Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Utah Utes Prediction, 1/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Utah Utes

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

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

TV: ESPN+

Jon M. Huntsman Center is the site where the Utah Utes (8-4) will take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-3) on Saturday.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders took the court against UCF and ended up losing by a score of 87-83 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Red Raiders ended up with 17 while UCF accounted for 18 personal fouls. They made 10 of 23 tries from long range. UCF finished the game at 86.4% from the charity stripe by making 19 of their 22 shots. In addition, UCF collected 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. UCF totaled 9 assists and had 4 steals in the game. In terms of the defense, Texas Tech allowed the other team to shoot 51.8% from the field on 29 of 56 shooting. They also recorded 13 dimes for this game while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In the matter of pulling down boards, they collected a total of 29 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Red Raiders made 14 of their 18 attempts for a percentage of 77.8%. Texas Tech ended the game having earned a 45.8% FG percentage (33 out of 72) and knocked down 3 of their 16 shots from 3-point land.

JT Toppin is one player who came through for the game. He racked up 26 points on 11 of 19 shooting. He played for 28 mins and totaled 10 rebounds. He went 57.9% from the floor and totaled 2 assists.

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Texas Tech comes into this contest with a record of 9-3 on the year. They turn it over 10.8 times per contest and as a squad they commit 14.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Texas Tech is pulling in 37.8 boards per game and has racked up 215 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 98th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Red Raiders are connecting on 39.2% on shots beyond the perimeter (114 of 291) and 79.2% from the free throw line. They have an average of 86.0 points per game (18th in the country) while going 51.1% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Red Raiders are forcing their opponents into 14.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 15.3 fouls. They currently rank 18th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 126 conceded this year. The Red Raiders are allowing a shooting percentage of 40.5% (278 of 687) and they surrender 30.4 rebounds per contest as a group. They are conceding 35.0% on three-point shots and they are ranked 46th in college in opponents points per game (65.3).

For their last game, the Utah Utes took a defeat with a final score of 81-56 against Baylor. The Utes were able to collect 25 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in this contest. They coughed up the ball 17 times, while getting 8 steals for this game. Baylor was called for 18 fouls in this contest which got the Utes to the free throw line for a total of 13 attempts. They were able to knock down 7 of the free throws for a percentage of 53.8%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Utah converted 7 out of their 30 tries (23.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Utes ended up going 21 out of 66 from the field which had them at 31.8%. The Utes permitted Baylor to knock down 28 of 69 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 40.6% in this matchup. They finished the game shooting 28.1% from distance by hitting 9 out of 32 and walked away from this one shooting 16 out of 18 at the free throw line (88.9%). When it comes to rebounding, Utah permitted Baylor to pull down 44 in total (13 on the offensive glass).

Hunter Erickson was important for the Utes in this contest. He earned 13 points in his 22 minutes on the court and accumulated 1 assist for this contest. He made 5 of 7 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 71.4%, and added 5 rebounds.

Utah has a win-loss record of 8-4 for the campaign. The Utes are committing 17.5 personal fouls every game and they hit 63.9% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 20.9 times per contest (1st in college) and they turn the ball over 11.4 times per game. Utah has 1,010 pts on the season (84.2 per contest) and they collect 41.3 boards per contest. When it comes to offense, the Utes are hitting on 47.4% from the floor, which ranks 85th in the nation.

The Utah defense surrenders 31.6% on 3-point attempts (93 of 294) and opponents are connecting on 72.1% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 11.9 assists and 34.7 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 100th and 197th in college. The Utes on the defensive side of the court are 101st in D-1 in points given up per game with 68.0. They are able to force 13.4 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.8% from the field (30th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Utah

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