Utah Runnin' Utes (14-5) vs. Washington State Cougars (13-6)
January 24, 2024 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Washington State Cougars +1; Over/Under: 146.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Utah Utes and the Washington State Cougars meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Beasley Coliseum. Utah is sitting at 14-5 this year. The Utes beat Oregon in their last matchup. As for Washington State, they’re coming off a loss to California that dropped the Cougars to 13-6 overall. Let’s get into our Utah vs. Washington State prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Utah Utes
The Utes lost just two of their first 13 games this year, falling to Houston and St. John’s. Since then Utah is a spotty 3-3 over the last six outings. The wins in that time came versus UCLA, Oregon State and Oregon; the losses otherwise were versus Arizona State, Arizona and Stanford.
Matched up against Oregon on Sunday, the Utes had a close escape. Utah was down 33-32 going into the second half, then hit a 48-44 run from there for an 80-77 victory. Leading the team in the win was Deivon Smith with 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in 38 minutes of work.
Washington State Cougars
Over on the Cougars’ side, they hit a 9-2 stretch to start the year, falling to only Mississippi State and Santa Clara. Washington State has gone 4-4 in their last eight though, beating Oregon State, USC, Arizona and Stanford with losses to Utah, Colorado, Oregon, and California.
Back on Saturday versus California, the Cougars took a tough loss. Washington State came back from a 36-29 halftime deficit to force overtime, but ultimately fell short 81-75. Top team scorer Andrej Jakimovski finished with 20 options, seven rebounds and three assists in the defeat.
ANDREW’S FREE UTAH VS WASHINGTON STATE PREDICTION
I’ll probably lean toward Utah in this one. You could obviously argue it either way, though. The Utes shot a nice 50 percent from the field and 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from 3-point range in their latest win over Oregon, bagging 37 rebounds and 18 assists along the way for a well-rounded effort. The Utes have scored 70 or more points in all but one game so far (66 versus Houston) and should be primed for a decent total here as well.
As for Washington State, they’ve scored 72 or more points in five straight. The Cougars have also given up 70 or more points in four of those five games though, so Utah should have some scoring opportunities on Wednesday. We should have a fun matchup on our hands if both teams play well, but in the end I think the Utes eke out the cover/win.
