Halftime Report
The last time UCLA and the Utes met, the game was decided by 46 points, but it sure doesn’t look like the final score will be so lopsided this time. After one quarter, neither team has the match in the bag, but UCLA leads 36-34 over the Utes.
UCLA entered the game having won six straight and they’re just one half away from another. Will they make it seven, or will Utah step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
Utah Utes @ UCLA Bruins
Current Records: Utah 15-10, UCLA 14-11
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, February 18, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Pauley Pavilion — Los Angeles, California
- TV: Fox Sports 1
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $14.00
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting Pac-12 matchup on schedule as the Utah Utes and the UCLA Bruins are set to tip at 7:00 p.m. ET on February 18th at Pauley Pavilion. Utah is staggering into the matchup hobbled by three consecutive losses, while the Bruins will skip in buoyed by six consecutive wins.
Last Thursday, the Utes were within striking distance but couldn’t close the gap as they fell 68-64 to the Trojans. Utah has struggled against the Trojans recently, as their match on Thursday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
The loss doesn’t tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Deivon Smith, who almost dropped a double-double on 19 points and nine rebounds. He didn’t help Utah’s cause all that much against the Sun Devils last Saturday but the same can’t be said for this match.
Meanwhile, the Bruins didn’t have too much breathing room in their game against the Buffaloes on Thursday, but they still walked away with a 64-60 victory.
UCLA’s success was spearheaded by the efforts of Adem Bona, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds and two steals, and Sebastian Mack, who scored 19 points along with two steals. Mack didn’t help UCLA’s cause all that much against the Golden Bears last Saturday but the same can’t be said for this matchup.
The Utes’ defeat was their fifth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 15-10. As for the Bruins, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they’ve won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-11 record this season.
Sunday’s matchup is shaping up to be a blowout: Utah just can’t miss this season, having made 46.8% of their shots per game. It’s a different story for UCLA, though, as they’ve only made 41.9% of their shots this season. Given Utah’s sizable advantage in that area, the Bruins will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Utah against the Bruins when the teams last played back in January as the squad secured a 90-44 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Utah since the squad won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Odds
UCLA is a slight 2.5-point favorite against Utah, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bruins as a 3-point favorite.
The over/under is 134.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
UCLA has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Utah.
- Jan 11, 2024 – Utah 90 vs. UCLA 44
- Feb 23, 2023 – UCLA 78 vs. Utah 71
- Jan 12, 2023 – UCLA 68 vs. Utah 49
- Jan 20, 2022 – UCLA 63 vs. Utah 58
- Feb 25, 2021 – UCLA 76 vs. Utah 61
- Dec 31, 2020 – UCLA 72 vs. Utah 70
- Feb 20, 2020 – UCLA 69 vs. Utah 58
- Feb 02, 2020 – UCLA 73 vs. Utah 57
- Mar 09, 2019 – Utah 92 vs. UCLA 81
- Feb 09, 2019 – Utah 93 vs. UCLA 92
