California Golden Bears vs Utah Utes Prediction, 1/16/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs Utah Utes

Date: Saturday, January 16, 2021

Location: Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, UT

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: California (+10.5)

The Utah Utes (5-5) play the California Golden Bears (6-8) at Jon M. Huntsman Center on Saturday. California opens this contest as 10.5-point dogs. The over/under is set at 134.

California will enter this game with a win-loss record of 6-8 for the year. They currently have an average of 68.2 pts per contest (254th in D-1) while connecting on 45.5% from the floor. The Golden Bears are connecting on 33.7% on shots from distance (103 of 306) and 65.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, California is pulling down 32.4 boards per game and has earned 184 assists on the campaign, which is 52nd in the nation in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 13.6 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.4 fouls per game. On the defensive end, the Golden Bears are able to force 12.2 turnovers per game and they draw 18.4 fouls. They rank 326th in college hoops in giving up assists with 198 surrendered for the season. The Golden Bears are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.9% (357 of 778) and they concede 32.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 40.4% from 3-point land and they are ranked 187th in college basketball in opponents PPG (70.4).

The California Golden Bears played the Colorado Buffaloes and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 89-60 in their last contest. California finished the contest having earned a 42.9% field goal percentage (21 out of 49) and made 7 of their 19 three-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Golden Bears made 11 of their 17 tries for a rate of 64.7%. In regard to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 25 with 3 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 11 assists for this game in addition to having 3 steals and 6 blocks. With respect to defense, California let their opponent shoot 42.9% from the floor on 21 of 49 shooting. Colorado doled out 18 assists and had 6 steals for this contest. Moreover, the Buffaloes snagged 27 rebounds (4 offensive, 23 defensive) and earned 6 blocks. Colorado went 78.6% from the charity stripe by converting 11 of their 14 tries. They also buried 12 of their 21 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Andre Kelly is a guy who was a factor in this matchup. He accumulated 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting. He played for 23 minutes and totaled 4 boards. Kelly finished the game at 85.7% from the field and also earned 2 assists. One more player that was a major contributor in the game for the Golden Bears was Makale Foreman. He collected 4 rebounds and accumulated 2 dimes. He finished shooting 62.5% from the floor in this contest by connecting on 5-of-8 (13 points). When the final whistle blew, Foreman played for 23 min.

Utah has a mark of 5-5 for the year. The Utes commit 17.6 fouls per contest and they hit 71.4% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.4 times per contest (75th in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.5 times per contest. Utah has totaled 695 pts for the campaign (69.5 per game) and they collect 33.2 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Utes are shooting 44.1% from the field, which is 196th in college basketball. The Utes on the defensive end are ranked 72nd in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 65.6. They are forcing 14.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 41.7% from the floor (122nd in Division 1). The Utah defense concedes 32.7% from downtown (69 of 211) and their opposition makes 74.5% of their foul shots. They have allowed 13.3 assists and 37.0 boards per game, which is ranked 206th and 248th in those categories.

When they last stepped on the court, the Utah Utes took home the win by a final score of 79-65 when they played the Stanford Cardinal. The Utes were able to snag 28 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 35 for the contest. They rejected 6 shots while recording 6 steals in the game. The Cardinal had 27 fouls in the matchup which got the Utes to the charity stripe for 30 shots. They were able to bury 25 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 83.3%. When discussing three-point shots, Utah made 4 of their 17 tries (23.5%). At the conclusion of this game, the Utes ended up shooting 25 for 51 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.0%. The Utes permitted the Cardinal to bury 17 of 48 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 35.4% for this game. They shot 50.0% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 9 out of 18 and ended up shooting 22 of 30 from the charity stripe (73.3%). In reference to attacking the glass, Utah allowed Stanford to get 25 overall (6 offensive).

Timmy Allen ended up having an impact for the Utes for the matchup. He buried 6 out of 15 for the contest for a rate of 40.0%, which gave him 22 points. Allen grabbed 8 boards in his 35 mins played and accumulated 5 dimes in this matchup. One more player that ended being a contributor for Utah was Alfonso Plummer. He racked up 16 points in 24 minutes on the court by going 5 out of 9 from the floor for this contest. Plummer ended the game having shot 55.6% from the field and also earning 2 dimes and 2 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take California (+10.5)

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