Utah Utes vs Missouri Tigers Prediction, 12/18/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Utes vs Missouri Tigers

Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: Mizzou Arena in Columbia, MO

TV: SEC Network

The Missouri Tigers (5-5) are hosting the Utah Utes (7-3) at Mizzou Arena on Saturday.

The Utah Utes played Manhattan and notched a win by a score of 96-62 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Utes ended up with 22 while Manhattan totaled 20 fouls. They knocked down 5 out of their 20 attempts from 3-point land. Manhattan shot 67.9% when shooting free throws by making 19 of 28 tries. On top of that, Manhattan snagged 23 boards (10 offensive, 13 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Manhattan distributed 10 dimes and had 6 steals in the matchup. With regard to defending, Utah allowed the other team to shoot 32.8% from the field on 19 out of 58 shooting. They also distributed 26 assists for this game while forcing the other team into 6 turnovers and getting 4 steals. With respect to rebounding, they collected 39 with 10 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Utes made 16 of 18 attempts for a percentage of 88.9%. Utah ended with a 58.3% field goal percentage (35 out of 60) and converted 10 out of their 18 shots from downtown.

Lahat Thioune is a guy who was a major contributor in this game. He ended up walking away with 16 points on 4 out of 5 shooting. He played 13 mins and also grabbed 7 rebounds. He shot 80.0% from the floor and also distributed 1 assist.

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Utah will take the court with a record of 7-3 this season. They are turning it over 10.8 times per contest and as a unit are committing 15.1 fouls per contest. As a team, Utah is collecting 40.5 boards per contest and has accounted for 151 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 120th in the country in terms of passing. The Utes are hitting 32.6% on shots from beyond the arc (75 of 230) and 79.7% from the free throw line. They average 74.6 points per game (122nd in the country) while hitting 43.2% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Utes are able to force 8.9 turnovers per game while drawing 18.3 personal fouls. They concede 25.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 105th in college hoops in PPG allowed (65.0). The Utes defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 40.2% (246 of 612) and they surrender 35.4 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are ranked 91st in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 110 relinquished on the year.

The last time they took the court, the Missouri Tigers took a defeat with a final score of 102-65 against Kansas. The Tigers were able to pull down 14 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 24 in the game. They coughed up the ball 18 times, while getting 7 steals for this game. Kansas committed 16 fouls in this game which took the Tigers to the free throw line for a total of 17 tries. They were able to convert 12 of the free throws for a rate of 70.6%. Regarding three-point attempts, Missouri converted 5 of their 16 attempts (31.3%). When all was said and done, the Tigers finished the game shooting 24 out of 55 from the field which had them shooting 43.6%. The Tigers allowed Kansas to make 33 out of their 59 attempts from the field which had them shooting 55.9% in the game. They finished the game shooting 51.9% from distance by connecting on 14 of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 22 out of 32 at the charity stripe (68.8%). Regarding rebounding, Missouri permitted Kansas to snag 33 in all (11 on the offensive side).

Javon Pickett ended up having an impact for the Tigers for the matchup. He racked up 19 points in his 33 mins on the court and accounted for 2 assists in the matchup. He converted 8 out of 12 in this matchup for a rate of 66.7%, and accounted for 3 rebounds.

Missouri has a mark of 5-5 so far this year. The Tigers commit 16.3 fouls every game and they hit 70.3% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 12.0 times per game (265th in college basketball) and they are giving up possession 15.1 times per contest. Missouri has accounted for 664 points so far this season (66.4 per contest) and they average 37.8 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Tigers are shooting 41.3% from the floor, which has them ranked 295th in D-1.

The Tigers are ranked 158th in D-1 in points given up per game with 67.3. They are forcing 14.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.5% from the field (266th in college basketball). The Missouri defense surrenders 37.6% on three-point shots (80 of 213) and their opposition knocks down 60.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 11.8 assists and 32.2 boards per contest, which is 138th and 78th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Utah

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