Syracuse Orange vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 2/1/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Syracuse Orange vs California Golden Bears

Date: Saturday, February 1, 2025

Location: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA

TV: ESPN+

The California Golden Bears (11-10) will take on the Syracuse Orange (9-12) at Haas Pavilion on Saturday.

The Syracuse Orange faced Stanford and went home with a loss by a final score of 70-61 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Orange ended up walking away with 16 and Stanford had 10 personal fouls. They also converted 7 of their 23 tries from beyond the perimeter. Stanford ended up shooting 78.9% at the free throw line by converting 15 of their 19 shots. Moreover, Stanford snagged 31 rebounds (7 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Stanford earned 9 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. In regard to defending, Syracuse let their opponent shoot 44.4% from the floor on 24 of 54 shooting. They also doled out 9 assists in the game while forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and having 4 steals. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 28 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Orange made 9 of their 14 attempts for a rate of 64.3%. Syracuse ended the game having earned a 46.9% field goal percentage (23 of 49) and converted 6 out of their 19 three-point attempts.

Jaquan Carlos is a guy who came through in this game. He ended up finishing with 16 points on 6 of 6 shooting. He saw the court for 33 minutes and grabbed 4 boards. He finished 100.0% from the field and also dished out 3 assists.

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Syracuse heads into this one with a win-loss mark of 9-12 this season. They average 74.2 pts per contest (197th in D-1) while connecting on 45.3% from the floor. The Orange are connecting on 31.2% on shots beyond the perimeter (132 of 423) and 68.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Syracuse is grabbing 37.6 boards per game and has totaled 280 dimes this year, which ranks 204th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 12.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.8 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Orange are forcing 9.8 turnovers per game and they draw 17.6 personal fouls. They currently rank 232nd in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 285 surrendered for the season. The Orange are allowing a field goal percentage of 45.7% (588 of 1,286) and they surrender 34.4 rebounds per game as a team. They concede 34.1% from beyond the arc while they are 321st in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (77.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the California Golden Bears walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 76-65 against SMU. In relation to rebounding, California permitted SMU to snag 42 in all (11 on the offensive glass). They went 30.0% from downtown by shooting 6 out of 20 and finished the game at 16 out of 19 at the free throw line (84.2%). The Golden Bears permitted SMU to convert 27 of their 60 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 45.0% for the matchup. When the game finished, the Golden Bears shot 23 for 67 from the field which gave them a rate of 34.3%. In the matter of three-point attempts, California made 5 out of their 25 attempts (20.0%). They were able to make 14 of them for a clip of 66.7%. SMU was called for 17 fouls for the game which got the Golden Bears to the free throw line for 21 tries. They also coughed it up 11 times, while recording 8 steals for this contest. The Golden Bears snagged 17 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 31 for the matchup.

Rytis Petraitis was important for the Golden Bears for the contest. He had 18 points in his 35 mins of playing time and had 2 dimes in the matchup. He made 6 of 10 for the contest for a field goal rate of 60.0%, and had 10 rebounds.

California has a win-loss record of 11-10 so far this season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Golden Bears are shooting 43.1% from the field, which is ranked 269th in college hoops. California has tallied 1,590 points on the campaign (75.7 per contest) and they grab 37.1 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 10.6 times per contest (351st in college) and they turn it over 11.7 times per contest. The Golden Bears commit 16.4 fouls per contest and they connect on 74.8% from the free throw line.

The California defense allows 36.6% from downtown (152 of 415) and their opponents are connecting on 72.5% of their foul shots. They have conceded 12.2 dimes and 34.2 total boards per game, which is 109th and 171st in those categories on the defensive end. The Golden Bears are ranked 286th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 75.6. They have forced 11.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.4% from the floor (326th in Division 1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Syracuse

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