The Utah Utes (8-4) and Washington Huskies (8-4) are set to face off Monday night, going head-to-head in Seattle. The former Pac-12 showdown will tip off at 11 p.m. EST on FS1.
The Huskies are 11.5-point favorites at home with -650 moneyline odds, and the total has been set at 156.5 points. Here is a preview of the Big 12 vs. Big Ten matchup featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Utah at Washington Preview, Prediction
Utah Preview
The Utes opened ths season with a six-game homestand, which ended with a seven-point loss to Cal Poly. Even their wins over San Jose State, Weber State, Holy Cross, Sam Houston and Purdue Fort Wayne weren’t particularly convincing, with four of them coming by single digits. Utah lost by 10 to Grand Canyon down in Coachella Valley, but it bounced back with a clutch one-point win over Ole Miss. After losses to Cal and Mississippi State and a six-point win against Cal Baptist, the Utes finally notched a comfortable 24-point victory over Eastern Washington on Dec. 20.
Utah’s offense is based around its dominant backcourt duo of Terrence Brown and Don McHenry, who transferred in from Fairleigh Dickinson and Western Kentucky, respectively. Brown is averaging 21.5 points, plus a team-high 3.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. McHenry, meanwhile, is averaging 19.2 points per game on .490/.421/.821 shooting splits. They are getting additional scoring support from Iowa transfer Seydou Traore and German import Jacob Patrick on the wing, with the pair of 40% three-point shooters averaging 17.2 points per game between them. 6-foot-9 forward Keanu Dawes is the top option in the paint, averaging 11.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists a night.
While the Utes’ offense doesn’t rank particularly high in too many major statistical categories, they do have the 65th-best three-point percentage in the country at 36.8%. Their defense is also top-100 when it comes to blocking shots, despite ranking outside the top-300 in preventing points.
According to the updated KenPom ratings, Utah slots in at No. 123 – worst in the Big 12. Its offense ranks No. 89, while its defense ranks No. 198.
Washington Preview
The Huskies beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 44 and Denver by 14 to start the year. A road trip to Baylor resulted in a nine-point loss, but Washington bested in-state rival Washington State 81-69 on the road five days later. It took two overtimes for the Huskies to beat Southern, however. Like Utah, Washington also took a trip to Acrisure Arena for Thanksgiving Week, beating Nevada but losing to Colorado. After falling two points short against UCLA at home, the Huskies upset No. 24 USC on the road and blew out Southern Utah and San Diego at home. In between those games, though, Washington lost by four on the road against Seattle.
6-foot-11 German freshman Hannes Steinbach has been the Huskies’ top player as of late, averaging 17.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game on .590/.545./.740 shooting splits. Former top recruits Wesley Yates III and Zoom Diallo are averaging 14.9 and 13.8 points per game, respectively. Former Xavier and USC transfer Desmond Claude is averaging 14.0 points per game since returning from his preseason ankle sprain. Center Franck Kepnang is putting up 6.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game amid multiple injuries elsewhere in Washington’s frontcourt.
The Huskies rank No. 52 nationally in free-throw attempts and No. 41 with a 76.4% free-throw percentage. Washington also ranks No. 20 in rebounds per game. On the other end of the spectrum, it is also outside the top 200 in field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, assists per game and steals per game.
Washington comes in at No. 47 in the latest KenPom ratings. It ranks No. 68 in opponent-adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 37 in opponent-adjusted defensive efficiency.
Utah at Washington Pick, Best Bet
For as bad as Utah’s defense has been this year, it has actually kept things close against its limited pool of high-major competition. The Utes’ losses to Cal and Mississippi State came by seven and eight points, respectively, not to mention their one-point win over Ole Miss. None of those three games went over 156.5 points, either. The Cal game, especially, should be a pretty decent precursor, considering it was on the road against a top-60 KenPom team with a top-80 offense and top-60 defense, like the Huskies.
Washington has played six games against top-125 KenPom teams, which Utah is too. It is 2-4 in those contests, only winning by 12 or more points once. The under on 156.5 is also 4-2 in that sample.
