The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors take on the Utah Utes. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Hawaii Utah prediction and pick. Find how to watch Hawaii Utah.

The Utah Utes are improving under coach Craig Smith. They beat Wake Forest. They gave Houston a battle. They just won at Saint Mary's against the Gaels, a team many people thought could overtake Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference. Utah has done some really good work this season. The Utes look a lot stronger on defense than they did a year ago. They have more balance in their offense and can help out their star scorer, Branden Carlson. The Utes look like a more cohesive, deeper, and more developed team than they were a year ago. The effort wasn't lacking for Utah last season; the talent is where the program fell short. Smith is trying to build back the Utah brand which was so robust under Rick Majerus and had its moments in more recent years. Utah is a long way from returning to elite status, but the Utes look like an NCAA Tournament team, which — if achieved this season — would be enormous for Smith and his program. Utah was not a consensus NCAA tourney pick in the Pac-12 before the season began, but the Utes look better than USC, Oregon, and Colorado, three teams expected to make the March Madness derby. Utah just has to keep growing and evolving. It is on the right track but can't get too satisfied with its position. The Utes need to keep climbing in Salt Lake City.

They take on a Hawaii team which is unbeaten but — if you look at the schedule — has played a lot of cupcake opponents. We're going to learn about both teams, not just one, in this game. It could prove to be a sneaky-good installment in this Thursday night slate of college hoops.

Here are the Hawaii-Utah College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Hawaii-Utah Odds

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors: +10.5 (-102)

Utah Utes: -10.5 (-120)

Over: 144.5 (-105)

Under: 144.5 (-115)

How To Watch Hawaii vs Utah

Time: 9:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT

TV: Pac-12 Network

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Hawaii Could Cover the Spread

The Rainbow Warriors haven't lost a game yet this season. Even if the schedule has been relatively light, it's still an unbeaten record over the course of the first three weeks of the campaign. That's solid work, and it should create a team which believes in its ability to solve problems. Given that the spread is a double-digit spread, and given that Utah — while improved — still has to face questions in its own right, there's plenty of reason to think that Hawaii can go into Salt Lake City, play freely and aggressively, and make a game of this. Utah still has to affirm that it is for real, even though the early returns are and have been encouraging for the Utes. Don't sell Hawaii short.

Why Utah Could Cover the Spread

The Utes are steadily evolving under Craig Smith, who showed at Utah State that he is a really good coach. Smith's reputation for program building is being affirmed right now. Smith is a coach worth trusting, which makes Utah a team worth trusting. The Utes are at home. They beat Saint Mary's on the road, and they beat Wake Forest on a neutral floor. Their relatively competitive game with nationally-ranked Houston was on a neutral floor as well. They will enjoy playing at home before what should be an excited crowd which is pumped up about the progress this team has made.

Final Hawaii-Utah Prediction & Pick

The Utes look good. They're at home. Take them.

Final Hawaii-Utah Prediction & Pick: Utah -10.5