Stanford Cardinal at Utah Utes – NCAAM January 14

Stanford (8-3, 4-1) at Utah (4-5, 1-4)

• Time: 2PM PST | 4PM CST | 5PM EST
• Location: Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, UT
• TV: ESPNU

Utes Have Stealthy 18-11 Lead in the Series as They Have Won Five of Last Seven

Stanford ended a three-game Utes winning last Feb. 26 with a 70-62 win at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal’s longest winning streak in the series is three games which extended over the 2013-14 seasons. Both teams are on streaks as Utah has lost four in a row while Stanford has won three in a row and seven of eight. The Utes are looking to sweep the Bay Area teams for the sixth consecutive time as they did not meet in 2018-19.

Due to various shut downs in Santa Clara County, the Cardinal are playing their 12th consecutive game away from home. Stanford as used the Santa Cruz Warriors G-League Facility for it’s home games.

Vs. The Spread

Stanford:

• Linking to the OVER has been profitable when looking at the Cardinal as the team has gone over in 5 of their last 7 games
• Stanford has lost five in a row at Utah
• The Cardinal are 4-1 ATS in their last five Pac-12 games

Utah:

• The Utes are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games
• The total has been OVER in 10 of Utah’s last 14 games
• The total has also been OVER in 8 of Utah’s last 10 Pac-12 games

Last Time Out

Oscar de Silva was too much in the paint as the senior forward scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half and 10 of the Cardinal’s last 17 points as Stanford beat Washington State, 75-60, on Saturday. Ziaire Williams added 16 points and Jaiden Delaire posted 10. The Cardinal outscored the Cougars, 42-14, in the paint.

Utah built a 37-27 halftime time lead, but he physicality of the Colorado Buffaloes was too much to overcome as the Buffs dealt the Utes a 65-58 set back in Salt Lake City on Monday. The Buffaloes out rebounded the Cardinal, 34-27, and scored 13 points on 15 offensive boards. The free throw line was a major issue for the Utes as they became foul prone in the second half where Colorado made 13-of-16 from the line while the Utes were 0-for-7.

Teams	Spread	Money Line	Total Points
Stanford	-1.5 (-110)	-125	O 138 (-115)
Utah	+1.5 (-110)	+105	U 138 (-105)

Cardinal Clipboard

The post game of Oscar da Silva and Ziaire Williams will be an issue for Utah as da Silva leads the Pac-12 in scoring at 19.3 points per game and he shoots a league-leading 62.8 percent from the floor. Williams (11.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg), the highest rated recruit in Stanford history, comes off a 16-point performance against Washington State and is a three-level scorer which is a tough matchup on the perimeter as well. Two of the Cardinal’s top players in Daejon Davis (lower leg) and Bryce Wills (knee) have missed six and two games, respectively, and are doubtful for this afternoon.

Utes’ Clipboard

Utah will have a serious preoccupation with the Cardinal in the paint and on the boards after the way Colorado was able to assert itself inside. Mikael Jantunen (9.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and 7-footer Brandon Carlson need to have a solid presence throughout the game. Utah is (-5.4) in rebound margin and Stanford is a (+4.7). Jantunen has started eight games and shoots 60.7 percent.

The Timmy Allen (15.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) –Alphonso Plummer (13.2 ppg, 20-57 – 3) combo has to turn up huge in the backcourt for Coach Larry Krystkowiak. Allen has been on a roll of late in averaging 17.6 points and six rebounds per game while shooting 48.3 percent in those six games. Plummer has struggled in his last two games, but is capable of putting up numbers like vs. UCLA when he had 22 points and made four triples. They key is a potentially big advantage in the backcourt with Davis and Wills potentially out again for Stanford.

Winner: Stanford (-1.5) 71, Utah 67
Over-Under: Take OVER 138