College Basketball Preview: Washington Huskies vs Utah Utes
Written By David Hess (Follow me on Twitter @DavidHess311)
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah
Lines: Utah -8
Total: 158
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The Washington Huskies come in off a 77-72 home loss to Arizona and they have now lost three of their last five games, while the Utah Utes come in off a 76-66 road loss at the hands of the Ducks, which was their 2nd loss in a row. The Utes took the earlier matchup between these teams in Washington by an 80-75 score in a game that went to OT.
Huskies Fall In Tight One To Arizona
The Washington Huskies started the Pac-12 season with a 5-1 mark, but have since they slid down the standings a bit as they have now lost three of their last five games following a 77-72 home loss to Arizona. The game was tight throughout and the Huskies had their chances to win the game, but they just came up a bit short. The Huskies had all five starters score in double figures in the game, but they only got two points from their bench. Leading the Huskies was Andrew Andrews, who had 20 points in the game, while Marquese Chriss had 18 points and lead the team in rebounding with seven. The Huskies had a strong showing from beyond the arc, hitting 6-13 (46.3%) from long range, and held Arizona to just 39.4% shooting overall and just 31.6% from long range, but they were outrebounded by 16 in the game and that may have been the difference.
As they showed vs Arizona, this is not really a deep team as they play about seven players with regularity, with those players all averaging at least 6.4 ppg. Andrew Andrews does lead the team in scoring, putting up 20.6 ppg, while also averaging in double figures for the Huskies is Dejounte Murray, who puts in 15.3 ppg and leads the team in rebounding at 6.3 rpg, and Marquese Chriss, who averages 12.4 ppg. The Huskies are not a great shooting team as they have hit just 42.2% of their shots, but they are 5th in the nation in scoring, putting up 84.6 ppg. On defense the Huskies have allowed 80.0 ppg, which is 331st in the nation, but they do allow teams to hit just 41.9%, which is 108th in the nation.
Utes Fall By Double Digits In Oregon
The Utah Utes started their conference season with a 1-3 mark, but then they ran off five straight wins to move up the standings some. Now they come in having lost their last two games in a row, with both wins coming on the road at the Oregon schools. Their first game was at Oregon State and the Utes lost by fouling a shooter from half court, who went on to hit all three free throws with just .01 seconds left in the game. They followed that up with a 10 point loss at Oregon. The Utes were in the game for much of the first half and then the Ducks really started to pull away in the 2nd half. Kyle Kuzma led Utah in scoring with 18 points, while Jordan Loveridge was 2nd, putting in 16 points and he had 10 boards to lead the team. Jakob Poeltl had 13 points to round out the double digit scorers in the game for Utah.
The Utes had a good shooting night as they hit 50% of their shots overall and 42.9% from long range, but they did commit 14 turnovers in the game, compared to just the eight that the Ducks committed and they allowed the Ducks to hit 48.4% of their shots from the floor. Jakob Poeltl leads the team in scoring, putting up 17.2 ppg, while Kyle Kuzma (11.9 ppg) and Jordan Loveridge (11.2 ppg) also average in double figures for the Utes. The Utes have been a strong offensive team this year as they rank 66th in the nation in scoring, putting up 78.3 ppg and 17th in shooting, hitting 48.7% of their shots. On defense the Utes are 141st in points allowed (69.9 ppg) and 92nd in defensive FG% overall (41.4%), but they struggle at defending the three ball, where they rank 307th in the nation.
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[564) Utah -8 over Washington
The Utes are the play here. I know that Washington can score in bunches, but this Utah offense is no slouch either as they are in of the best shooting teams in the nation and the average 85 ppg at home, which is pretty much what the Huskies average on the road, The difference (and its a big one) comes at the defensive end of the floor, where the Utes have allowed just 68.4 ppg on their home floor, while the Huskies have allowed 92.2 ppg on the road. The Utes have hit 51.2% of their shots at home, while the Huskies have allowed 50% shooting on the road. Washington is also not a deep deep and the Utes can wear them down with their big men. Utah needed OT to win the first game, but that will not be the case here as their defense will lead them to at least a 12 point win here.
