California Golden Bears vs Clemson Tigers Prediction, 1/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs Clemson Tigers

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Location: Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, SC

TV: ESPN+

The Clemson Tigers (11-3) will go up against the California Golden Bears (7-6) at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday.

The California Golden Bears played Pittsburgh and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 86-74 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Golden Bears walked away with 24 while Pittsburgh recorded 20 personal fouls. They converted 8 of their 18 attempts from beyond the arc. Pittsburgh shot 76.5% when shooting free throws by burying 26 of their 34 shots. Additionally, Pittsburgh snagged 30 boards (7 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Pittsburgh recorded 16 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. In the matter of defense, California allowed the other team to go 50.0% from the field on 26 out of 52 shooting. They also dished out 13 assists in this game as well as creating 8 turnovers and having 5 steals. With regard to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 27 with 7 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Golden Bears knocked down 24 of their 29 shots for a rate of 82.8%. California walked away from the contest with a 40.0% field goal percentage (22 of 55) and buried 6 of their 21 shots from beyond the arc.

Jeremiah Wilkinson is one player who was a major contributor in the matchup. He was able to score 24 points on 6 of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 29 mins and snagged 6 boards. He went 40.0% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes.

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California comes into this matchup with a mark of 7-6 on the season. They have an average of 78.5 points per outing (107th in D-1) while connecting on 45.3% from the field. The Golden Bears are shooting 36.0% on shots from distance (105 of 292) and 75.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, California is snagging 37.5 rebounds per game and has 140 dimes so far this season, which is 350th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 13.3 times per game and as a group they commit 17.8 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Golden Bears are forcing their opponents into 11.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.8 fouls. They are currently ranked 121st in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 161 relinquished for the year. The Golden Bears defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.5% (354 of 761) and they concede 32.1 boards per game as a group. They give up 37.1% on 3-point attempts while they are 307th in D-1 in points per game allowed (76.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Clemson Tigers got the win with a final of 85-71 against Stanford. Regarding how they attacked the glass, Clemson allowed Stanford to grab 31 in all (10 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 28.6% from three-point range by shooting 6 out of 21 and finished the contest at 11 of 12 at the free throw line (91.7%). The Tigers permitted Stanford to bury 27 of 61 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.3% for the matchup. In all, the Tigers went 28 for 58 from the floor which had them shooting 48.3%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Clemson made 8 out of 19 attempts (42.1%). They were able to knock down 21 of the free throws for a percentage of 87.5%. Stanford committed 20 personal fouls for this game which took the Tigers to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while earning 16 steals in this game. The Tigers earned 20 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 28 for the game.

Chase Hunter pitched in for the Tigers for the matchup. He converted 7 out of 15 in this game for a field goal percentage of 46.7%, and accounted for 2 rebounds. He earned 22 points in his 36 mins on the court and tallied 2 assists in the game.

Clemson has a record of 11-3 for the year. As an offense, the Tigers are connecting on 45.5% from the field, which ranks 165th in the nation. Clemson has accounted for 1,098 points this season (78.4 per game) and they grab 36.1 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 14.4 times per game (171st in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.6 times per contest. The Tigers are responsible for committing 15.6 fouls per contest and they shoot 78.0% from the free throw line.

The Clemson defense allows 31.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (98 of 309) and their opposition makes 71.6% of their foul shots. They relinquish 10.5 dimes and 33.1 total boards per game, which has them ranked 35th and 125th in Division 1. The Tigers are ranked 79th in D-1 in PPG given up with 66.8. They are able to force 14.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.1% from the floor (190th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take California

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