Late night college basketball is ready for a matchup in the Pac-12 between the Utah Utes (14-5, 5-3 Pac-12) and the Washington State Cougars (13-6, 4-4 Pac-12) on Wednesday. Utah just pulled out a strong home win over Oregon 80-77, but did not cover as 6.5-point favorites. Washington State is coming off a tough road loss, going down 81-75 in overtime to California as 1.5-point favorites. These teams met earlier this season, with Utah winning easily by 22 at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 10:00 EST from Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington and can be found on the Pac-12 Network.
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Conference play is heating up in the likely last season of the Pac-12, and Utah has now won three of their last four games. All three of those wins came at home, as they defeated UCLA, Oregon State and Oregon, with a loss to Stanford on the road mixed in the middle. Utah is 5-3 in conference play, but just a half game behind the leaders of the conference as three teams are tied at 5-2. In their last game, they were led by guard Deivon Smith with 24 points in the win over Oregon.
Protected our home court ?? pic.twitter.com/30vbRtxRu7
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 22, 2024
Utah is led in scoring and rebounding by their versatile 7'0 center Branden Carlson with 16.9 PPG and 6.8 RPG. He has the ability to stretch defenses as he has made 29 threes on the season, but can also finish well above the rim. Carlson has scored double figures in each of his last four games with a high of 17 coming against Oregon State in a win. Gabe Madsen is one of the top shooters in the conference, he is a 6'6 senior guard who has knocked down 56 threes on 45.2% shooting from deep. Madsen averages 13.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG. Deivon Smith is a 6'0 senior guard who has only played in the last 10 games, but gives the team a boost in scoring with 10.6 PPG while adding 5.4 APG as a point guard. Keba Keita is a strong inside presence, the 6'8, 230-pound sophomore forward is averaging 10.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG.
The Utes are currently ranked 22nd overall according to KenPom, despite being unranked in the AP Top 25. They rank 21st in offensive efficiency and 45th in defensive efficiency. Utah plays fast, they rank 71st in the nation in pace of play.
Injury Report:
Questionable: G Rollie Worster (9.9 PPG), C Lawson Lovering (7.2 PPG).