Utah vs. UCLA Prediction, Odds, Line, Spread, and Picks - January 12

The Utah Utes (12-5) will visit the (#7) UCLA Bruins (14-2) on Thursday.

Utah has won seven of their last 10, winning over Arizona, but losing to TCU, BYU, and most recently, Oregon.

Former Utah State standout Marco Anthony had his second double-double in as many tries, going for 15 points and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes against Oregon.

In addition, leading scorer Branden Carlson posted 10 points on 2-of-6 shooting, a far cry from his 27 points the game prior. The Utes left plenty of points on the boards, finishing 3-of-21 from deep and shooting 68% from the line.

Utah vs. UCLA

Betting Odds

Team	Spread	Total	Money Line
Utah Utes	+12.5	o135.5	+550
UCLA Bruins	-12.5	u135.5	-800

Odds are courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook

Risk-free first bet up to $1000

Utah vs. UCLA Match Details

Fixture: Utah Utes at UCLA Bruins

Date and Time: Thursday, January 12 at 9:00 PM ET

Venue: Pauley Pavilion

UCLA has won 11-straight, dating back to their 100-53 win over Pepperdine in late November. The Bruins have stacked quality wins during their win streak, beating USC, Kentucky, Maryland, and Oregon.

USC played them close last Thursday, but UCLA was able to escape with a 60-58 home victory. All-Defensive guard Jaylen Clark had a game-high 15 points, with leading scorer Jaime Jaquez having 12 points and seven rebounds in 38 minutes of action.

ShotQuality Tale of the Tape

Below, we will highlight essential ShotQuality data for this matchup, including Adjusted Offensive and Defensive SQ, strengths, weaknesses, and frequency. SQppp is a player's average ShotQuality points per possession.

Thus, SQppp = Total SQpoints/Total No. of Possessions.

The Utes own a 1.07 AdjOFF SQ this season, which is good for 76th in the nation. On the other hand, UCLA has the 2nd-best AdjDEF SQ at 0.89. does well to average in all key stats, but in rim & three rate, spacing, and the open three rate metric, where they are outside the top 200. Conversely, the Bruins are in the 87th percentile in defensive spacing (322nd in the country), but do well in defensive rim & three rate and defensive open three rate.

The Utes have high-frequency numbers in catch & shoot three-point, cut, finishing at the rim, half court, midrange, off-screen, P&R ball screen, and post-up shot types. They are in the top 70 in post-up, half-court, and finishing at the rim. Conversely, the Bruins are in the top 130 in all those categories except in the post-up, with a 0.88 SQ PPP (215th in the country).

The UCLA Bruins have a 1.15 AdjOFF SQ, the 17th-best mark in the country. Utah has posted a 0.99 AdjDEF SQ this season, clocking in at 128th in the country. The Bruins are in the top 40 in shot-making and rim & three SQ PPP. The Utes are in the top 20 in defending both those categories.

UCLA is in the country's top half in frequency regarding the following shot types: cut, finishing at the rim, isolation, midrange, P&R ball screen, and transition. In addition, the Utes are in the top 100 in defending all those shot types except in isolation and P&R ball screens, ranking just outside the top 140.

Utah vs. UCLA Prediction

The Utes' size and defensive capabilities should cause problems for UCLA. The Bruins remain loaded on the offensive end, but they should come down to earth a bit in the scoring department.

Meanwhile, the Utes are well-coached and have enough talent to hang with the Bruins for most of this game. They may not win outright or come close to victory, but they should be able to avoid a blowout in Los Angeles.