NCAAB Odds, Pick for Arizona State vs Utah

Two teams in the middle of the Pac-12 standings meet in Salt Lake City on Saturday night as the Utah Utes host the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Arizona State jumped out to a promising 4-0 start in league play, but the Sun Devils have dropped seven of their past eight games.

Meanwhile, Utah is coming off a heartbreaking triple-overtime loss to conference leader Arizona on Thursday and is 6-6 in Pac-12 action.

Here's NCAAB odds and a pick for Arizona State vs. Utah.

Bobby Hurley’s squad won 23 games and made the NCAA Tournament last season, but a March Madness spot this season may be a stretch.

The Sun Devils are riding a five-game slump and coming off a 12-point loss at Colorado on Thursday.

ASU has the worst defensive efficiency of any team in conference play and is also shooting only 30.6% from 3-point range, which is also last in Pac-12 action.

Defensively, the Sun Devils are allowing league opponents to shoot 54.2% on 2-point tries, the worst mark in the conference. However, Arizona State has limited one Pac-12 team to less than 50% shooting on 2-point attempts — Utah. ASU held the Utes to 45.7% shooting on 2-point attempts on January 4.

The Sun Devils, as 6.5-point underdogs, hit 12 3s and took care of the Utes in Tempe that night.

In the first three Pac-12 games (all wins), ASU knocked down at least 10 3s, but the Sun Devils have drilled 10 3-pointers in a game just once in their past nine contests.

Guard Frankie Collins has been fairly consistent in terms of scoring in Pac-12 play as he's averaging 14.9 points per game. However, he's struggled at the line, where he's shooting just 60.3%. 

Second-leading scorer Jose Perez (12.4 ppg) had some nice outputs against Oregon and USC (20 points each), and had a 26-point performance in the win over Utah. However, Perez was limited to three points on 1-of-13 shooting from the floor in the losses to California and Colorado.

The Sun Devils have won four straight meetings with the Utes, although only one of those victories came in Salt Lake City, a two-point triumph in 2022.

Utah brought a perfect 12-0 home record into Thursday’s showdown with Arizona, which is ranked fifth in the nation, according to KenPom. 

The Utes erased a 16-point second-half deficit to force overtime with the Wildcats, but couldn’t get over the hump in any of the three overtimes in a 105-99 defeat. 

Utah has gone through a roller coaster ride in Pac-12 play. The Utes started 2-0 in conference play, but are now 6-1 at home and 0-5 on the road.

Luckily for the Utes, Saturday’s game is at the Huntsman Center, where Utah owns a 4-2 record against the spread as a favorite against conference opponents.

The Utes rank first in Pac-12 play in defensive 2-point percentage and are limiting foes to 46.1% shooting. In Utah’s six wins, it has given up 41% shooting or lower on 2-point tries, but in the six losses, the Utes have yielded 51% shooting or higher on 2s four times.

Center Branden Carlson was limited to 14 points against Washington and Colorado before exploding for 27 points and 15 rebounds in the loss to Arizona. 

Guard Gabe Madsen scored only three points against Arizona State last month, but has turned in a pair of solid performances with a combined 38 points over the past two games.

One thing Utah needs to improve on is its awful free-throw shooting, which ranks last in Pac-12 play (57.4%). However, in the Utes’ six Pac-12 losses, only two have come by six points or fewer, so even in the games in which they were poor from the line, that hasn’t made a real difference in the final score.

Arizona State has played well against Utah recently and dispatched the Utes earlier this season. However, it's clear Utah is a different team at home and I don't expect a letdown after the tough loss to Arizona.

Let's lay the points with Utah to bounce back and beat Arizona State soundly.

Pick: Utah -11.5 (Play to -12)

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