Utah vs California Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for December 29 (Utes Crush Golden Bears at Haas Pavilion)

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Utah vs California Game Info

2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
Utah (9-4, 2-0 Pac-12) vs. California (1-12, 0-2 Pac-12)
Date: Thursday, December 29, 2022
Time: 10:00 PM ET
Venue: Haas Pavilion -- Berkeley, California

The 2022-23 college basketball season continues on Thursday with a thrilling matchup between the Utah Utes and California Golden Bears. Utah fell short in a 75-71 loss to TCU its last time out (Dec. 21), but remains unbeaten in conference play. Gabe Madsen racked up 26 points in the close defeat.

Meanwhile, California took care of business in a 73-51 win over Texas-Arlington on Dec. 21 to snap a dismal 12-game losing streak in 2022. The Golden Bears were led by Lars Thiemann and Joel Brown, who each logged 17 points. Kuany Kuany chipped in with 16 points (3-of-5 shooting) off the bench.

Utah vs California Odds & Spread

All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: UTAH: (-550) | CAL: (+420)
Spread: UTAH: -10.5 (-104) | CAL: +10.5 (-118)
Total: 128.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Utah enters this contest as clear road favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 10 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 128.5 points, which is below average compared to Thursday's projected totals.

Utah vs California Betting Trends

Utah is 7-6-0 against the spread this season.
The Utes are 4-2 as 10.5-point favorites or more.
There have been four Utah's games (out of 13) that hit the over this year.
Against the spread, Cal is 5-7-0 this season.
As 10.5-point underdogs or more, the Golden Bears are 4-0 against the spread.
This year, six of Cal's 12 games have gone over the point total.

Utah Rank	Utah AVG		Cal AVG	Cal Rank
142nd	74.8	Points Scored	59.2	359th
39th	62	Points Allowed	66.3	115th
6th	39	Rebounds	27.7	354th
135th	9.5	Off. Rebounds	6.6	332nd
193rd	7.4	3pt Made	4.3	361st
91st	15	Assists	9.8	355th
256th	13.3	Turnovers	12.8	206th

Utah vs California Prediction & Pick

The Utes had a golden opportunity to defeat a ranked opponent in TCU, but couldn't overcome their sloppy play. Utah missed eight free throws and turned the ball over 19 times. It was more of the same for a team that ranks outside the top 200 in both free throw percentage and turnovers per game.

The good news is that a matchup against California lines up as a great way to bounce back. The Golden Bears rank 194th in defensive efficiency and has allowed an average of 73.5 points across two Pac-12 games. They also allow an opponent shooting percentage of 43.7% (No. 184 in NCAA).

Utah is 6-2 straight up in its last eight games against California, so I trust the Utes to get the job done.

Final Score Prediction: Utah: 72 | California: 57

Utah vs California Best Bet

The Utes are hungry to get back on track and enter Haas Pavilion with a clear goal in mind. That goal is to make a statement with a 3-0 start in conference play. Utah enters 5-2 against the spread (ATS) in its last seven Thursday games and is averaging a respectable 74.8 points per game (No. 4 in Pac-12).

On the other side, California ranks dead last in the Pac-12 when it comes to points per game (59.2) and is 1-7 ATS in its last eight home games. The Golden Bears are also 0-5 ATS in their last five Thursday games. All signs point to the Utes running up the score in the second half of this matchup.

Bet: Utah Utes -10.5 (-104)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.