Utah Utes vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, 12/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Utes vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024

Location: Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD

TV: BTN

The Iowa Hawkeyes (8-3) will take on the Utah Utes (8-2) at Sanford Pentagon on Saturday.

The Utah Utes stepped onto the hardwood against Florida A&M and walked away with a win by a score of 89-59 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Utes ended up walking away with 18 while Florida A&M recorded 17 fouls. They also knocked down 9 out of their 27 shots from long range. Florida A&M walked away from this one shooting 71.4% at the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of their 14 attempts. Moreover, Florida A&M had 24 boards (7 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Florida A&M earned 11 assists and had 3 steals in this matchup. In regard to defense, Utah allowed the other team to shoot 37.7% from the floor on 20 out of 53 shooting. They also recorded 25 dimes in the matchup in addition to forcing 18 turnovers and earning 11 steals. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they earned 34 with 10 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Utes made 10 of their 24 shots for a rate of 41.7%. Utah finished the game with a 54.8% field goal percentage (34 out of 62) and buried 11 of their 29 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Mason Madsen is someone who played a role for the matchup. He finished the game at 55.6% from the floor and also earned 2 dimes. He played 22 mins and collected 4 rebounds. He racked up 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting.

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Utah enters this game with a win-loss record of 8-2 so far this season. They are averaging 86.6 pts per game (14th in the country) while going 48.6% from the field. The Utes are shooting 38.2% from downtown (113 of 296) and 64.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Utah is snagging 42.4 rebounds per game and has racked up 210 dimes for the year, which ranks 19th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 10.8 times per game and as a group they are committing 17.5 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Utes are able to force 13.7 turnovers every game while drawing 18.3 personal fouls. They currently rank 44th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 115 conceded on the season. The Utes defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 37.0% (218 of 589) and they concede 34.3 boards per contest as a unit. They are conceding 31.0% on 3-pointers while they are 31st in D-1 in points per game allowed (64.0).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Iowa Hawkeyes walked away with a victory by a final of 104-57 against New Orleans. The Hawkeyes earned 27 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 in the matchup. They coughed it up 6 times, while recording 9 steals in this matchup. New Orleans had 7 fouls for the game which took the Hawkeyes to the free throw line for a total of 9 tries. They were able to bury 6 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 66.7%. With regard to shots from downtown, Iowa converted 14 of 29 tries (48.3%). Overall, the Hawkeyes went 42 out of 67 from the field which had them at 62.7%. The Hawkeyes allowed New Orleans to make 25 of 67 tries from the field which had them shooting 37.3% for the contest. They went 16.7% from distance by hitting 4 out of 24 and ended up shooting 3 of 5 at the free throw line (60.0%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Iowa allowed New Orleans to grab 28 overall (12 offensive).

Owen Freeman ended up being a factor for the Hawkeyes in this game. He converted 10 of 12 in this matchup for a rate of 83.3%, and had 4 rebounds. He scored 22 points in his 19 mins of playing time and had 2 dimes for this game.

Iowa has a win-loss record of 8-3 for the season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Hawkeyes are connecting on 49.9% from the field, which ranks them 22nd in the nation. Iowa has scored 959 pts for the year (87.2 per contest) and they grab 34.3 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 20.0 times per game (3rd in the country) and they cough up possession 10.1 times per game. The Hawkeyes are committing 14.0 fouls every game and they connect on 67.8% from the free throw line.

The Hawkeyes on the defensive side of the court are 239th in the country in points allowed per contest with 73.3. They are forcing 16.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 44.9% from the floor (272nd in Division 1). The Iowa defense surrenders 27.7% on shots from 3-point land (72 of 260) and their opposition makes 67.1% of their foul shots. They give up 13.7 assists and 39.0 total boards per game, ranking them 239th and 337th in those categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Utah

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