Half-time report
Utah Valley gives its audience exactly what they were hoping for. They jumped out to an early 35-25 lead against Grand Canyon.
Utah Valley came into the game having won four straight and they are only one half back. Will they reach five, or will the Grand Canyon step in and ruin it? We will know soon.
Who’s playing
Grand Canyon Antelopes @ Utah Valley Wolverines
Current records: Grand Canyon 11-4, Utah Valley 9-6
How to watch
What you need to know
Utah Valley will be in front of their home fans on Thursday, but a look at the seeding shows they might need that home-field advantage. They and the Grand Canyon Antelopes will face off in a WAC battle at 8:00 p.m. ET at the UCCU Center. Both teams enter the competition in great shape, with the Wolverines sitting on four straight wins and the Antelopes on five.
Utah Valley is headed into this one after bettors set last week’s low/low at 139.5, but even that proved too high. They came away with a 64-53 win over Abilene Christian on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Grand Canyon rang in the new year with an 82-71 victory over Southern Utah on Saturday.
Grand Canyon broke the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. This strong performance was nothing new for the team: they have now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in eight consecutive games.
Utah Valley’s win was its fifth straight at home, improving its record to 9-6. As for Grand Canyon, they’ve been on a roll lately: They’ve won nine of their last 11 matchups, which is a nice improvement to their 11-4 record this season.
Rebounding will likely be a big factor in this contest: Utah Valley has crashed the boards this season, averaging 38.4 rebounds per game. However, it’s not like Grand Canyon struggles in this department, as its average was 38.5. As both teams fight to recover missed shots, we’ll see if one team can take the lead.
Utah Valley may still be hurting after the devastating 86-67 loss they suffered to Grand Canyon in their previous game in February 2024. Can Utah Valley avenge their loss or the story is- is she doomed to repeat herself? We’ll know soon enough.
Odds
Grand Canyon is a 4-point favorite against Utah Valley, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The punters were perfectly in tune with the betting community on this point, as the game opened with a 4-point gap and stayed there.
The over/under is 144.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
Grand Canyon has won 6 of its last 10 games against Utah Valley.
- February 3, 2024 – Grand Canyon 86 vs. Utah Valley 67
- January 18, 2024 – Grand Canyon 78 vs. Utah Valley 65
- January 21, 2023 – Utah Valley 76 vs. Grand Canyon 74
- March 3, 2022 – Grand Canyon 68 vs. Utah Valley 57
- February 10, 2022 – Grand Canyon 79 vs. Utah Valley 69
- March 6, 2021 – Grand Canyon 74 vs. Utah Valley 64
- March 05, 2021 – Utah Valley 59 vs. Grand Canyon 55
- February 22, 2020 – Utah Valley 92 vs. Grand Canyon 80
- January 25, 2020 – Utah Valley 73 vs. Grand Canyon 69
- March 15, 2019 – Grand Canyon 78 vs. Utah Valley 74
