Utah Utes vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 2/18/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Utes vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Sunday, February 18, 2024

Location: Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA

TV: FS1

Pauley Pavilion is where the UCLA Bruins (14-11) will try to defeat the Utah Utes (15-10) on Sunday.

The Utah Utes took the court against USC and went home with a loss by a final score of 68-64 in their last contest. Utah finished the game with a 36.7% field goal percentage (22 out of 60) and knocked down 4 of 21 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Utes converted 16 of 21 shots for a rate of 76.2%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected 35 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 14 assists for the game as well as forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In reference to the defense, Utah allowed 40.6% from the floor on 26 out of 64 shooting. USC distributed 20 dimes and had 10 steals in this game. Additionally, USC collected 32 rebounds (9 offensive, 23 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. USC walked away from this one shooting 61.1% from the charity stripe by knocking down 11 of their 18 tries. They converted 5 of their 25 tries from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Utes ended up finishing with 17 and USC finished the game with 18 personal fouls.

Deivon Smith is a guy who was a contributor in this matchup. He ended up walking away with 19 points on 6 out of 17 shooting. He played 36 minutes played and pulled down 9 rebounds. He finished the contest at 35.3% from the floor and distributed 7 dimes.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Best Bets Picks

Utah heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 15-10 on the campaign. They currently have an average of 78.6 points per contest (68th in the country) while going 46.6% from the floor. The Utes are shooting 35.9% on shots from 3-point land (218 of 607) and 64.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Utah is pulling down 39.6 boards per game and is sitting with 438 assists for the campaign, which ranks 12th in D-1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 11.9 times per game and as a unit they are committing 15.9 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Utes are forcing their opponents into 10.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.1 personal fouls. They are giving up 35.0% on 3-pointers while they are 223rd in the nation in PPG allowed (73.0). The Utes defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 42.3% (676 of 1,599) and they relinquish 36.9 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are 310th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 363 conceded for the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the UCLA Bruins took home the win by a final score of 64-60 against Colorado. With respect to rebounding, UCLA allowed Colorado to collect 27 in total (5 on the offensive glass). They finished 40.0% from 3-point land by shooting 6 of 15 and finished the contest at 6 out of 10 at the free throw line (60.0%). The Bruins allowed Colorado to bury 24 of 46 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 52.2% for the game. When the final whistle blew, the Bruins shot 24 out of 54 from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.4%. With respect to shots from beyond the perimeter, UCLA converted 4 out of 12 attempts (33.3%). They were able to bury 12 of them for a percentage of 66.7%. Colorado had 15 fouls in this game which got the Bruins to the charity stripe for a total of 18 shots. They turned it over 5 times, while earning 4 steals in this contest. The Bruins were able to pull down 17 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 26 in this game.

Sebastian Mack was important for the Bruins in this matchup. He earned 19 points in his 30 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for the matchup. He made 7 of 11 in the game for a field goal percentage of 63.6%, and had 4 rebounds.

UCLA has a record of 14-11 on the campaign. As an offense, the Bruins are shooting 41.8% from the floor, which ranks them 314th in the nation. UCLA has earned 1,653 pts for the season (66.1 per contest) and they pull in 34.7 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 11.4 times per contest (310th in the nation) and they cough up possession 11.3 times per contest. The Bruins have committed 18.3 fouls every game and they hit 71.8% from the charity stripe.

The Bruins on the defensive side of the court are 15th in college hoops in PPG given up with 63.9. They are able to force 12.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.4% from the floor (64th in college basketball). The UCLA defense allows 32.2% on shots from distance (185 of 575) and opponents are knocking down 70.4% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 10.7 dimes and 31.9 boards per game, which is ranked 28th and 38th in those defensive categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Utah

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here