Utah Utes vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 12/31/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Utah Utes vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Thursday, December 31, 2020

Location: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom in Los Angeles, CA

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Utah (+6.5)

The UCLA Bruins (5-2) host the Utah Utes (4-1) at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Thursday. Utah opens this game as 6.5-point underdogs. The O/U opens at 137.

Utah heads into this one with a win-loss mark of 4-1 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 73.8 points per outing (162nd in Division 1) while going 43.4% from the floor. The Utes are connecting on 34.7% on shots from 3-point land (35 of 101) and 72.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Utah is collecting 34.2 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 84 dimes this year, which has them ranked 221st in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 11.0 times per contest and as a group are committing 15.8 fouls per game. Defensively, the Utes are forcing 18.4 turnovers every game and they draw 18.6 personal fouls. They rank 57th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 63 conceded for the campaign. The Utes defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.7% (118 of 290) and they relinquish 39.6 boards per game as a group. They relinquish 25.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 43rd in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (62.2).

The Utah Utes stepped onto the hardwood against the Idaho Vandals and earned the victory with a final of 79-41 in their last game. Utah wrapped up the game with a 40.0% FG percentage (26 out of 65) and converted 6 out of their 23 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Utes buried 21 of 23 attempts for a rate of 91.3%. In relation to hauling in rebounds, they earned 42 with 14 of them being offensive. They also dished out 16 assists for this contest in addition to earning 13 steals and 6 blocked shots. With regard to defense, Utah allowed their opponent to shoot 40.0% from the floor on 26 of 65 shooting. Idaho doled out 8 dimes and had 8 steals in this matchup. On top of that, the Vandals grabbed 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive) and earned 6 rejections. Idaho finished the game shooting 83.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 5 of 6 shots. They knocked down 4 of their 23 attempts from downtown.

Timmy Allen is a guy who was a major contributor in this game. He accumulated 22 points on 6 out of 13 shooting. He saw the court for 25 mins and snagged 6 boards. Allen finished the game at 46.2% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists. Someone else that had an impact in this contest for the Utes was Pelle Larsson. He totaled 3 rebounds and also accumulated 2 dimes. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the floor for the contest by shooting 4-of-8 (15 points). Overall, Larsson played 20 minutes.

UCLA has a win-loss record of 5-2 on the campaign. The Bruins have committed 17.3 fouls per contest and they connect on 70.7% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 16.0 times per contest (70th in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.6 times per contest. UCLA has accumulated 541 pts this season (77.3 per game) and they pull in 37.9 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Bruins are shooting 46.2% from the floor, which is ranked 135th in the nation. The Bruins on defense are ranked 127th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 67.4. The UCLA defense allows 28.7% on 3-pointers (50 of 174) and their opponents are making 74.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 12.3 dimes and 31.7 rebounds per contest, which is 141st and 60th in the nation. They are able to force 13.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 41.5% from the field (151st in the nation).

In their last game, the UCLA Bruins walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-70 when they faced the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Bruins were able to pull down 18 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 for this game. They stuffed 2 attempts while earning 3 steals in this game. The Buckeyes had 19 fouls for this game which got the Bruins to the free throw line for a total of 24 tries. They were able to knock down 18 of them for a rate of 75.0%. When talking about shooting from downtown, UCLA buried 4 of 13 tries (30.8%). At the conclusion of this game, the Bruins shot 24 for 60 from the field which gave them a rate of 40.0%. The Bruins allowed the Buckeyes to convert 25 of their 50 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.0% for the contest. They finished the game shooting 36.4% from distance by shooting 8 out of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 19 out of 26 from the free throw line (73.1%). In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, UCLA permitted Ohio State to pull down 28 in total (8 on the offensive side).

Cody Riley ended up being a factor for the Bruins for the matchup. He made 7 of 9 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 77.8%, which had him finishing with 15 points. Riley snagged 5 rebounds in his 21 mins played and tallied 2 assists in the matchup. Someone else that ended being a contributor for UCLA was Johnny Juzang. He ended up finishing with 13 points in his 31 minutes on the court via 5 out of 13 from the floor for this contest. Juzang finished going 38.5% from the floor while contributing 2 dimes and 3 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCLA (-6.5)

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