California Golden Bears vs Washington State Cougars Prediction, 2/15/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs Washington State Cougars

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2024

Location: Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, WA

TV: PAC12

The Washington State Cougars (18-6) will compete against the California Golden Bears (10-14) at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum on Thursday.

The California Golden Bears stepped onto the hardwood against UCLA and ended up losing by a score of 61-60 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Golden Bears ended up with 18 and UCLA finished the game with 14 fouls. They also buried 5 out of their 17 shots from beyond the arc. UCLA finished the contest at 63.6% at the free throw line by knocking down 14 of 22 tries. Additionally, UCLA totaled 34 boards (9 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. UCLA doled out 7 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. When discussing defense, California let their opponent shoot 36.2% from the floor on 21 of 58 shooting. They also dished out 8 dimes in this contest while forcing the other team into 5 turnovers and earning 3 steals. When discussing getting rebounds, they earned a total of 34 with 8 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Golden Bears converted 10 of their 18 attempts for a rate of 55.6%. California ended the contest with a 39.6% FG percentage (21 out of 53) and made 8 of 26 shots from beyond the arc.

Jaylon Tyson is one guy who had an impact for this contest. He ended up going 50.0% from the field and distributed 3 assists. He was on the court for 37 mins and also pulled down 6 rebounds. He totaled 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting.

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California will enter this contest with a mark of 10-14 for the year. They turn it over 11.7 times per contest and as a unit are committing 17.4 fouls per contest. As a unit, California is collecting 37.9 boards per game and has tallied 295 assists on the season, which is 275th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Golden Bears are shooting 34.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (210 of 612) and 72.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.0 points per game (157th in Division 1) while hitting 42.8% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Golden Bears are forcing 10.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.7 fouls. They rank 142nd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 300 conceded this season. The Golden Bears defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 44.4% (644 of 1,452) and they concede 35.2 boards per game as a squad. They are giving up 35.3% on three-point shots and they rank 288th in the country in points per game allowed (75.9).

When they last played, the Washington State Cougars got the win with a final of 62-56 when they faced Oregon. The Cougars pulled down 25 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 32 in this matchup. They turned it over 12 times, while earning 7 steals for the contest. Oregon had 18 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for 22 attempts. They were able to make 15 of the free throw tries for a rate of 68.2%. With respect to shooting from 3-point land, Washington State made 5 of 12 tries (41.7%). In all, the Cougars finished the game shooting 21 for 49 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.9%. The Cougars permitted Oregon to make 22 of their 61 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 36.1% in the game. They finished 22.2% from distance via 4 of 18 and ended up shooting 8 out of 14 from the charity stripe (57.1%). In reference to team rebounding, Washington State permitted Oregon to collect 31 in total (10 offensive).

Myles Rice ended up being a major contributor for the Cougars in this contest. He racked up 21 points in his 38 mins on the court and accumulated 3 dimes for this game. He buried 6 out of 15 in this contest for a field goal rate of 40.0%, and had 9 rebounds.

Washington State has a record of 18-6 on the season. The Cougars are responsible for committing 17.3 personal fouls per contest and they go 69.3% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 12.4 times per game (251st in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.4 times per game. Washington State has totaled 1,807 pts for the year (75.3 per contest) and they grab 37.9 boards per contest. When it comes to offense, the Cougars are shooting 47.2% from the field, which is ranked 59th in D-1.

The Washington State defense gives up 32.0% on three-point shots (141 of 440) and opponents are knocking down 74.8% of their foul shots. They have allowed 10.5 assists and 32.5 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 20th and 61st in those categories. The Cougars on defense are ranked 56th in college hoops in PPG given up with 66.9. They are forcing their opponents into 10.7 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 40.8% from the floor (39th in Division 1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take California

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