Utah vs. Oregon State: Game Preview, Prediction

By Taylor Sturm
Utah Utes Basketball
Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

It started with their upset over the Arizona Wildcats, but the Oregon State Beavers are likely going to the NIT, as long as they don’t drop games to bad teams to finish the season. Next up for the Beavers are the extremely underrated Utah Utes, who will face off with the Beavers on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 11 PM ET on the PAC 12 network.

Utah is the most all-around balanced team in college basketball. Their offense is explosive, their defense is elite and their depth is clear in their big wins on the season. This team is the real deal when it comes to dark horses to win it all, and it’s going to take a concerted effort from any team to beat them for the remainder of the season.

And here’s where I must have lost my mind, because I’m calling an upset in this one. Utah, who I firmly think are legitimate dark horse contenders for the 2015 National Championship and can be penciled in as a lock to go to at least the Sweet 16, are going to lose to Oregon State. It’s not that I’m a fan of the upset pick or that these two teams match up well, but that the Beavers are a completely different team at home than on the road.

If you take a quick look at their results so far, Oregon State have not lost a PAC 12 game at home this season. At home, the Beavers go from the shaky, young team we saw lose on the road to Arizona, to the defensively sound team who held a very talented UCLA Bruins team to just 55 points. Utah and Oregon State are going to have a defensive battle at Gill Coliseum that the Beavers might just win behind Gary Payton II.

Prediction: Oregon State 52, Utah 49

 Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

Share On FacebookShare StumbleUpon

You May Also Like