The Utah Utes take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the Charleston Classic early-season tournament. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Utah Wake Forest prediction and pick. Find how to watch Utah Wake Forest.
The Utah Utes and Wake Forest Demon Deacons are in very similar positions. Both teams are not viewed as likely NCAA Tournament teams at the start of the season. Both coaches are trying to gain traction, developing their recruiting and building a stronger basketball culture at their respective programs. The fan bases are hungry to succeed, but the teams on the floor have not been able to deliver the level of results worthy of these two programs and their rich basketball histories.
These schools haven't been annual powerhouses in college basketball, but they have both had their moments over the past 30 years. They have both had great teams on a few select occasions, which has given each school a taste of what is possible. Wake Forest was a No. 1 seed in the 1995 NCAA Tournament with Tim Duncan and a No. 2 seed a decade later with Chris Paul. Utah made the 1998 Final Four and national championship game thanks to Andre Miller and Michael Doleac under coach Rick Majerus. Both schools made the Final Four in the 1960s.
There is a basketball heritage at both schools. It just hasn't shown up in the past several years. Craig Smith of Utah and Steve Forbes of Wake Forest are trying to revive something, which adds to the task they face and to the importance of this game, the opening round of the Charleston Classic early-season tournament.
Here are the Utah-Wake Forest College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Utah-Wake Forest Odds
Utah Utes: -5.5 (-110)
Wake Forest Demon Deacons: +5.5 (-110)
Over: 147.5 (-115)
Under: 147.5 (-105)
How To Watch Utah vs Wake Forest
Time: 9:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT
TV: ESPNU
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Utah Could Cover the Spread
The Utes have looked good in their first few games of the new season, while Wake Forest absorbed an early-season loss to a not-that-great Georgia team which lost decisively to Oregon (by 11 points). Utah seems to be a more cohesive team than Wake Forest in this early portion of the season, leading to a reasonable line of thought that Wake Forest will require more time to sort out its own problems and limitations. Wake Forest has not played particularly good defense, which should give Utah — a team which struggled at the offensive end of the floor last season — a chance to get healthy and establish a good rhythm in this game. This might be more a case of Wake Forest being worse, not necessarily Utah being so much better. In the end, though, the larger point is that Utah should cover the spread due to the Deacons' mediocre level of quality.
Why Wake Forest Could Cover the Spread
The Demon Deacons probably learned more from their loss to Georgia than Utah did against two cupcake opponents. Playing tough opponents early in the season sharpens teams and gets them ready for games such as this one on a neutral floor. Wake Forest, playing much closer to home in Charleston, South Carolina, should be fresher for this game and more prepared to play well. Utah has looked good so far this season, but not against quality opposition. Wake Forest will make more of a leap in this game while Utah might be ripe for an ambush.
Final Utah-Wake Forest Prediction & Pick
Stay away from this game. Sit back, study these teams, and gather information on them for a betting play later in the season.
Final Utah-Wake Forest Prediction & Pick: Utah -5.5
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