The Stanford Cardinal take on the Utah Utes. Check out our Pac-12 Tournament odds series for our Stanford Utah prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Stanford Utah.
The college basketball season has been miserable for the Stanford Cardinal. The school has not made the NCAA Tournament in nine years, and it won't make the Big Dance this year, either. Head coach Jerod Haase is likely coaching his last week of games for the school. He is almost certain to be fired once the Pac-12 Tournament is over. Earlier on Wednesday at the Pac-12 Tournament, the Washington Huskies lost to the Colorado Buffaloes, increasing the chances that Washington coach Mike Hopkins will be fired. Also on Wednesday at the Pac-12 Tournament, California is playing Washington State (that game is in progress at the time of publication). Cal coach Mark Fox might get another year, but his tenure is going absolutely nowhere. Stanford and Haase are likely to part ways and create a new job opening in the Pac-12.
Yet, as bad as Stanford has been this season, it remains that the Cardinal did go into Salt Lake City and beat a Utah team which has been riddled with injuries over the past month. Utah will try to get revenge for that contest, in which the Utes played an atrocious first half, arguably their single worst half of basketball all season long.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Stanford-Utah Pac-12 Tournament odds.
Pac-12 Tournament Odds: Stanford-Utah Odds
Stanford Cardinal: +0.5 (-110)
Utah Utes: -0.5 (-110)
Over: 136.5 (-110)
Under: 136.5 (-110)
How To Watch Stanford vs. Utah
TV: Pac-12 Network
Stream: Pac-12 Now
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. PT
*Watch Stanford-Utah LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why Stanford Could Cover the Spread
Stanford isn't a very good team, but the Cardinal clearly outplayed Utah in the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City a month ago. Stanford was brutally bad in December and January, but the Cardinal have actually been a half-decent team over the past month. They beat the Arizona Wildcats. They almost beat Arizona State. They beat Oregon. They have not been the pushover they were in January. Players are still playing hard, even though the results aren't there and a coaching change is about to happen.
Utah has been a below-average team over the past month. The Utes lost three straight games to close the regular season. They simply have a hard time scoring. It is true that they have Gabe Madsen back in their lineup, one of their better scoring and shooting guards, but Madsen had just one game to reintegrate himself into the lineup. That game was last Saturday against Colorado. The Utes lost and their offense didn't look good. Madsen might need more than just one or two games to regain his offensive rhythm and flow. It's probably not going to fully come back in time for this game against Stanford. The Utes, hampered by injuries, have not been able to put their desired starting five on the floor for a large number of games this season. That simply gets in the way of continuity, and it should help Stanford here.
Why Utah Could Cover the Spread
The Utes have not been a good team over the past month, but getting Gabe Madsen back could really help. More than that, coach Craig Smith — who frankly did a very good job with this team this season, given the limited amount of resources he had and given all the injuries he faced — is a much, much better coach than Jerod Haase. Smith will make adjustments from the Stanford loss in Salt Lake City. He will get his players motivated for this game. You will see a different Utah team compared to the one you have seen over the past few weeks.
Final Stanford-Utah Prediction & Pick
The Gabe Madsen dimension here could give Utah eight to 10 points the Utes have not been scoring in previous weeks. That might be enough to pick the Utes in what is essentially a pick 'em game.
Final Stanford-Utah Prediction & Pick: Utah -0.5
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