Utah Runnin' Utes (18-12) vs. Oregon Ducks (19-11)
March 9, 2024 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Oregon Ducks -1.5 ; Over/Under: -
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The Utah Utes and the Oregon Ducks meet Saturday in college basketball action from Matthew Knight Arena. Let’s get into our Utah vs. Oregon prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Utah Utes
The Utes kicked off the year on a 14-5 stretch but then lost five of the next six games. Those losses came versus Washington State, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State and USC. Utah hit a 3-1 in their next four though, beating UCLA, Stanford and California with a lone loss to Colorado.
In the Oregon State matchup on Thursday, the Utes fell back into the loss column. Utah was down 46-33 by the break, but then got better on a 52-46 run. It wasn’t enough in a 92-85 result, though. Branden Carlson led the way on his 40 points with seven rebounds.
Oregon Ducks
Over on the Ducks’ side, they started their season on a 13-3 run before a 3-5 stretch in January/February. Oregon recovered slightly from there on a 3-2 record in the next five. The Ducks were able to beat Oregon State (twice) and Stanford with losses to California and Arizona in that quintet.
Matched up against Colorado in their Thursday game, the Ducks kept the pace in the first half with a 37-37 run. Oregon was outscored 42-38 from there however and lost 79-75 in the end. Jackson Shelstad topped the team with his 23 points, six assists and two rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE UTAH VS OREGON PREDICTION
I’ll probably lean toward Utah in this one. The Utes played very well on offense in their latest loss to Oregon State (51.5 percent shooting). That said, Utah got out-rebounded 30-26 and had 12 turnovers for 17 Beavers points. Still, Utah is scoring well right now with 85 or more points in three straight.
On January 21 in their last meeting, the Utes beat Oregon 80-77 at home. Utah shot well in that one also (50 percent) but allowed 12-of-24 from 3-point range and coughed up 14 turnovers for 15 points. Ball control and defense are going to be key for the Utes here. They’ll also have to keep the scoring pace high, which may be a tall order. If all goes well though, I think Utah is up for it.
