Utah Utes (9-4) vs. California Golden Bears (1-12)
The college hoops betting action goes on Thursday, December 29, with the Pac-12 Conference showdown from Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, California, where the Utah Utes square off against the California Golden Bears with the tip-off at 10:00 PM ET.
The Utes open as firm 10.5-point road favorites, searching for their fourth consecutive win against the Golden Bears. The totals are listed at 127.5 points, so let’s take a closer look.
After stopping their five-game winning streak with a 75-66 defeat at BYU on December 17, the Utah Utes (9-4; 7-6 ATS; 2-0 conf.) suffered a tough 75-71 home loss to the No. 20 TCU on December 21. The Utes trailed the Horned Frogs for most of the game and by as many as ten points, finishing the game with eight missed free throws and a 15/19 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Also, the Utes allowed 15 offensive rebounds to TCU and went 8-for-23 from beyond the 3-point line. Junior guard Gabe Madsen led the way for Utah with a season-high 26 points, senior guard Marco Anthony had 15 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, while senior center Branden Carlson posted a line of 14 points, nine boards, three assists, and five blocks.
.@ballerbranden35 takes sole possession of 4th all time with this denial!
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?#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/zWw1EhthOg
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) December 22, 2022
Utah has won its first two games in the conference play, outlasting No. 4 Arizona 81-66 and Washington State 67-65 in overtime in the process. The Utes are No. 41 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 49 in the KenPom rankings. They score 106.6 points per 100 possessions (83rd in the country) on 50.9% shooting from inside the arc (198th) and 37.2% from downtown (63rd). Utah leans on its defense, giving up 92.5 points per 100 possessions (33rd) on 41.2% shooting from inside the arc (9th) and 26.0% from deep (5th).