San Jose State Spartans vs. Utah Utes Picks and Prediction for Monday, November 3, 2025
Use Code WWWC It’s the opening day of the 2025-26 college basketball season and it brings a non-conference tilt between the Mountain West and the Big 12 as the San Jose State Spartans take on the Utah Utes Monday night as part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon out in the Beehive State and we have you covered with our San Jose State vs. Utah prediction. San Jose State finished the 2024-25 season 15-20 overall and fell 73-70 to Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NIT. Utah finished 2024-25 with a 16-17 mark and lost 86-84 to Butler in the first round of the College Basketball Crown. In the all-time series between the teams, the Utes own a 13-2 advantage, including a 71-49 road win in the most recent meeting back on February 18, 1999. Read more about this San Jose State vs. Utah prediction! Struggling with handicapping? Try our NCAAB Predictions!
San Jose State Hoping to Open Season on Positive Note
San Jose State looks to build off last season as the team improved from 9-23 in 2023-24 to 15-20 in 2024-25, making the NIT, though their season ended with a first-round loss in the NIT. The Spartans have plenty of pieces to replace this season, as coach Tim Miles has just three players back from last season’s squad and only 19.4% of last season’s scoring returns. For the second straight year, it means putting together a brand new starting five as all five starters are gone. San Jose State added transfers Colby Garland (12.1 points, 4.4 assists at Longwood), Yaphet Moundi (9.8 points, 7.4 rebounds at Iona) and JaVaughn Hannah (12 points, 4.1 rebounds at Western Michigan) will be looked at to be immediate contributors, as will freshman Melvin Bell Jr., if the Spartans hope to be competitive.
The Spartans averaged 72.8 points per game on the season in 2024-25, which put them 228th in the nation in scoring offense. San Jose State collected 34 boards a night (253rd) while handing out 12.9 assists per contest. The Spartans were below average on the defensive end of the floor as they were 223rd in scoring defense by allowing 73.4 points a night. San Jose State shot 44.4% from the field as a team last season. The Spartans averaged 8.1 triples a night while shooting 34.7% from beyond the arc. San Jose State cashed in a solid 74.5% of their chances at the charity stripe, ranking 128th in the nation in that category last season. Sadrague NgaNga is the team’s leading returning scorer with 6.8 points per game.
Utes Seeking to Start Jensen Era on Positive Note
Utah struggled last season, finishing 16-17 overall and 8-12 in Big 12 action. Craig Smith was fired in February after posting a 65-62 mark with the school, and Josh Eilert went 1-5 in the interim role. Now, Alex Jensen, who played for the Utes from 1994-95 and 1997-2000, takes over his first head coaching role. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the Mavericks. Jensen inherits a massive overhaul as the team has just returned scholarship players. On the plus side, the Utes did add six transfers, including Babacar Faye (15.2 points, 7.8 rebounds in 10 games at Western Kentucky), Don McHenry (17 points at Western Kentucky), Terrence Brown (20.6 points, 5.6 rebounds at Fairleigh Dickinson), Elijah Moore (5.2 points at Syracuse) and Seydou Traore (5.9 points, three boards at Iowa) that should contribute immediately.
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The Utes were 131st in the nation in scoring offense as they piled up 75.5 points per game last season. Utah grabbed 39.8 rebounds per contest (15th) while they stood 7th by handing out 17.4 assists per contest last season. The Utes were average defensively, ranking 201st in scoring defense by allowing 72.6 points per game last season. Utah shot 44.6% from the field last season, which was 172nd in the nation. The Utes knocked down 8.5 triples per contest last season (98th) while shooting 32.7% from beyond the arc, which was 251st in the nation. Utah struggled at the charity stripe as they cashed in on 64.1% of their attempts last season, putting them 357th in the country. Keanu Dawes is the leading returning scorer for the Utes as he averaged 8.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest.
San Jose State vs. Utah Pick
San Jose State vs. Utah Spread Pick
- Utah -12 (4 units)
Both teams finished below .500 on the year last season and are revamping on the fly. San Jose State was below average on both ends of the floor last season and having just 19.4% of the scoring from last season back is going to make things difficult for them on the offensive end. Miles has familiarity with cultivating a new starting five but it is going to take a little time to get their guys up to speed. Utah is in a similar boat, but importing talent like McHenry and Faye to the mix should get the team firing offensively. The Utes are at home, and the Spartans haven’t had luck in this series as their last win came back in 1984. Look for Utah to run their way to a victory in the season opener here.
San Jose State vs. Utah Over/Under Pick
- Over 146.5 (4 units)
San Jose State was okay offensively, but they had some defensive issues to deal with that Utah should exploit. The Spartans were 193rd in defensive efficiency, 239th in effective field goal percentage defense (52%), 295th in offensive rebounding percentage allowed (32.1%), 288th in field goal percentage defense (45.7%), and 304th in two-point defense (53.4%) last season. San Jose State saw the over post a 20-12-1 mark last season. Utah finished last season 82nd in offensive efficiency, 120th in effective field goal percentage (51.8%), 47th in offensive rebounding percentage (34.4%), and was solid on the glass on the year. The Utes were 89th in tempo with 69.1 possessions a night. Utah saw the under post an 18-15 mark last season but closed the year with five straight overs. Look for the Utes to take advantage of the Spartans’ defensive woes to put this over the mark.
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