SMU Mustangs vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 2/26/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: SMU Mustangs vs California Golden Bears

Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Location: Haas Pavilion in Boca Raton, FL

TV: ESPN+

Haas Pavilion is the location where the California Golden Bears (12-15) will take on the SMU Mustangs (20-7) on Wednesday.

The SMU Mustangs played Clemson and went home with a loss by a final score of 79-69 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Mustangs finished with 12 and Clemson totaled 18 personal fouls. They also made 14 out of their 29 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Clemson finished 81.8% at the charity stripe by knocking down 9 of their 11 tries. Additionally, Clemson collected 23 rebounds (8 offensive, 15 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Clemson earned 24 dimes and had 9 steals for this contest. In relation to the defense, SMU let their opponent shoot 49.1% from the floor on 28 out of 57 shooting. They also recorded 16 dimes in the game while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and having 9 steals. When discussing getting rebounds, they collected 35 with 16 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Mustangs converted 11 of 14 attempts for a rate of 78.6%. SMU ended the game with a 43.9% FG percentage (25 of 57) and made 8 out of their 25 shots from downtown.

Chuck Harris is one player who was a major factor in this game. He finished the game at 41.7% from the field and also dished out 5 assists. He played 35 mins played and also snagged 4 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 16 points on 5 out of 12 shooting.

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SMU will play this game with a mark of 20-7 this year. They lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.7 personal fouls per game. As a unit, SMU is snagging 39.8 rebounds per contest and has racked up 444 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 54th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Mustangs are shooting 38.0% on 3-point shots (224 of 589) and 73.2% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 82.2 points per contest (23rd in the nation) on 48.1% from the field.

Defensively, the Mustangs are able to force 12.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.2 fouls. They rank 311th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 415 conceded for the year. The Mustangs are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.5% (661 of 1,631) and they concede 33.1 boards per contest as a squad. They are giving up 33.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 180th in college hoops in PPG allowed (71.7).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the California Golden Bears walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 66-61 when they faced Stanford. The Golden Bears pulled down 28 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 38 in this contest. They also coughed it up 13 times, while earning 8 steals for the matchup. Stanford committed 25 fouls for this game which took the Golden Bears to the charity stripe for a total of 29 attempts. They were able to make 19 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 65.5%. In regard to 3-pointers, California made 4 out of 14 attempts (28.6%). When the final whistle was blown, the Golden Bears went 19 for 55 from the floor which gave them a rate of 34.5%. The Golden Bears permitted Stanford to bury 19 of their 51 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 37.3% for the game. They finished 36.8% from beyond the arc by shooting 7 out of 19 and ended up shooting 21 out of 27 from the free throw line (77.8%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, California allowed Stanford to pull down 31 in total (4 on the offensive glass).

Jeremiah Wilkinson pitched in for the Golden Bears in this matchup. He totaled 19 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and totaled 1 assist for this game. He made 6 of 16 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 37.5%, and had 6 rebounds.

California has a mark of 12-15 on the season. As an offense, the Golden Bears are shooting 42.0% from the field, which is ranked 325th in the country. California has accumulated 2,002 points so far this year (74.1 per game) and they collect 37.0 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 10.4 times per contest (356th in college hoops) and they turn it over 11.5 times per game. The Golden Bears are committing 16.0 fouls per game and they connect on 75.1% from the free throw line.

The California defense gives up 37.4% on 3-pointers (193 of 516) and their opponents are converting on 73.7% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 12.1 assists and 34.4 total boards per game, which ranks them 95th and 191st in the nation. The Golden Bears on the defensive side of the court are 282nd in college in points allowed per contest with 75.3. They are able to force 10.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 46.5% from the field (322nd in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take California

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