UCLA vs Tennessee basketball injury report and prediction, March 22: Latest on J.P. Estrella and more

UCLA vs Tennessee will close out the first day of the second round of March Madness on Saturday. The No. 2-ranked Volunteers (28-7) will take on the No. 7-ranked Bruins. Both teams are coming into the matchup after dominating their first-round opponents.

Both the Bruins and Volunteers were fortunate not to suffer any injuries in the first round of the tournament. However, neither team entered March Madness fully healthy. As a result, the injuries they were previously dealing with could factor into the result on Saturday.

UCLA vs Tennessee basketball injury report

Christian Horry, UCLA

Christian Horry is listed as questionable for UCLA vs Tennessee with an undisclosed injury. However, while his status is questionable, it would be surprising to see him get playing time even if he were fully healthy. As a freshman, Horry has not played a college basketball game for UCLA. He has sat out the whole season and will not suit up against Tennessee.

Evan Manjikian, UCLA

Evan Majikian has been on the Bruins roster since the 2023 season but has not played games since that year. He has been sitting out with an arm injury all season and is not expected to participate in any NCAA Tournament games this year. He is listed as questionable on the injury report.

J.P. Estrella, Tennessee

J.P. Estrella was only able to play three games this season, averaging 4.7 points per game as a decent bench player. Unfortunately for him, he suffered a foot injury in mid-November and has been ruled out for the entire season. So, he will not be available for UCLA vs Tennessee.

UCLA vs Tennessee basketball prediction

Entering this matchup, both teams are coming off convincing wins in the first round. The UCLA Bruins dominated No. 10-ranked Utah State on Thursday, defeating the Aggies 72-47. Tennessee soundly defeated Wofford 77-62 on Thursday, but the scoreline was closer than many pundits expected.

While fans might have wanted to see the Volunteers win by a larger margin, it was still a convincing win, and they enter their second-round matchup as -225 favorites. Conversely, the Bruins are +185 underdogs. UCLA has been up and down lately.

While the Bruins had a strong win in the first round, that does not take away the fact that they lost several games in the lead-up to this tournament. As a result, we predict that Tennessee will win a close game on Saturday.

Prediction: Tennessee 70, UCLA 66