UC San Diego Tritons vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 12/20/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC San Diego Tritons vs California Golden Bears

Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Location: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA

TV: PAC12

Haas Pavilion is the location where the California Golden Bears (3-7) will try to beat the UC San Diego Tritons (6-5) on Wednesday.

The UC San Diego Tritons faced off with Sacramento State and went home with a win by a final score of 83-52 in their last contest. UC San Diego walked away from the contest having earned a 42.6% FG percentage (29 out of 68) and made 15 out of their 36 shots from distance. From the free throw line, the Tritons made 10 of 12 shots for a rate of 83.3%. Regarding getting rebounds, they earned 32 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 19 assists in this game as well as forcing the opposition into 21 turnovers and earning 11 steals. When discussing defending, UC San Diego allowed the other team to shoot 39.1% from the floor on 18 of 46 shooting. Sacramento State distributed 12 assists and had 1 steal for the contest. Moreover, Sacramento State collected 35 rebounds (7 offensive, 28 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Sacramento State shot 80.0% from the free throw line by burying 12 of their 15 attempts. They buried 4 of their 19 shots from long range. Regarding personal fouls, the Tritons ended up with 18 and Sacramento State recorded 15 personal fouls.

Tyler McGhie is a guy who came through for the contest. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the field and totaled 1 assist. He was on the court for 26 mins played but didn't pull down any rebounds. He walked away with 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting.

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UC San Diego comes into this one with a record of 6-5 on the season. They turn the ball over 10.1 times per contest and as a squad they commit 15.5 fouls per contest. As a unit, UC San Diego is pulling in 35.3 boards per game and has tallied 149 assists for the year, which is 186th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Tritons are shooting 34.6% on shots from 3-point land (99 of 286) and 77.3% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 77.4 pts per game (128th in D-1) while going 45.5% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Tritons are forcing their opponents into 12.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.1 personal fouls. They currently rank 183rd in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 137 conceded so far this season. The Tritons defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 40.6% (276 of 680) and they concede 36.7 rebounds per game as a group. They are giving up 30.1% on shots from distance and they are 110th in college hoops in opponents points per game (67.9).

For their last game, the California Golden Bears took a loss by a final score of 88-78 when they played Ole Miss. The Golden Bears were able to corral 22 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards for a total of 35 in this matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 3 steals in this game. Ole Miss had 13 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Golden Bears to the free throw line for a total of 10 shots. They were able to make 8 of the free throw tries for a rate of 80.0%. With respect to shots from distance, California made 10 of their 30 tries (33.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Golden Bears walked away from this one shooting 30 out of 72 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.7%. The Golden Bears allowed Ole Miss to convert 31 of 59 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 52.5% in this matchup. They wrapped up this game 57.1% from three-point range by connecting on 12 of 21 and finished the contest at 14 out of 16 at the charity stripe (87.5%). In regard to rebounds, California allowed Ole Miss to collect 30 in all (6 offensive).

Jaylon Tyson ended up having an impact for the Golden Bears for the contest. He racked up 22 points in his 32 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 3 dimes in the matchup. He made 9 of 17 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 52.9%, and accumulated 4 rebounds.

California has a win-loss record of 3-7 so far this year. As an offense, the Golden Bears are connecting on 43.6% from the field, which has them ranked 243rd in college hoops. California has totaled 765 pts for the campaign (76.5 per contest) and they average 38.4 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 10.9 times per contest (325th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 13.7 times per contest. The Golden Bears commit 18.0 fouls per game and they hit 75.5% from the charity stripe.

The Golden Bears defensively are ranked 308th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 76.8. They are forcing 10.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 45.0% from the floor (291st in college hoops). The California defense allows 37.4% from downtown (80 of 214) and their opponents are connecting on 76.4% of their foul shots. They concede 11.2 dimes and 31.7 rebounds per game, which ranks them 80th and 50th in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UC San Diego

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