UCLA Bruins vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 1/8/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs California Golden Bears

Date: Saturday, January 8, 2022

Location: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA

TV: PAC12

The California Golden Bears (9-5) will go up against the UCLA Bruins (8-1) at Haas Pavilion on Saturday.

The UCLA Bruins took the court against Marquette and walked away with a win by a score of 67-56 in their last contest. UCLA wrapped up the game with a 36.4% field goal percentage (24 of 66) and made 9 out of their 24 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Bruins converted 10 of their 17 attempts for a rate of 58.8%. With regard to grabbing boards, they earned 42 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 16 assists in the matchup while forcing 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing defense, UCLA allowed the other team to shoot 33.3% from the floor on 19 of 57 shooting. Marquette dished out 15 assists and had 7 steals in this game. Additionally, Marquette pulled down 35 rebounds (7 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Marquette ended up shooting 71.4% when shooting free throws by burying 10 of their 14 tries. They also made 8 of 33 tries from downtown. In relation to fouls, the Bruins ended up with 13 and Marquette had 16 fouls.

Jaime Jaquez is a guy who played a role for the matchup. He ended up finishing with 24 points on 7 of 16 shooting. He played for 35 mins and grabbed 11 boards. He finished the game shooting 43.8% from the field and recorded 2 dimes.

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UCLA will play this game with a mark of 8-1 so far this season. They are giving up possession 10.0 times per contest and as a group are committing 16.1 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, UCLA is pulling down 41.2 rebounds per game and has accumulated 144 dimes this year, which has them ranked 301st in the country in terms of passing. The Bruins are shooting 39.0% on shots from beyond the arc (76 of 195) and 70.5% from the charity stripe. They average 81.1 pts per contest (24th in the country) while shooting 45.4% from the field.

On defense, the Bruins have forced 13.1 turnovers per game and they draw 17.8 personal fouls. They surrender 32.5% on 3-point shots and they are 108th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (65.6). Bruins defense is giving up a FG percentage of 42.0% (217 of 517) and they concede 31.7 boards per game as a squad. They are ranked 14th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 110 conceded this year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the California Golden Bears got the victory with a final of 74-50 against Arizona State. The Golden Bears pulled down 30 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 34 for this contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while getting 4 steals for this contest. Arizona State was called for 18 personal fouls for this game which got the Golden Bears to the charity stripe for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to make 11 of them for a clip of 64.7%. Regarding shots from distance, California converted 9 out of their 19 tries (47.4%). Overall, the Golden Bears shot 27 out of 53 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.9%. The Golden Bears allowed Arizona State to convert 19 out of their 58 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 32.8% in the game. They finished 17.6% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 3 out of 17 and ended up shooting 9 of 11 from the free throw line (81.8%). With respect to cleaning up the glass, California allowed Arizona State to grab 31 in total (7 offensive).

Jordan Shepherd was important for the Golden Bears for the matchup. He knocked down 3 of 8 in the game for a rate of 37.5%, and earned 1 rebound. He earned 16 points in his 29 minutes of playing time and had 4 dimes in the matchup.

California has a record of 9-5 for the campaign. The Golden Bears are committing 15.4 fouls every game while shooting 71.7% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 10.9 times per game (319th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 11.1 times per game. California has scored 936 pts this year (66.9 per contest) and they average 37.6 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Golden Bears are connecting on 44.7% from the field, which is 162nd in college basketball.

The California defense gives up 30.0% on shots from 3-point land (88 of 293) and opponents are making 75.2% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 9.4 assists and 32.4 total rebounds per game, which is 12th and 83rd in the nation. The Golden Bears on defense are ranked 41st in D-1 in points given up per game with 61.6. They have forced 10.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 39.1% from the floor (39th in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCLA

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