Utah Valley Wolverines vs Utah Utes Prediction, 12/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Valley Wolverines vs Utah Utes

Date: Saturday, December 16, 2023

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

TV: PAC12

The Utah Utes (7-2) welcome the Utah Valley Wolverines (6-4) at Jon M. Huntsman Center on Saturday.

The Utah Valley Wolverines faced off with Oregon State and took a loss by a final of 74-71 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Wolverines ended up with 22 while Oregon State totaled 20 personal fouls. They converted 7 of 18 shots from three-point range. Oregon State walked away from this one shooting 70.8% at the charity stripe by burying 17 of their 24 attempts. Furthermore, Oregon State snagged 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Oregon State recorded 11 dimes and had 3 steals in the game. In relation to defense, Utah Valley allowed the other team to shoot 51.0% from the floor on 25 out of 49 shooting. They also dished out 11 assists in this game in addition to forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and having 8 steals. With respect to grabbing boards, they collected 16 with 1 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Wolverines buried 16 of 21 attempts for a percentage of 76.2%. Utah Valley ended having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (24 out of 48) and converted 7 of their 16 shots from distance.

Caleb Stone-Carrawell is one guy who played a role for this game. He recorded 19 points on 6 of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 29 minutes played and also pulled down 1 board. He finished the game at 46.2% from the field but finished the game without an assist.

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Utah Valley enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 6-4 on the season. They are averaging 69.2 points per contest (295th in D-1) while hitting 45.2% from the field. The Wolverines are shooting 28.4% on shots from distance (54 of 190) and 67.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Utah Valley is pulling in 34.0 rebounds per game and has accounted for 146 dimes this season, which is 125th in D-1 in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.4 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 18.0 fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Wolverines are forcing 13.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They currently rank 161st in the country in giving up assists with 120 conceded so far this season. The Wolverines are giving up a FG percentage of 41.3% (233 of 564) and they surrender 36.1 boards per game as a basketball team. They are conceding 30.8% on 3-pointers and they rank 80th in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (66.4).

For their last game, the Utah Utes got the victory with a final of 73-69 when they played BYU. The Utes were able to corral 28 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards for a total of 34 in the matchup. They gave up possession 13 times, while getting 4 steals for the matchup. BYU had 20 fouls for this game which took the Utes to the free throw line for 13 attempts. They were able to knock down 9 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 69.2%. When talking about shots from distance, Utah buried 8 of their 26 attempts (30.8%). When all was said and done, the Utes ended up shooting 28 out of 57 from the field which had them shooting 49.1%. The Utes permitted BYU to make 26 of 71 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 36.6% for the contest. They went 23.3% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 7 of 30 and ended up shooting 10 out of 18 from the free throw line (55.6%). In the matter of team rebounding, Utah allowed BYU to get 36 overall (15 on the offensive side).

Gabe Madsen was important for the Utes in the matchup. He recorded 17 points in his 36 minutes on the court and tallied 3 dimes in this contest. He made 6 out of 11 for this contest for a rate of 54.5%, and had 4 rebounds.

Utah has a mark of 7-2 this year. As an offensive team, the Utes are hitting on 48.2% from the field, which ranks 54th in the nation. Utah has scored 726 points on the campaign (80.7 per game) and they grab 39.4 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 17.2 times per contest (34th in Division 1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.0 times per contest. The Utes are committing 15.1 fouls per contest and they go 71.2% from the charity stripe.

The Utah defense allows 34.4% on three-point shots (85 of 247) and opponents are converting on 62.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 14.3 assists and 33.7 total boards per game, which is 295th and 124th in those defensive categories. The Utes on defense are ranked 216th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 72.0. They have forced 10.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.5% from the floor (181st in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Utah Valley

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