Butler vs Utah Free College Basketball Prediction, 11–28–2016 — BetSheet.com
Butler Bulldogs vs Utah Utes
Free College Basketball Prediction by: Puss Williamson of BetSheet.com
Odds: Utah +2
Time: November 28th, 9pm EST
Butler Bulldogs
(6–0 SU, 4–1 ATS)
In the first meeting since 2010, the Butler Bulldogs will visit the Utah Utes for a Monday night NCAAB matchup.
Butler is aiming for their 7th consecutive win to start the 2016–17 college basketball season. The Bulldogs pulled off an upset in the Continental Las Vegas Invitational tournament championship game, beating Arizona 69–65. Butler was down late in the game but went on a 9–2 run to close out the game.
Junior F Kelan Martin leads the way for the Bulldogs averaging 16.2 PPG and Andrew Chrabascz bangs the boards leading Butler with 5.8 RPG. The Bulldogs have had some early season challenges in addition to Arizona, which include Vanderbilt, Bucknell and a 2 point victory over Northwestern. Butler is scoring an average of 80.2 points per game placing them 81st overall, and are shooting 50% from the field. The Bulldogs have been tremendous on defense, conceding an average of only 61 points per game, ranking them 23rd in the Nation.
Utah Utes
(4–0 SU, 1–1 ATS)
Utah also enters this game undefeated after knocking off UC Riverside on Friday night, 85–67. Utah looks to record their 5th victory of the season and knock off the surging Butler Bulldogs. Senior G Lorenzo Bonam leads the Utes scoring 15.5 PPG, and averages 3 steals and 2 blocks per game. The 6'4 guard is becoming a tough guard for opposing teams and its apparent he has improved since last season.
Utah has 4 players that average double digits in points and the Utes average 89 PPG. Utah lost their two leading scorers from last season so they are a younger team that returns just two starters from the 2016 team. Kyle Kuzma will be a tough player for Butler to guard, as the 6–9 junior forward can score from anywhere on the court and is the team’s best rebounder. He’s averaging team highs of 15.5 points and 10 rebounds and has big-game experience as well, playing in four of the five NCAA Tournament games in which the Utes have appeared over the last two years.
Butler vs Utah Prediction
What is Puss Williamson Predicting?
This should be a good early season college basketball game with two teams that will be playing in March. However, the key difference in this matchup has been the preparation leading up to Monday night’s matchup. Butler is coming off a win over a top ranked program while Utah has played two non Division I opponents and two more cupcakes to fatten their record to (4–0). I feel Butler is more prepared to enter this game and cover the spread and should feel very confident having beat some better competition early on this season. Look for the Bulldogs to cover the -2 point spread on the road.
