UCLA vs Utah Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for February 23 (Trust the Bruins to Start Hot in Salt Lake City)

UCLA vs Utah Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
• No. 4 UCLA (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12) vs. Utah (17-11, 10-7 Pac-12)
• Date: Thursday, February 23, 2023
• Time: 11:00 PM ET
• Venue: Jon M. Huntsman Center -- Salt Lake City, Utah
• Coverage: Fox Sports 1

The 2022-23 college basketball season continues on Thursday with a great matchup between the No. 4 UCLA Bruins and Utah Utes. UCLA travels to Salt Lake City on a six-game winning streak that includes a 78-43 victory over California on Saturday. Jaime Jaquez Jr. tallied 20 points & 8 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Utah couldn't keep up in a 67-59 loss to Arizona State on Saturday in what was its fourth loss in its last six games. No Utes player scored more than 12 points as the team shot just 38.3% from the floor and logged 17 turnovers. Which Pac-12 squad will emerge victorious on Thursday?

UCLA vs Utah Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: UCLA: (-310) | UTAH: (+245)
• Spread: UCLA: -7.5 (-102) | UTAH: +7.5 (-120)
• Total: 130.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

UCLA enters this contest as a clear road favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 11 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 130.5 points, which is below average compared to Thursday's projected totals.

UCLA vs Utah Betting Trends

• Against the spread, UCLA is 16-11-0 this season.
• Against the spread as 7.5-point favorites or more, the Bruins are 11-7.
• UCLA has played 27 games this year, and 12 of them have hit the over.
• Utah has beaten the spread 14 times in 28 games.
• The Utes don't have a win ATS (0-2) as a 7.5-point underdog or greater this season.
• There have been 10 Utah games (out of 28) that hit the over this year.

UCLA Rank	UCLA AVG		Utah AVG	Utah Rank
124th	74.1	Points Scored	69.8	224th
6th	59.4	Points Allowed	62.9	25th
136th	32.5	Rebounds	36.0	18th
34th	10.4	Off. Rebounds	9.2	122nd
294th	6.3	3pt Made	7.3	192nd
74th	14.7	Assists	14.6	79th
15th	9.8	Turnovers	11.9	171st

UCLA vs Utah Prediction & Pick

This UCLA team is a bit different than the ones that advanced past the first two rounds in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. That is because the Bruins have turned into a defensive juggernaut. They rank third in defensive efficiency and allow only 59.4 points per game this year (No. 5 in NCAA).

That does not bode well for Utah's chances of pulling off an upset. The Utes have allowed an average of 72.3 points over their last three games, which is 9.4 points higher than their season average. They are falling apart at the exact wrong time and now have to face the likes of Jaquez and Jaylen Clark.

UCLA has won six straight games against Utah, so back the Bruins with confidence on Thursday.

Final Score Prediction: UCLA: 71 | Utah: 61

UCLA vs Utah Best Bet

Everything lines up for the Bruins to get off to a hot start here. The Utes are not fully healthy entering Thursday night and are allowing 33.3 first half points over their last three games. UCLA comes to town averaging 36.4 (No. 44 in NCAA) and allowing 27.6 first half points per game (No. 7 in NCAA).

It shouldn't be surprising to learn that UCLA boasts the second-best first half scoring margin in the country (+14.7). Head coach Mick Cronin always puts together a great game plan that focuses on the strengths of his own team and the weaknesses of the other. Expect more of the same against Utah.

Bet: UCLA Bruins First Half -3.5 (-112)

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.