Arizona Wildcats vs Utah Utes Prediction, 2/8/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Arizona Wildcats vs Utah Utes

Date: Thursday, February 8, 2024

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

TV: PAC12

The Utah Utes (15-7) are hosting the Arizona Wildcats (17-5) at Jon M. Huntsman Center on Thursday.

The Arizona Wildcats stepped onto the hardwood against Stanford and walked away with a win by a score of 82-71 in their last game. Arizona ended the contest having earned a 47.7% field goal percentage (31 out of 65) and made 6 of their 18 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats converted 14 of 18 attempts for a rate of 77.8%. In regard to grabbing boards, they compiled 40 with 14 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 21 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and having 6 steals. In regard to the defense, Arizona allowed 38.2% from the field on 26 of 68 shooting. Stanford doled out 20 assists and had 7 steals in this contest. Additionally, Stanford snagged 31 rebounds (10 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Stanford ended up going 83.3% at the free throw line by making 5 of their 6 shots. They converted 14 of their 33 attempts from downtown. Concerning fouls, the Wildcats ended up with 11 while Stanford recorded 16 fouls.

Oumar Ballo is one guy who was a factor in the matchup. He finished 66.7% from the floor and totaled 2 assists. He saw the court for 29 mins played and grabbed 13 boards. He finished with 18 points on 8 out of 12 shooting.

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Arizona enters this contest with a record of 17-5 on the year. They average 89.0 pts per contest (3rd in the country) while going 49.0% from the floor. The Wildcats are shooting 36.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (168 of 460) and 72.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Arizona is collecting 43.2 rebounds per game and has 418 dimes on the year, which ranks 6th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 12.3 times per game and as a group they are committing 16.0 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are forcing 14.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.3 personal fouls. They surrender 34.7% on 3-point attempts and they rank 192nd in college basketball in PPG allowed (72.0). The Wildcats defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.4% (579 of 1,365) and they surrender 31.1 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They currently rank 272nd in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 315 relinquished for the campaign.

In their last game, the Utah Utes took home the win by a final score of 73-68 when they faced Colorado. The Utes were able to snag 30 defensive boards and 4 offensive boards totaling 34 in this contest. They turned the ball over 14 times, while earning 6 steals in this contest. Colorado was called for 18 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Utes to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They were able to bury 14 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 70.0%. In reference to 3-point shots, Utah buried 7 of their 22 tries (31.8%). When the game finished, the Utes ended up shooting 26 out of 56 from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.4%. The Utes permitted Colorado to make 25 of their 66 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 37.9% for the contest. They finished 30.0% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 6 out of 20 and ended up shooting 12 out of 17 from the free throw line (70.6%). In relation to how they attacked the glass, Utah permitted Colorado to grab 39 in total (12 offensive).

Gabe Madsen was important for the Utes in this game. He made 7 of 12 in this game for a rate of 58.3%, and earned 2 rebounds. He accumulated 21 points in his 30 minutes of playing time and accounted for 1 assist for the matchup.

Utah has a win-loss mark of 15-7 on the year. The Utes are responsible for committing 15.6 personal fouls per game and they connect on 65.5% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 17.2 times per contest (19th in college basketball) and they turn it over 11.7 times per game. Utah has accounted for 1,725 points this season (78.4 per game) and they collect 38.9 boards per contest. As an offensive team, the Utes are hitting on 47.3% from the field, which is 57th in college hoops.

The Utah defense allows 35.3% from downtown (184 of 521) and their opponents are making 65.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 14.0 assists and 36.0 boards per game, which is 289th and 248th in those categories. The Utes are ranked 169th in the country in points given up per game with 71.2. They are forcing 11.0 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.1% from the field (103rd in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Utah

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