Arizona Wildcats vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 2/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Arizona Wildcats vs California Golden Bears

Date: Thursday, February 9, 2023

Location: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA

TV: ESPN+

The California Golden Bears (3-20) host the Arizona Wildcats (21-3) at Haas Pavilion on Thursday.

The Arizona Wildcats stepped onto the hardwood against Oregon State and went home with a win by a final score of 84-52 in their last game. Arizona ended having earned a 46.7% field goal percentage (28 of 60) and buried 10 of 25 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Wildcats buried 18 of their 26 tries for a percentage of 69.2%. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 40 with 16 of them being offensive. They also distributed 22 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and having 9 steals. When discussing defending, Arizona allowed the other team to go 35.6% from the field on 16 out of 45 shooting. Oregon State recorded 7 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. Furthermore, Oregon State grabbed 23 rebounds (6 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Oregon State went 60.0% from the charity stripe by converting 15 of 25 attempts. They made 5 out of their 15 attempts from beyond the perimeter. In the matter of personal fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 20 while Oregon State recorded 20 personal fouls.

Azuolas Tubelis is a guy who was a major contributor in the game. He recorded 19 points on 6 out of 10 shooting. He saw the court for 23 mins played and grabbed 8 rebounds. He finished the game at 60.0% from the floor and recorded 1 assist.

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Arizona will enter this matchup with a mark of 21-3 this year. They are turning it over 14.0 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.3 fouls per game. As a team, Arizona is collecting 41.0 rebounds per game and is sitting with 470 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 2nd in the nation in terms of passing. The Wildcats are hitting 36.3% on three-point shots (200 of 551) and 73.5% from the free throw line. They average 83.3 pts per game (8th in the nation) while hitting 48.8% from the floor.

Defensively, the Wildcats are able to force 12.5 turnovers per game and they draw 20.0 personal fouls. They are ranked 145th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 294 surrendered this season. The Wildcats are allowing a shooting percentage of 40.1% (617 of 1,537) and they concede 33.3 rebounds per game as a team. They are relinquishing 31.6% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 214th in D-1 in opponents points per game (70.7).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the California Golden Bears took a loss by a score of 61-46 against Utah. Concerning rebounds, California allowed Utah to get 37 overall (9 on the offensive side). They finished 32.3% from beyond the arc by going 10 out of 31 and ended up going 9 out of 10 from the free throw line (90.0%). The Golden Bears permitted Utah to knock down 21 of their 57 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 36.8% in this contest. When all was said and done, the Golden Bears finished shooting 19 for 56 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.9%. Concerning 3-point shots, California made 4 out of their 17 attempts (23.5%). They were able to knock down 4 of the free throw tries for a rate of 50.0%. Utah was called for 10 personal fouls for this contest which took the Golden Bears to the free throw line for 8 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while recording 5 steals in the game. The Golden Bears snagged 25 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 31 in the matchup.

Lars Thiemann ended up being a factor for the Golden Bears for the contest. He tallied 12 points in his 27 mins on the hardwood and accounted for 1 assist in this matchup. He buried 5 out of 10 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and tallied 4 rebounds.

California has a record of 3-20 on the year. The Golden Bears have committed 16.9 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 73.2% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 9.8 times per game (357th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.6 times per contest. California has scored 1,357 points for the campaign (59.0 per game) and they grab 31.4 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Golden Bears are connecting on 40.7% from the floor, which ranks 338th in the country.

The California defense surrenders 33.1% on shots from behind the 3-point line (160 of 483) and opponents are making 71.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 12.8 dimes and 33.7 boards per contest, which has them ranked 196th and 155th in those categories. The Golden Bears are ranked 132nd in Division 1 in points allowed per contest with 68.0. They are able to force 10.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.9% from the floor (278th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Arizona

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