want to finish out strong against Norway and are just out to try our best and enjoy our last game,” added Watt.

Having beaten Australia so comfortably earlier in the day, the Scots looked to be heading for another victory when they led Italy 4-1 after five ends.

But Stefania Constantini’s rink struck back with a three at the sixth end and, although the Scots took a single to lead 5-4, the Italians scored at the final two ends to secure a victory that keeps them in the running for a play-off place.

Switzerland, who lead the way with nine wins and one defeat, hosts Canada, Japan and Sweden have secured their places in the play-offs.

South Korea, China, Turkey and Italy are vying for the two remaining places.

Lille suffered the same fate as Lyon, losing at Aston Villa (0-2) after an identical defeat in the first leg. McGinn and Bailey secured the qualification, ending the run of French clubs in the Europa League.

In the Conference League, Strasbourg booked their place in the quarter-finals despite a draw against Rijeka (1-1, 2-1 in the first leg), 46 years after their last appearance at this stage.

In biathlon, Lou Jeanmonnot claimed her first overall World Cup title in Oslo, also securing the sprint globe two weeks after winning the individual one.

In handball, France defeated Spain (29-26) in a friendly match, for the debut of head coach Talant Dujshebaev.

In tennis, 17-year-old Moïse Kouamé won his first Masters 1000 match in Miami, defeating American Zachary Svajda (5-7, 6-4, 6-4), ranked 96th in the world.

Finally, in EuroLeague, Monaco won away at Efes Istanbul (98-93), while Paris lost at home to Partizan Belgrade (81-90).

Streisand has been absent from the track since the Blue Diamond, but post-race occurrences have reinforced her position for this Saturday’s Golden Slipper, Clinton McDonald notes.

The trainer out of Cranbourne expressed particular joy at Chayan confirming the Blue Diamond form with an impressive triumph in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes held at Randwick March 7.

Chayan placed second behind Streisand in the Group 2 Blue Diamond Prelude before fading behind her and others in the Group 1 Blue Diamond February 21, fueling McDonald’s optimism for Rosehill’s $5 million Group 1.

He considers the Magnus-sired filly the standout of her age group among fillies and relishes her shot at proving it across 1200 metres this weekend.

“We’ve met her twice and beaten her twice,” McDonald said of Chayan.

“I feel my filly is the best filly in the land at the moment and she’s probably the best two-year-old, because she’s been the most consistent from the spring to the autumn.

“She’s had five starts for two seconds, two wins and an unlucky fifth on the track where you couldn’t make ground. She’s been consistently good the whole way through.”

Streisand earned victories in the Blue Diamond and Blue Diamond Prelude post a fifth in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Preview, having been edged out closely in last spring’s Listed Maribyrnong Trial and $500,000 Inglis Banner.

Streisand and Shiki stand as the only pair in this year’s Golden Slipper with five outings, a factor McDonald deems advantageous for the four-week rest.

Just three horses in 40 years have taken the Slipper after four or more weeks off, Courtza included – trained by Ross McDonald for the 1989 Diamond/Slipper double.

Five two-year-olds total have doubled up on Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper wins, colt Sepoy managing it in 2011 as the latest.

Bon Hoysted, McDonald’s grandfather via his mother, prepped Manikato for the achievement in 1978.

“I followed a bit of the same path as dad did with Courtza and we’re going straight to the Slipper (from the Blue Diamond), but we feel that she’s got the race smarts and the race sense to be able to do that,” he said.

Barrier 11 is Streisand’s spot in the Slipper, potentially becoming nine without the third and fourth emergencies, with her gate 10 Diamond win instilling McDonald with barrier confidence.

“It was a slow tempo, but she still sat wide and sprinted off it, so I think she’s in it right up to her ears,” he said.

“She can race on speed, she can race back, she goes on wet and dry. She’s got no chinks in her armour.”

For the Blue Diamond, as before, Ben Melham partners Streisand while aiming for a repeat Golden Slipper glory after She Will Reign in 2017.

Visit premier betting sites to check the latest racing betting markets for the Golden Slipper.

Linus Sebastian, host and founder of the popular YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips, recently criticized the platform over its introduction of 30-second unskippable ads. During Linus Tech Tips’ The WAN Show podcast on March 13, 2026, Linus questioned the platform directly, asking, “Will 30 seconds be enough for you?” For context, Google had rolled out these longer unskippable ads on YouTube for TV in early March 2026.

Speaking on the YouTube podcast, Sebastian stated:

“My only question for YouTube is when will it be enough and can you stop inupifying the service? Because I heard they just added 30 second unskippable ads to TVs. Will 30 seconds be enough for you?” (Timestamp – 2:34:23)

Linus Sebastian further questioned YouTube’s motive behind introducing 30-second unskippable ads, stating:

“Are we just going to go all the way back to cable TV with like 3 minute ad breaks? Can we not?”

Linus Tech Tips highlights YouTube’s massive ad revenue, surpassing major media giants combined

In the same podcast, highlighting the scale of YouTube’s ad-driven business model, Linus Sebastian stated that “YouTube makes more money from ads than Disney, Paramount, and Warner Bros. combined.” Citing data from research firm Moffett Nathanson, he noted:

“It turns out YouTube makes more money from ads than Disney, Paramount, and Warner Bros. combined. According to research firm Moffett Nathanson, YouTube earned 40.4 billion in ad revenue, while Disney, NBC, Paramount, and Warner Bros. earned 36.1 billion combined.” (Timestamp – 2:32:58)

He further added that, according to its parent company, Alphabet, YouTube had generated 60 billion dollars in ad revenue in 2025:

“Parent company Alphabet confirmed last month that in 2025 YouTube generated 60 billion with a B in revenue which still trails behind Meta which generated 196.2 billion in ad revenue.”

In other news, several former Linus Tech Tips employees have transitioned into independent creators, launching their own YouTube channels after leaving Linus Media Group.