California vs Utah 12/29/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Utah Utes and the California Golden Bears meet Thursday in college basketball action from Haas Pavilion. Utah is 9-4 on the season overall. The Utes lost to TCU in their last game. As for California, they’re 1-12 and coming off their first win of the year over TX-Arlington. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Utah was 4-2 after their first six games this year, losing to Sam Houston and Mississippi State. The Utes would then win four straight games before taking consecutive losses to BYU and TCU. 

Matched up against TCU last Wednesday, the Utes were down 35-29 by the break. Utah outscored the Frogs 42-40 from there but still lost 75-71. Gabe Madsen was the top scorer on the team with 26 points. 

Over on the California side, they fell to UC Davis, Kansas State, UCSD, Southern, Texas State, TCU, Clemson, USC, Arizona, Eastern Washington, Butler and Santa Clara before their first win over TX-Arlington. 

In the TX-Arlington game last Wednesday, the Bears were up 28-19 at halftime. California posted a 45-32 advantage in the second and took the win 73-51. Both Lars Thiemann and Joel Brown led the way on 17 points apiece. 

PICK: I might take a stab on California here. The Bears are riding high after their first win last week, shooting 56.5 percent from the field with 33 rebounds and 15 team assists. California has come close to getting a W at several points this year, so it’s promising to see the team take the victory. The Bears are really going to have to crank up the offense again in this one, however; they’ve hit 68 or more points just twice in the last five games. That said, if they play well I think Cal can stay in range of Utah enough to cover.