UCLA Basketball vs. Utah: Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds
The #4 UCLA Basketball team looks to get their first road sweep in the Alford-era… can they do it against the mighty Utah Utes?
The UCLA Basketball team dominated Colorado in the second half of their last game and look to do the same today against Utah.
If the Bruins can beat the Utes in Sat Lake City, it will mark the first time that UCLA has gotten a road sweep with Steve Alford as the man in charge.
This is also a battle for third place in the Pac-12. Whoever wins will be right behind Oregon and Arizona in the conference standings.
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#4 UCLA Basketball vs. Utah Utes
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Records: UCLA (17-1, 4-1), Utah (12-4, 3-1)
Location: Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, UT (Cap.: 15,000)
Tipoff: 3:00 p.m. PT
Tickets: UtahUtes.com
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: Pac-12 Networks Live
Radio: AM 1150 Los Angeles
On-line Radio: Tune-In
Odds: UCLA -3, O/U 165
Projected Starters:
UCLA – Lonzo Ball, Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton, TJ Leaf, Thomas Welsh
Utah – Lorenzo Bonam, Devon Daniel, Jojo Zamora, Kyle Kuzma, David Collette
Preview:
The UCLA Basketball team better be prepared for this game against a stingy Utah team. Aside from a loss to San Francisco, the Utes have taken “Ls” only from ranked teams. Though that does not bode well for them against the #4 UCLA Bruins, Utah does have the home court advantage.
In the last three seasons, Utah is 40-4 on their home court. This season they have only lost once and that was to #18 Butler. In their last game, Utah was able to knock down potential Pac-12 contender USC with an 86-64 smashing.
In that game, Utah was able to limit the Trojans’ opportunities with consistent defense and counter with 55.2% shooting of their own. The offense will not be a problem for Utah (as six players are scoring more than 10 points per game), which means if they want to slow down UCLA, it will have to be with defense.
Currently, Utah is only allowing 66.0 points per game. How does the work against a team that scores 93.4 points of their own? We will soon find out as the unstoppable force meets the immovable object.
The Bruins started Pac-12 play a bit slow, but have shown in the last two games that they can turn up the intensity. If UCLA has found their stride in conference play, then that will be bad for Utah.
Key Stats:
Lonzo Ball – 14.5 ppg, 8.0 asts, 5.4 rebs, 1.7 stls
Bryce Alford – 17.9ppg, 2.4 apg, 2.6 rpg, FT% .829, 3FG% .470
TJ Leaf – 17.1 ppg, 8.9 rebs, .651 FG%, .430 3FG%
Player to Watch:
Bryce Alford – After hitting a record 9 three-pointers against Colorado, Alford looks to continue his reign of terror in the mountains, a place e he has not been very successful at.
Next: Bryce Alford, The Veteran the Bruins Need
Prediction: UCLA 84 – Utah 78