California Golden Bears vs Butler Bulldogs Prediction, 12/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs Butler Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023

Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: FS1

Hinkle Fieldhouse is the location where the Butler Bulldogs (7-2) will attempt to beat the California Golden Bears (3-5) on Saturday.

The California Golden Bears faced Santa Clara and went home with a win by a final score of 84-69 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Golden Bears ended up finishing with 8 while Santa Clara totaled 15 fouls. They made 10 of 29 tries from beyond the arc. Santa Clara finished the contest at 50.0% at the free throw line by making 5 of 10 tries. Additionally, Santa Clara collected 39 boards (17 offensive, 22 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Santa Clara earned 10 dimes and had 3 steals for the matchup. When talking about the defense, California allowed 38.0% from the floor on 27 out of 71 shooting. They also recorded 12 assists in the game while creating 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected 35 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Golden Bears knocked down 13 of 14 shots for a rate of 92.9%. California finished with a 48.4% FG percentage (31 out of 64) and made 9 of their 25 three-point shots.

Jalen Cone is one player who played a role for this game. He left the arena with 26 points on 8 out of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 35 mins played and totaled 4 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 72.7% from the floor and also dished out 3 assists.

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California enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 3-5 on the season. They are averaging 74.6 points per outing (178th in the nation) on 43.5% from the floor. The Golden Bears are shooting 32.7% on shots from beyond the arc (65 of 199) and 74.9% from the free throw line. As a team, California is pulling down 38.5 boards per contest and is sitting with 76 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 351st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 13.5 times per game and as a unit are committing 18.3 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Golden Bears are able to force 10.1 turnovers per game while drawing 18.9 fouls. They currently rank 16th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 73 relinquished on the season. The Golden Bears defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 43.0% (198 of 461) and they relinquish 30.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They surrender 34.5% on three-point shots while they are 227th in college hoops in PPG allowed (72.9).

In their last game, the Butler Bulldogs got the win with a final of 72-59 against Buffalo. The Bulldogs were able to snag 25 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 36 in this matchup. They also turned it over 11 times, while recording 10 steals for the contest. Buffalo committed 11 fouls for the game which got the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for 10 attempts. They were able to convert 7 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 70.0%. Pertaining to shooting from distance, Butler buried 5 of their 24 attempts (20.8%). When this game wrapped up, the Bulldogs ended up going 30 out of 67 from the field which had them at 44.8%. The Bulldogs allowed Buffalo to convert 24 of their 62 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 38.7% for the game. They went 23.1% from three-point range by hitting 6 of 26 and finished the game at 5 out of 8 from the free throw line (62.5%). Concerning cleaning up the glass, Butler allowed Buffalo to collect 31 in total (7 offensive).

Jahmyl Telfort was important for the Bulldogs in this contest. He earned 18 points in his 33 minutes of playing time and accounted for 8 dimes for this contest. He made 8 out of 16 for this game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and accounted for 9 rebounds.

Butler has a win-loss mark of 7-2 on the year. As an offense, the Bulldogs are connecting on 48.1% from the field, which ranks them 49th in the nation. Butler has tallied 739 pts on the year (82.1 per contest) and they snag 37.7 boards per contest. They are getting an assist 15.2 times per game (85th in the country) and they turn it over 10.7 times per game. The Bulldogs commit 13.3 personal fouls every game and they shoot 77.6% from the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs on the defensive end are ranked 111th in Division 1 in points allowed per contest with 67.9. They are forcing 12.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.1% from the floor (67th in college hoops). The Butler defense concedes 29.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (65 of 224) and their opposition knocks down 66.2% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 12.0 assists and 35.6 boards every game, which is ranked 144th and 204th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take California

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