Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
Utah Utes (12-6) vs. USC Trojans (12-5)
The college basketball betting action continues Saturday, January 14, with plenty of markets to choose from, so we’re taking a closer look at the Pac-12 Conference showdown between the Utah Utes and USC Trojans with the tip-off at 10:30 PM ET.
The Utes head to Galen Center in Los Angeles, California, as 4.5-point underdogs with a total of 135.0 points. They are winless in three straight meetings with the Trojans, and all those three games have gone over the total.
The Utah Utes (12-6; 10-8 ATS; 5-2 conf.) started the conference play with five consecutive victories that includes an 81-66 thrashing of the then-No. 4 Arizona Wildcats. However, the Utes have dropped their last two contests, losing to the Oregon Ducks 70-60 and at the No. 7 UCLA Bruins 68-49.
Last Thursday, the Utes visited the Bruins as 12-point underdogs. Utah shot just 36.7% from the field (6-for-19 from deep) and posted an ugly 9/16 assist-to-turnover ratio while allowing 14 offensive rebounds. Junior guard Rollie Worster had 12 points, while sophomore guard Lazar Stefanovic notched nine points and a couple of steals.
Tonight's Starting ? pic.twitter.com/1JpDnIZp9V
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 13, 2023
Utah is No. 53 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 55 in the KenPom rankings. The Utes score 106.0 points per 100 possessions (114th in the nation) and allow just 92.6 points in return (19th). Their defense ranks fifth in the country in field goal percentage (37.1%), seventh in 3-point percentage (27.3%), and 46th in free throws allowed per game (10.1).