Houston vs Utah Prediction - College Basketball Picks 11/17/23

Houston Cougars (4-0) vs Utah Utes (3-0)

Game Info: Friday, November 17, 2023 at 4:30 pm (TD Arena)

Betting Odds: Utah Utes +7.5 -- Over/Under: 137 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The Houston Cougars and the Utah Utes meet Friday in college basketball action from TD Arena. Houston is rolling along at 4-0 so far this year. The Cougars beat Towson in their last outing. As for 3-0 Utah, they’re coming off a Thursday victory over Wake Forest. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Pick Dawgz.

Houston Cougars

The Cougars opened the season with an 84-31 win over LA-Monroe, shooting 42.6 percent from the field with a 46-30 rebounding advantage. Game two was another blowout win 82-50 over Texas A&M-CC that featured 54 rebounds. Houston managed 52.6 percent shooting in game three versus Stetson, rolling to a 79-48 victory.

On Thursday the Cougars didn’t have too many issues with Towson. Houston was up 37-17 by halftime and cruised to the win 65-49. Leading the scoring was LJ Cryer on 18 points. Emanuel Sharp put up 14 points, and J’wan Roberts hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds with five points and one assist.

Utah Utes

Over on the Utes’ side, it’s been a fairly smooth run through three games thus far. Utah scored 57 points in the second half versus Eastern Washington in their first opener, bagging the win 101-66. In game two versus UC Riverside, the Utes were up 48-13 at the break and shot 48.5 percent on the way to an 82-53 win.

Utah had their closest finish of the year versus Wake Forest. The Utes overcame a 41-31 deficit at halftime with 46 second-half points in a 77-70 win. Branden Carlson posted 31 points with four rebounds in the victory, and Cole Bajema put up 11 points with five rebounds. Lawson Lovering also finished in double-figures with 10 points and four boards.

ANDREW’S FREE PICK

I’m going to try Utah in this one. The Utes have closed strong in their three games so far; it wouldn’t be surprising to see them put up a big second-half total here. Utah shot 50 percent from the floor in their win over Wake Forest on Thursday, along with a 38-27 rebounding advantage, 22 assists and 8-of-20 (40 percent) from 3-point range.

As for Houston, they had a pretty easy time against Towson on Thursday. The Cougars hit 41.4 percent from the field with a 41-35 edge on the boards (12-9 offensive) in a pretty routine matchup. Utah is the best team the Cougars have faced so far, though. I like Utah to follow along closely enough to cover. Should be a fun one to watch.