California Golden Bears vs Utah Utes Prediction, 3/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs Utah Utes

Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024

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

TV: PAC12

Jon M. Huntsman Center is the location where the Utah Utes (16-11) will attempt to defeat the California Golden Bears (13-16) on Saturday.

The California Golden Bears took the court against Colorado and took a loss by a final of 88-78 in their last contest. California wrapped up the game with a 42.0% FG percentage (29 of 69) and made 9 of 31 shots from distance. When they shot from the free throw line, the Golden Bears buried 11 of their 14 tries for a percentage of 78.6%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 29 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 10 assists for the game while forcing 10 turnovers and getting 10 steals. In relation to defense, California allowed the other team to shoot 50.0% from the field on 29 of 58 shooting. Colorado earned 18 dimes and had 8 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Colorado had 38 rebounds (7 offensive, 31 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Colorado finished shooting 79.3% when shooting free throws by making 23 of their 29 tries. They also made 7 of their 16 attempts from long range. With respect to personal fouls, the Golden Bears left the arena with 20 while Colorado totaled 13 personal fouls.

Jaylon Tyson is one player who was a major contributor in the game. He ended up shooting 47.4% from the floor and distributed 4 dimes. He played for 32 minutes and collected 5 boards. He ended up finishing with 25 points on 9 of 19 shooting.

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California enters this contest with a record of 13-16 so far this year. They cough up possession 11.4 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.2 personal fouls per game. As a unit, California is pulling down 37.4 rebounds per game and is sitting with 350 dimes on the campaign, which is 250th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Golden Bears are hitting 34.3% on shots from beyond the arc (256 of 747) and 73.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 75.0 points per game (146th in the nation) while shooting 42.7% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Golden Bears are forcing 10.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.3 personal fouls. They are giving up 35.5% on shots from distance while they are 301st in college hoops in PPG allowed (76.2). The Golden Bears defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.6% (784 of 1,759) and they concede 35.4 boards per game as a squad. They currently rank 171st in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 362 relinquished so far this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Utah Utes took a loss by a score of 89-65 when they played Colorado. In reference to cleaning up the glass, Utah allowed Colorado to get 30 overall (5 offensive). They shot 47.6% from three-point range by shooting 10 out of 21 and finished the game at 15 of 17 at the charity stripe (88.2%). The Utes permitted Colorado to knock down 32 out of 59 tries from the floor which had them shooting 54.2% in this game. When all was said and done, the Utes ended up going 27 for 61 from the field which had them sitting at 44.3%. When discussing shooting from distance, Utah made 4 out of their 23 tries (17.4%). They were able to make 7 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 53.8%. Colorado earned 15 fouls in this game which got the Utes to the free throw line for 13 shots. They also coughed it up 10 times, while getting 2 steals for the game. The Utes were able to corral 21 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 30 in this game.

Gabe Madsen pitched in for the Utes in this game. He converted 7 out of 14 in this contest giving him a rate of 50.0%, and accounted for 4 rebounds. He totaled 18 points in his 36 minutes of playing time and accumulated 1 assist for the contest.

Utah has a mark of 16-11 on the year. The Utes are committing 15.9 personal fouls every game and they go 64.6% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.2 times per game (18th in the nation) and they turn it over 11.7 times per contest. Utah has totaled 2,100 pts on the season (77.8 per game) and they pull in 39.2 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Utes are hitting on 46.4% from the field, which ranks them 88th in the nation.

The Utes on defense are ranked 226th in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 73.4. They are able to force 10.3 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 42.6% from the floor (120th in the nation). The Utah defense gives up 35.0% on 3-point attempts (223 of 637) and their opponents are connecting on 67.7% of their free throw attempts. They give up 14.4 dimes and 36.7 rebounds per game, which is 303rd and 282nd in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take California

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