California Golden Bears vs Arizona Wildcats Prediction, 3/5/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs Arizona Wildcats

Date: Saturday, March 5, 2022

Location: McKale Center in Tucson, AZ

TV: ESPN+

McKale Center is the location where the Arizona Wildcats (27-3) will go up against the California Golden Bears (12-18) on Saturday.

The California Golden Bears faced off with Arizona State and ended up losing by a score of 71-44 in their last contest. California finished the game having earned a 30.5% FG percentage (18 of 59) and converted 5 out of their 26 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Golden Bears knocked down 3 of their 5 tries for a percentage of 60.0%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 31 with 8 of them being offensive. They also distributed 15 assists for this game in addition to forcing 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In relation to defense, California allowed their opponent to shoot 53.6% from the floor on 30 of 56 shooting. Arizona State earned 18 assists and had 9 steals in the matchup. On top of that, Arizona State grabbed 31 boards (4 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Arizona State ended up going 50.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 6 of their 12 attempts. They converted 5 out of their 13 attempts from beyond the perimeter. When talking about personal fouls, the Golden Bears ended up walking away with 14 while Arizona State recorded 11 personal fouls.

Grant Anticevich is one player who came through for this game. He racked up 8 points on 3 out of 9 shooting. He played 27 minutes and totaled 6 rebounds. He finished shooting 33.3% from the field and totaled 2 assists.

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California will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 12-18 so far this year. They are averaging 63.3 points per game (337th in D-1) while going 42.6% from the field. The Golden Bears are shooting 31.6% from downtown (169 of 535) and 73.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, California is collecting 35.0 boards per game and has accounted for 326 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 299th in the country in terms of passing. They are turning it over 11.2 times per contest and as a group they are committing 16.0 personal fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Golden Bears are able to force 9.6 turnovers every game and they draw 14.0 fouls. They rank 22nd in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 290 conceded on the campaign. The Golden Bears defense is allowing a FG percentage of 41.7% (698 of 1,675) and they relinquish 33.7 rebounds per game as a unit. They give up 30.8% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 63rd in college basketball in points per game allowed (65.3).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Arizona Wildcats took home the win by a final score of 81-69 when they played Stanford. The Wildcats recorded 23 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 in the matchup. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while recording 10 steals for this contest. Stanford was called for 23 fouls in this matchup which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for 27 attempts. They were able to make 22 of the free throws for a percentage of 81.5%. With regard to three-point shots, Arizona buried 5 of 16 tries (31.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Wildcats shot 27 for 53 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.9%. The Wildcats allowed Stanford to knock down 29 of their 61 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 47.5% in the game. They shot 47.4% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 9 of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 2 out of 9 from the charity stripe (22.2%). In reference to rebounding, Arizona allowed Stanford to snag 34 in total (11 on the offensive side).

Christian Koloko ended up being a factor for the Wildcats in this contest. He knocked down 7 out of 10 in this contest for a field goal rate of 70.0%, and earned 10 rebounds. He had 21 points in his 31 mins on the court, but wasn't able to tally an assist.

Arizona has a mark of 27-3 on the season. The Wildcats have committed 16.4 fouls per game while shooting 72.7% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 20.2 times per game (1st in the nation) and they are turning it over 13.3 times per contest. Arizona has totaled 2,536 points this season (84.5 per game) and they pull in 42.0 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Wildcats are shooting 49.2% from the floor, which is 6th in college hoops.

The Arizona defense concedes 31.8% on 3-point attempts (214 of 673) and their opponents are knocking down 66.6% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 11.5 assists and 34.3 total boards per game, which has them ranked 87th and 160th in those categories on the defensive end. The Wildcats are ranked 112th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 66.9. They are able to force 13.3 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.2% from the field (5th in the nation).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take California

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