Utah vs Arizona: Odds, Picks, Predictions (2/16/23)

Utah visits Arizona in a Pac-12 showdown. Utah is coming off a home win against Colorado, while Arizona is coming off a road loss to Stanford. This should be an interesting matchup because one of Arizona’s few losses was on the road to Utah, so they’ll want revenge. Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this game!

Utah vs. Arizona Prediction & Pick

Prediction: Arizona -10

Arizona looked really bad in their last game against Stanford, especially on defense. This is a prime spot for a rebound.

Azuolas Tubelis needs to get going for Arizona first and foremost. He’s in the running for Player of the Year this year in all of college basketball and rightfully so. He leads the team in points, rebounds, and steals per game. Oumar Ballo has been a great sidekick to Ballo down l0w, and one of the most improved players in the entire country. He’s second in scoring and leads the team in blocks per game for the season. Kerr Kriisa and Courtney Ramey are huge keys for Arizona in the backcourt and have consistency issues, but can also get very hot when needed. Kriisa also leads the team and the Pac-12 in assists per game for the season.

As a team Arizona excels more on offense than on defense. They’re top-10 in points scored and top-15 in field goal percentage. They’re also 4th in the country in rebounding.

On the other side, Utah’s been a good team most of the year. They have a do-it-all center in Branden Carlson who leads the team scoring, rebounds, and blocks per game for the season. Gabe Madsen has also been a good player for Utah on the wing and is second on the team in scoring. Lazar Stefanovic and Marco Anthony also provide some good depth and production on the wing for the Utes.

As a team, Utah excels more on defense than on offense. They’ve been inconsistent at offense outside of Carlson and Madsen.

Arizona is at home, is coming off a loss, and already lost to Utah in an upset this season. This is a spot that screams Arizona is going to cover and cover easily. Utah is a good team, but they’re not going to be a match for Arizona in this game.

Utah vs. Arizona Odds

Arizona is a 10-point home favorite against Utah and there’s no money line odds available yet. The over/under is also listed at 147.5. Arizona being this much of a favorite makes sense because it’s a big rebound spot for them at home, even though Utah is a decent team. The over/under also makes sense because Arizona usually dictates the pace and each team will get a lot of possessions to score. This spread should stay where it’s at before tip-off.

Utah vs. Arizona Key Matchups

Can Ben Carlson matchup with Azuolas Tubelis? Can Oumar Ballo matchup with Branden Carls0n?

Azuolas Tubelis vs Ben Carlson

Azuolas Tubelis has been playing like one of the best players in college basketball this season. He averages 20 points, 2 assists, and 9 rebounds per game this season. He’ll be matched up against Ben Carlson most of the game, who averages 5 points and 5 rebounds per game for the season. Carlson has a big matchup because of how good Tubelis is on offense. This should be an interesting matchup because if Carlson can do anything against Tubelis offensively or defensively, then Utah has real chance here.

Branden Carlson vs Oumar Ballo

Branden Carlson has been great for Utah this year and caused Arizona a lot of problems the last time they played. He averages 17 points, 2 assists, and 8 rebounds per game for the season. He’ll be matched up against Oumar Ballo most of the game, who averages 15 points, 2 assists, and 9 rebounds per game for the season. This is a big matchup in this game because Carlson caused issues for Ballo last time because he can shoot from the outside, while Ballo is more of a traditional center. If Ballo can matchup against Carlson well in this game then Arizona will have a great shot at winning.