Stanford Cardinal vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 3/7/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Stanford Cardinal vs California Golden Bears

Date: Thursday, March 7, 2024

Location: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA

TV: ESPN+

The Stanford Cardinal (12-17) are traveling to Haas Pavilion on Thursday where they will take on the California Golden Bears (13-17).

The Stanford Cardinal stepped onto the hardwood against Colorado and took a loss by a final of 81-71 in their last game. Stanford ended having earned a 43.9% FG percentage (25 of 57) and made 7 of their 28 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Cardinal converted 14 of their 20 tries for a percentage of 70.0%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 25 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 13 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 4 steals. With regard to defense, Stanford allowed 53.2% from the field on 33 of 62 shooting. Colorado totaled 17 assists and had 6 steals for this game. In addition, Colorado grabbed 34 boards (6 offensive, 28 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Colorado went 44.4% when shooting free throws by making 4 of their 9 tries. They converted 11 of their 25 tries from distance. With respect to fouls, the Cardinal ended up finishing with 13 and Colorado had 16 fouls.

Maxime Raynaud is a player who was a factor in this game. He recorded 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 28 minutes played and also pulled down 12 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 76.9% from the field and earned 2 assists.

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Stanford comes into this game with a win-loss record of 12-17 this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.9 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 15.4 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Stanford is pulling in 33.9 rebounds per game and is sitting with 474 assists on the season, which ranks 41st in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Cardinal are shooting 37.3% on three-point attempts (263 of 705) and 74.6% from the free throw line. They average 76.3 points per outing (105th in D-1) while hitting 46.9% from the field.

On defense, the Cardinal are forcing 10.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.4 personal fouls. They rank 149th in college basketball in giving up assists with 376 relinquished so far this season. The Cardinal are giving up a field goal percentage of 45.6% (833 of 1,828) and they concede 35.4 boards per contest as a team. They give up 36.1% on shots from distance while they are 312th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (77.0).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the California Golden Bears went home defeated by a final of 88-59 when they faced Utah. In relation to cleaning up the glass, California allowed Utah to collect 42 overall (12 offensive). They went 41.4% from distance via 12 of 29 and ended up going 10 out of 15 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Golden Bears allowed Utah to make 33 out of 65 tries from the field which had them sitting at 50.8% for this game. When all was said and done, the Golden Bears shot 21 for 61 from the field which had them shooting 34.4%. In terms of three-point shots, California buried 7 out of 29 attempts (24.1%). They were able to bury 10 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 71.4%. Utah had 13 fouls for the matchup which took the Golden Bears to the charity stripe for a total of 14 attempts. They turned the ball over 10 times, while recording 11 steals in this game. The Golden Bears snagged 20 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 24 for this contest.

Jalen Cone pitched in for the Golden Bears in the matchup. He scored 19 points in his 35 minutes on the court and had 3 assists in the matchup. He converted 6 of 14 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 42.9%, and had 4 rebounds.

California has a record of 13-17 this year. As an offense, the Golden Bears are shooting 42.4% from the field, which is ranked 292nd in the country. California has totaled 2,233 pts this year (74.4 per game) and they pull down 37.2 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.0 times per game (279th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 11.3 times per contest. The Golden Bears are responsible for committing 17.1 fouls per game and they shoot 73.1% from the charity stripe.

The California defense gives up 35.7% on shots from 3-point land (235 of 658) and opponents are making 73.0% of their free throw attempts. They give up 12.7 assists and 35.8 boards per contest, ranking them 166th and 242nd in those categories on the defensive end. The Golden Bears defensively are ranked 305th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 76.6. They are forcing 10.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.8% from the floor (244th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take California

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