California Golden Bears vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 2/18/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Saturday, February 18, 2023

Location: Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

Pauley Pavilion is where the UCLA Bruins (21-4) will meet the California Golden Bears (3-22) on Saturday.

The California Golden Bears took the court against Arizona State and went home with a loss by a final score of 70-62 in their last contest. California ended the contest having earned a 33.9% FG percentage (21 of 62) and buried 10 of their 27 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Golden Bears knocked down 10 of their 17 shots for a percentage of 58.8%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they earned 36 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 13 assists for the contest while forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In the matter of the defense, California allowed 33.3% from the field on 23 out of 69 shooting. Arizona State earned 9 dimes and had 5 steals in this matchup. In addition, Arizona State collected 50 rebounds (19 offensive, 31 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Arizona State ended up going 81.8% at the free throw line by knocking down 18 of 22 attempts. They buried 6 out of their 26 shots from beyond the arc. In the matter of personal fouls, the Golden Bears finished with 20 while Arizona State totaled 18 personal fouls.

Grant Newell is one guy who was a contributor in this contest. He finished the game at 50.0% from the floor but had no assists when the game ended. He played for 31 mins played and also snagged 5 boards. He was able to score 14 points on 6 out of 12 shooting.

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California comes into this game with a record of 3-22 for the season. They average 59.2 pts per contest (361st in D-1) while hitting 40.4% from the field. The Golden Bears are shooting 30.8% on 3-point shots (131 of 426) and 72.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, California is grabbing 31.7 boards per game and has tallied 249 dimes for the year, which ranks 358th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 13.4 times per game and as a squad they are committing 17.0 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Golden Bears are forcing their opponents into 10.5 turnovers per game while drawing 16.3 fouls. They are ranked 161st in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 325 relinquished for the year. The Golden Bears are giving up a FG percentage of 44.6% (618 of 1,386) and they surrender 35.0 rebounds per game as a group. They concede 33.1% on shots from downtown and they rank 154th in D-1 in points per game allowed (68.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the UCLA Bruins walked away with a victory by a final of 70-63 against Oregon. The Bruins were able to pull down 22 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards for a total of 31 in the game. They also turned it over 7 times, while earning 10 steals for the game. Oregon earned 20 personal fouls for this game which took the Bruins to the free throw line for 21 attempts. They were able to make 14 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 66.7%. Concerning shots from 3-point land, UCLA buried 6 of their 11 attempts (54.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Bruins ended up shooting 25 for 60 from the field which had them sitting at 41.7%. The Bruins allowed Oregon to make 21 out of their 48 tries from the floor which left them shooting 43.8% for this game. They shot 35.0% from 3-point land via 7 of 20 and ended up going 14 out of 17 at the charity stripe (82.4%). With respect to attacking the glass, UCLA allowed Oregon to pull down 32 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Jaime Jaquez ended up being a factor for the Bruins for this game. He made 8 of 20 in this game giving him a rate of 40.0%, and accumulated 12 rebounds. He earned 25 points in his 39 mins of playing time and had 3 dimes in the game.

UCLA has a mark of 21-4 so far this season. The Bruins commit 15.4 fouls per game while shooting 71.2% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 14.8 times per game (79th in the country) and they turn the ball over 10.6 times per game. UCLA has 1,849 points on the campaign (74.0 per contest) and they average 35.6 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bruins are connecting on 46.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 79th in college hoops.

The UCLA defense surrenders 30.6% on three-point shots (166 of 543) and opponents are converting on 71.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They give up 11.4 dimes and 31.6 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 81st and 51st in college hoops. The Bruins on defense are ranked 8th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 59.8. They are forcing their opponents into 16.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 40.9% from the floor (47th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCLA

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