Utah vs. UCLA Pick
Which team will pick up a needed win in Pac-12 play when UCLA plays host to Utah at 11PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, UCLA is favored at home, as the Bruins are getting odds of -6.5 points against Utah. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 154 points. Tonight’s game takes place from Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California and will air live on ESPN2.
Utah has lost back-to-back home games to Arizona State and Arizona coming into tonight. The Utes are 10-5 overall, 2-2 in the Pac-12 and 7-5-1 against the spread. Utah is putting up 76.2 points per game this season while giving up just 69.4 per game. The Utes are being led this season by David Collette, who is averaging 13.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Justin Bibbins is adding 13.7 points and 4.8 assists per game.
UCLA is coming off a 107-84 win at Cal for its fifth win in six games. The Bruins are now 12-4 overall, 3-1 in the Pac-12 and 7-9 against the spread. UCLA has covered the spread in four of its last five games. It is averaging 85.6 points per game on offense this season while allowing 77.4 on defense. Aaron Holiday is leading UCLA with 19.4 points and 5.3 assists per game while Thomas Welsh is adding 12.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per contest.
The road team has won the last two meetings in this series and Utah is 5-2 against the spread in the last seven meetings with the Bruins. UCLA is just 9-20 against the spread in its last 29 conference games and 0-8 ATS in its last 8 following a win of more than 20 points. Utah should be desperate tonight against a team it has had success against. I think the Utes make this a very close contest. The public betting is backing Utah as well.
CBB DAILY PREDICTION: UTAH +6.5