UCLA Bruins vs Utah Utes Prediction, 2/23/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs Utah Utes

Date: Thursday, February 23, 2023

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

TV: ESPN+

The Utah Utes (17-11) will take on the UCLA Bruins (23-4) at Jon M. Huntsman Center on Thursday.

The UCLA Bruins faced off with California and walked away with a win by a score of 78-43 in their last contest. UCLA walked away from the contest having earned a 51.7% FG percentage (30 of 58) and converted 6 out of their 20 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Bruins converted 12 of 15 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they compiled 40 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 19 assists in this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Regarding defense, UCLA allowed their opponent to shoot 22.0% from the field on 11 out of 50 shooting. California doled out 4 assists and had 7 steals for the matchup. Furthermore, California snagged 25 rebounds (6 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't have a block. California finished the game shooting 78.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 18 of their 23 shots. They buried 3 of 11 shots from downtown. Regarding personal fouls, the Bruins finished with 15 and California accounted for 13 personal fouls.

Jaime Jaquez is a guy who was a contributor for the matchup. He left the arena with 20 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He played 26 mins played and pulled down 8 boards. He ended up going 54.5% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes.

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UCLA heads into this game with a mark of 23-4 so far this year. They are turning it over 10.4 times per contest and as a group they commit 15.3 fouls every game. As a team, UCLA is snagging 35.7 boards per contest and has earned 402 dimes on the campaign, which is 93rd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Bruins are connecting on 35.7% on shots from downtown (171 of 479) and 71.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 74.1 points per contest (126th in the nation) while hitting 46.5% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Bruins have forced 16.6 turnovers per game while drawing 16.1 personal fouls. They are giving up 30.7% on 3-point attempts and they are 6th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (59.4). The Bruins defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 40.6% (581 of 1,431) and they surrender 31.6 rebounds per game as a team. They currently rank 55th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 303 relinquished for the year.

In their last game, the Utah Utes walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 67-59 when they played Arizona State. When discussing rebounding, Utah permitted Arizona State to snag 24 overall (6 on the offensive side). They finished 20.0% from beyond the perimeter by going 3 of 15 and finished the game at 8 of 10 from the free throw line (80.0%). The Utes permitted Arizona State to make 28 out of 63 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 44.4% in the game. Overall, the Utes shot 23 for 60 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.3%. With respect to shots from distance, Utah buried 6 out of their 25 tries (24.0%). They were able to bury 7 of the free throws for a rate of 63.6%. Arizona State had 15 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Utes to the charity stripe for a total of 11 shots. They turned the ball over 17 times, while getting 1 steal in the matchup. The Utes corralled 27 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards totaling 39 in the matchup.

Marco Anthony was important for the Utes for this contest. He had 12 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and had 3 assists in this game. He knocked down 5 out of 11 for the matchup for a rate of 45.5%, and totaled 7 rebounds.

Utah has a win-loss mark of 17-11 for the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Utes are hitting on 43.7% from the field, which ranks 238th in the country. Utah has scored 1,955 points for the season (69.8 per contest) and they collect 39.4 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 14.7 times per contest (78th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 12.2 times per game. The Utes are committing 15.0 fouls per contest and they shoot 71.6% from the charity stripe.

The Utah defense concedes 28.6% from downtown (172 of 601) and opponents are making 66.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 12.6 assists and 34.8 boards every game, ranking them 180th and 235th in those categories on the defensive end. The Utes defensively are ranked 26th in college basketball in PPG given up with 62.9. They have forced 10.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.9% from the field (8th in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Utah

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