Check out our free TCU vs Utah pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Salt Lake City. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

TCU vs Utah Pick & Preview: Wednesday, December 21st Betting Odds

Horned Frogs vs Runnin’ Utes Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: TCU Horned Frogs at Utah Runnin’ Utes
  • Where: Salt Lake City at Vivint Smart Home Arena
  • Date: Wednesday, December 21st
  • Betting Odds: TCU +2, TCU +109 | UTAH -134 O/U 138.5

Horned Frogs Preview:

The TCU Horned Frogs head into today’s game in what will be their 11th game of the season, posting a record of 9-1. Today’s game will be the team’s first road contest of the season. Last year, the Horned Frogs were 7-7 on the road. For the season, TCU has been the underdog in 1 game, sitting with a mark of 1-0. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Horned Frogs being +2 point underdogs.

TCU’s leading scorer this season is Mike Miles Jr. who is averaging 17.71 points per contest. So far, Jr. has accounted for 16.1% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 3.71 rebounds per game and 2.86 assists. Micah Peavy is the second leading scorer for the Horned Frogs, averaging 10.0 points per game. Between him and Peavy, they are accounting for 29.1% of the team’s scoring.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for TCU this season, as they are currently ranked 298th in college basketball at 68.1 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that that have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Horned Frogs’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 30.4%, placing them 450th in the NCAA.

Runnin’ Utes Preview:

Utah heads into this matchup having played 12 games and have an overall record sitting at 9-3. So far this season, Utah has played 8 games at home, sitting with a record of 7-1. At the time of this article, the oddsmakers have the Runnin’ Utes as the -2 point favorites. The Runnin’ Utes have been favored 9 times, going 7-2 straight up.

Branden Carlson comes into today’s game as the Runnin’ Utes’ leading scorer at 15.42 points per contest. Not only has Carlson been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Utah’s top rebounder at 7.25 boards per contest. Behind Carlson, the team has benefited from the strong play of Gabe Madsen who is second on the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game. Overall, he has hit 39.0% of his shots and is adding 3.08 boards per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Utah this season, as they are currently ranked 247th in college basketball at 69.7 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that that have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Runnin’ Utes’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 33.5%, placing them 289th in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: TCU Horned Frogs +2

After running our analysis on this game, we’ve identified the best side to take on the spread. Currently, the oddsmakers have Utah as the favorites with a line coming in at -2. However, based on how these team’s matchup, we see this number being too high and like the TCU Horned Frogs to cover. Both team’s have knocked down the 3-point shot at a rate similar to the NCAA average this season with Utah at 7.65 made 3’s per game compared to TCU at 5.59. Look for TCU to put together a strong enough defensive effort to cover the spread vs the Runnin’ Utes.