UCLA Basketball: Is the Utah game a must-win?

First a breakdown of both teams by various college basketball rankings from four prominent ranking systems.

UCLA Bruins: Men's Basketball

Rating Percentage Index (RPI) Ranking: 245

College Basketball Power Index (BPI) Rankings: 129

Pomeroy College Basketball (Ken Pom) Ranking: 108

Net (NCAA) Ranking: 175

Utah Utes: Men's Basketball

Rating Percentage Index  (RPI) Ranking: 23

College Basketball Power Index (BPI) Ranking: 38

Pomeroy College Basketball (KenPom) Ranking: 31

Net (NCAA) Ranking: 29

A closer look and breakdown of the basketball history between Utah and UCLA and game prediction.

The current winning streak in this series between the Bruins and the Utes: UCLA has won the last seven games against Utah in this Pac-12 rivalry.

Last game between Utah and UCLA: The Bruins defeated the Utes on the road on February 23rd of last season by a final score of 78-71.

Best victory for the Utes and Bruins this season according to their opponent's current NET Ranking: For Utah, it was a victory against in-state rival BYU and for UCLA l it was a road win against Oregon State.

The record for UCLA against Utah for the last ten meetings they played against one another: The Bruins have won seven of the last ten games between the Utes and Bruins.

Which team is predicted to win the game according to ESPN Analytics?: They have Utah as having a 87.2% chance of defeating UCLA in this game.

Game Prediction: The prediction is a UCLA victory only because their backs are up to the wall and they desperately need a win more than Utah does. Also with Lazar Stefanovic who played for the Utes from the 2021-2023 seasons, the Bruins grind out a win on the road for a much-needed victory with the final score being UCLA 72 Utah 70.