Arizona vs Utah: NCAA Tournament Picks & Predictions
Written March 17, 2009 by Jay Horne
The No. 5 seeded Utah Utes are on their way to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament in a close battle over San Diego State 52-50. The running Utes will take on the Arizona Wildcats who were one of the bubble teams to earn their spot in the big dance. The game will come on day two of the opening first round and will be an interesting match-up between two different styles of play. Looking ahead the winner of this game will likely battle 4th seeded Wake Forest in round 2 expecting the Demon Deacons can take care of business against 13th seeded Cleveland State immediately following the Utah and Arizona battle. Odds makers have the line on the Arizona/Utah game at even odds, also known as a Pick ‘Em.
Utah has played solid on both ends of the court this season. The Utes have averaged 71.2 points per game on offense this season while shooting a strong 47% from the floor as well. The Utes defense has been solid as well holding opponents to only 64 points per game. Utah also was one of the best teams in the nation at keeping opponents off the glass. The Utes ranked in the top 25 only allowing opponents to grab 28 rebounds per game this season. Leading the Utah offense is the 7’2 big center of Luke Nevill. Nevill leads the team in scoring with 16.9 points per game and also sporting a healthy 9.1 rebounds per game as well. Nevill can be a big impact this Friday and could give Arizona some problems on the boards as well.
The Arizona Wildcats very similar to the Utes have also shot 47% from the field this season averaging 72 points per game. However, as Utah ended the season strong; Arizona on the other hand lost 5 of their last 6 games. There were a lot of people who believed the Wildcats did not deserve the bid to the big dance. However, they will get the chance to prove everyone wrong this Friday night. The Wildcats have a lethal inside threat as well that will challenge Utah’s Luke Nevill in the paint. Forwards Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger have carried the Arizona offense at times this year. Hill sports double-double averages with 18.5 points and 11 rebounds per game while Budinger averaged 18 points per game as well. It is safe to say that the team that wins the battle in the paint will likely win this game and Jordan and Budinger will look to make a big impact for Arizona.
The game is one of the closest predicted games of the entire first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Arizona Wildcats are favored a mere 1 point over the Utah Utes in the earliest polls. Arizona will be trying to avoid a first round loss for the 3rd year in a row in the NCAA Tournament. Utah on the other hand is making their first trip to the big dance since the 2005 season when they were knocked off in the sweet sixteen by Kentucky. The Arizona wildcats are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games while reaching the over total in 7 of their last 9 games. Utah is 8-4 ATS in the last 12 games while reaching the under in 6 of the last 7 games. The Utes are also 12-2 SU in the last 14 games and will try to stay hot against an inconsistent, but dangerous Arizona team.
Pick - Take Arizona PK
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