Southern Utah at Utah

The Utah Utes program was once a top program in the country, and they brought in Larry Krystkowial to get the program back to a high level. He won just six games in his first year, but in his fourth year, with all his own players, he took the Utes to the Final Four. He is developing top NBA talent, as Delon Wight was drafted in the first round after last season, but it is next man up, as center Jakob Poeltl is projected as a lottery pick after this season, and he performed admirably against Okafor against Duke is a Sweet 16 loss. The pieces are in place for another strong run, and Southern Utah is in big trouble here. The Thunderbirds dropped their opener last season going into the deep end of the pool at Kansas State by 30 points, and have weaknesses all over the floor, and are entirely mismatched in every aspect of the game. Utah will be hungry for a big start after the knockout blow a season ago vs. Duke, and will have their way in this one. Lay the bundle on Utah.