Arizona vs Utah Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for February 16 (Wildcats Pounce on Utes' Slow Start)

Arizona vs Utah Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for February 16 (Wildcats Pounce on Utes' Slow Start)

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Arizona vs Utah Game Info

  • 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
  • No. 8 Arizona (22-4, 11-4 Pac-12) vs. Utah (17-9, 10-5 Pac-12)
  • Date: Thursday, February 16, 2023
  • Time: 10:00 PM ET
  • Venue: McKale Center -- Tucson, Arizona
  • Coverage: Pac-12 Network

Thursday, Feb. 16's NCAA college basketball schedule features a Pac-12 matchup between the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats and Utah Utes at 10 p.m. ET.

Arizona hopes that a return home will help turn things around after Saturday's 88-79 loss to Stanford on the road. Meanwhile, Utah heads back on the road following back-to-back home victories — the most recent being a 73-62 win over Colorado that saw Brandon Carlson and Marco Anthony pace all players with 17 points apiece.

Will Arizona return to its winning ways tonight? Or does Utah have what it takes to send the McKale Center crowd home disappointed?

Arizona vs Utah Odds & Spread

Arizona enters this contest as the heavy home favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 10 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 146.5 points with both sides sitting at -110 odds.

Arizona vs Utah Betting Trends

  • Arizona has 13 wins in 26 games against the spread this year.
  • The Wildcats have an ATS record of 5-8 as 9.5-point favorites or greater.
  • This season, 13 of Arizona's 26 games have gone over the point total.
  • Against the spread, Utah is 14-12-0 this season.
  • The Utes have no wins ATS (0-1) as a 9.5-point underdog or more this season.
  • This year, nine of Utah's 26 games have hit the over.
Arizona Rank Arizona AVG Utah AVG Utah Rank
8th 83.2 Points Scored 70.5 203rd
221st 71.0 Points Allowed 61.8 17th
7th 37.2 Rebounds 36.0 20th
86th 9.7 Off. Rebounds 9.2 126th
48th 8.7 3pt Made 7.2 205th
2nd 19.5 Assists 14.8 77th
300th 13.5 Turnovers 11.7 145th

Arizona vs Utah Prediction & Pick

Utah fans typically dread seeing a game against Arizona on the schedule. After all, Utah has dropped 16 of its last 20 games against its Pac-12 rival. While the Utes notched an 81-66 win over the Wildcats earlier this season, that victory came when the former had the honor of being the home team.

Now, the rivalry shifts to McKale Center — a location where Arizona is 13-1 so far this season. It's also a place where Utah has lost 10 straight games by an average of 10.6 points. It's going to be tough for the Utes to end that streak when they're only scoring 60.3 PPG on the road, whereas the Wildcats average 85.3 PPG at home.

With Utah still being without Gabe Madsen (leg), who averages the second-most points on the team, it's hard to doubt Arizona tonight. The Wildcats will remain strong at home, sending the Utes packing with another loss.

Final Score Prediction: Arizona: 79 | Utah: 67

Arizona vs Utah Best Bet

Playing on the road usually means a slow start for Utah. While the Utes average 36.3 first-half points at home, that number drops to 29.1 on the road. Meanwhile, Arizona averages the fourth-most points by halftime at home (42.7).

Considering how Utah has a minus-1.3 half-time scoring margin over its last three games while Arizona is a plus-13.7 over that span, I won't be shocked if the Wildcats are up big at halftime.

Bet: First-Half Spread — Arizona -5.5 (-120)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. 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.