Montana State Bobcats vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 11/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Montana State Bobcats vs California Golden Bears

Date: Thursday, November 16, 2023

Location: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA

TV: PAC12

The Montana State Bobcats (1-1) are hitting the road to Haas Pavilion on Thursday where they will take on the California Golden Bears (2-1).

The Montana State Bobcats played Seattle and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 71-68 in their last game. Montana State ended the contest having earned a 45.5% field goal percentage (25 of 55) and made 9 of their 26 shots from beyond the arc. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bobcats converted 9 of their 12 attempts for a rate of 75.0%. In reference to pulling down boards, they earned 27 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 10 assists in this contest in addition to creating 15 turnovers and having 7 steals. In the matter of defense, Montana State allowed their opponent to shoot 46.4% from the field on 26 of 56 shooting. Seattle distributed 15 dimes and had 2 steals in the matchup. Furthermore, Seattle totaled 34 rebounds (9 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Seattle finished shooting 68.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 17 of 25 shots. They also knocked down 2 of 20 attempts from three-point range. With respect to personal fouls, the Bobcats ended up with 24 and Seattle finished the game with 19 personal fouls.

Brian Goracke is a guy who was important for this contest. He ended up scoring 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He saw the court for 28 minutes and collected 3 boards. He ended up going 53.8% from the field and distributed 1 assist.

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Montana State comes into this one with a record of 1-1 so far this year. They are averaging 85.5 pts per game (84th in Division 1) while hitting 51.2% from the floor. The Bobcats are hitting 40.0% on shots from distance (24 of 60) and 68.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Montana State is pulling down 30.5 rebounds per game and has accounted for 32 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 243rd in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 9.5 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 19.0 fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bobcats are forcing 19.5 turnovers every game while drawing 17.0 personal fouls. They are 112th in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 26 surrendered this season. The Bobcats are giving up a field goal percentage of 44.5% (49 of 110) and they relinquish 35.0 rebounds per game as a unit. They give up 28.1% on 3-point shots and they are 150th in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (67.0).

In their last game, the California Golden Bears got the victory with a final of 83-63 when they faced CSU Bakersfield. In reference to how they rebounded, California permitted CSU Bakersfield to pull down 22 in total (2 on the offensive side). They wrapped up this game 41.7% from beyond the perimeter by going 5 out of 12 and ended up shooting 20 of 33 at the charity stripe (60.6%). The Golden Bears permitted CSU Bakersfield to make 19 out of their 48 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 39.6% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Golden Bears went 27 for 67 from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.3%. In relation to 3-point attempts, California knocked down 15 out of 36 attempts (41.7%). They were able to knock down 14 of those for a rate of 70.0%. CSU Bakersfield had 21 fouls for the matchup which took the Golden Bears to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They turned the ball over 8 times, while getting 3 steals in the game. The Golden Bears recorded 26 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive boards totaling 41 in this game.

Jalen Cone ended up being important for the Golden Bears for the matchup. He made 7 of 17 in this game for a rate of 41.2%, and accounted for 1 rebound. He recorded 23 points in his 34 minutes on the court and added 1 assist in this contest.

California has a mark of 2-1 for the season. The Golden Bears are committing 17.3 personal fouls per game and they hit 69.9% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.0 times per game (243rd in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.0 times per game. California has totaled 233 pts this season (77.7 per game) and they collect 36.7 rebounds per game. As an offensive team, the Golden Bears are connecting on 44.8% from the field, which is ranked 186th in the nation.

The Golden Bears are ranked 221st in the nation in points per game surrendered with 72.0. They are able to force 11.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.3% from the field (298th in Division 1). The California defense gives up 45.5% on 3-point shots (30 of 66) and their opposition makes 69.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 10.7 assists and 29.0 boards every game, which has them ranked 128th and 34th in those categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take California

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