Utah vs Baylor Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/31/24

The Utah Utes and the Baylor Bears meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Foster Pavilion. Here’s a Utah vs Baylor prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Utah vs Baylor pick. We will examine:

The Utah Utes’ recent form and player performance

The Baylor Bears’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Utah Utes

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Baylor Bears

Recent betting trends in games played between Utah and Baylor

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Utah vs Baylor game

Utah Utes Betting Preview

The Utes posted a 6-1 run over their first seven games this year, losing to only Mississippi State in that time. The wins otherwise came courtesy of Alcorn State, Central Arkansas, Queens University, Utah Tech, Mississippi Valley State, and Eastern Washington. The Utes are 2-2 since then with wins over Radford and Florida A&M between losses to Saint Mary’s and Iowa in that time.

In the Iowa game back on December 21, the Utes came out of the break with a 40-36 edge. Utah was outscored 59-48 the rest of the way though, falling 95-88. Leading scorer Mason Madsen finished with 26 points and six boards. Lawson Lovering wasn’t far behind, accounting for 25 points, four rebounds, and two assists in 26 minutes of work. Off the bench, Zach Keller, Caleb Lohner, and Mike Sharavjamts each scored six points.

Leading the Utes in scoring this year is Madsen, who averages 18.8 points per game alongside 2.5 rebounds per game and 2.4 assists per game. Lovering has played just six games so far, but he’s in second place on 13.7 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. Madsen isn’t too far off that pace with 12.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game this season.

Baylor Bears Betting Preview

Over on the Bears’ side, they opened on a 5-3 run over their first eight games. The losses in that time were versus Gonzaga, Tennessee, and UConn. The wins otherwise came versus Arkansas, Sam Houston, Tarleton State, St. John’s, and New Orleans. Baylor has beaten Abilene Christian, Norfolk State, and Arlington Baptist since then for an 8-3 overall record.

Matched up against Arlington Baptist back on Friday, the Bears went into the locker room with a 51-28 edge. Baylor posted a 56-25 run from there in a 107-53 blowout win. Norchad Omier doubled up with 19 points and 24 rebounds in the victory. Jayden Nunn, Jalen Celestine, and Langston Love each chipped in 11 points, while starters Josh Ojianwuna and VJ Edgecombe each had 10 points in the blowout win.

Omier leads the Bears in scoring and rebounding so far this year. He’s got 16.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game through 11 outings. Robert Wright has 12.9 points and 5.7 assists per game, while Jeremy Roach averages 12.2 points per game.

Why the Baylor Bears will win

• Baylor has won each of its last seven games at Foster Pavilion against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Utah has lost 14 of its last 16 games against AP-ranked opponents.
• Utah has lost the first half in seven of its last eight games against AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Utah Utes will win

• Utah has won 10 of its last 12 games when playing with a rest advantage.
• Baylor has lost five of its last six day games against Conference opponents.
• Utah has won the first half in six of its last seven day games.

Utah vs Baylor Prediction

I’ll take a stab at Utah here. The Utes faded in the second half versus Iowa in their last game but eventually shot well overall (51.5 percent) with a 35-27 rebounding edge. Utah did have 12 turnovers and allowed 53.1 percent shooting on defense, though. The good news is that the Utes have posted 81 or more points in three straight games and six of the last seven overall. It’s been a pretty good scoring run this season for Utah, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a pretty hefty total again here.

As for Baylor, they didn’t have any issues with an overmatched Arlington Baptist team in their last outing. The Bears have hit 88 or more points in three straight themselves, so we should have quite the total here if both teams shoot well. I like the Utes to get into a cover in an entertaining matchup.