Washington Huskies vs Utah Utes Prediction, 12/31/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington Huskies vs Utah Utes

Date: Sunday, December 31, 2023

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

TV: PAC12

The Washington Huskies (8-3) are on their way to Jon M. Huntsman Center on Sunday where they will compete against the Utah Utes (9-2).

The Washington Huskies stepped onto the hardwood against Eastern Washington and notched a win by a score of 73-66 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Huskies walked away with 23 and Eastern Washington finished the game with 25 personal fouls. They knocked down 5 out of their 22 attempts from downtown. Eastern Washington ended up going 55.0% at the free throw line by making 11 of their 20 tries. Moreover, Eastern Washington pulled down 31 rebounds (8 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Eastern Washington distributed 13 assists and had 3 steals for the matchup. Pertaining to defending, Washington let their opponent shoot 42.4% from the field on 25 out of 59 shooting. They also distributed 9 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and having 5 steals. With regard to hauling in boards, they collected 30 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Huskies made 19 of their 29 attempts for a rate of 65.5%. Washington ended the game with a 44.2% FG percentage (23 of 52) and knocked down 8 of their 20 shots from beyond the arc.

Keion Brooks is one guy who was a major contributor for this game. He finished the game at 41.7% from the field but finished the game without a dime. He saw the court for 28 mins and also collected 4 rebounds. He finished with 20 points on 5 of 12 shooting.

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Washington will enter this game with a win-loss record of 8-3 for the campaign. They average 83.0 points per contest (42nd in Division 1) while connecting on 48.0% from the field. The Huskies are hitting 34.2% on shots from 3-point land (79 of 231) and 70.7% from the free throw line. As a team, Washington is pulling in 39.1 rebounds per game and has tallied 182 assists so far this year, which ranks 123rd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are giving up possession 13.2 times per game and as a group are committing 19.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Huskies have forced 12.6 turnovers every game while drawing 20.4 personal fouls. They currently rank 117th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 142 conceded for the year. The Huskies defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 41.2% (288 of 699) and they relinquish 35.8 boards per contest as a unit. They give up 29.2% on 3-point shots and they are 271st in the country in points per game from their opponents (74.5).

In their last game, the Utah Utes walked away with a victory by a final of 85-43 against Bellarmine. The Utes collected 32 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 41 in this game. They also coughed it up 10 times, while earning 14 steals in this game. Bellarmine was called for 10 fouls in this matchup which got the Utes to the charity stripe for 6 tries. They were able to convert 4 of them for a rate of 66.7%. In relation to shots from beyond the perimeter, Utah buried 11 out of 27 tries (40.7%). Overall, the Utes went 35 for 70 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 50.0%. The Utes permitted Bellarmine to make 18 of 55 tries from the field which had them shooting 32.7% for this game. They shot 29.4% from beyond the perimeter by going 5 of 17 and finished the game at 2 out of 4 from the charity stripe (50.0%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, Utah permitted Bellarmine to get 29 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Lawson Lovering was important for the Utes for the contest. He buried 8 out of 10 in the matchup for a rate of 80.0%, and totaled 7 rebounds. He totaled 17 points in his 24 mins of playing time and had 3 assists for the contest.

Utah has a mark of 9-2 on the season. As an offensive unit, the Utes are hitting on 48.6% from the floor, which ranks 36th in the nation. Utah has accumulated 887 points for the year (80.6 per game) and they snag 39.6 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 17.7 times per contest (23rd in the country) and they are giving up possession 12.4 times per game. The Utes have committed 14.7 personal fouls every game and they go 71.3% from the free throw line.

The Utah defense gives up 33.6% on shots from beyond the arc (94 of 280) and opponents are converting on 62.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 13.5 dimes and 33.8 boards per game, which is ranked 244th and 122nd in college basketball. The Utes on defense are ranked 119th in Division 1 in PPG surrendered with 68.5. They have forced 11.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.3% from the field (115th in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Washington

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