Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 2/8/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs California Golden Bears

Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025

Location: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA

TV: ESPN+

The California Golden Bears (12-11) will try to beat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (17-6) at Haas Pavilion on Saturday.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons faced Stanford and earned the victory with a final of 79-73 in their last game. Wake Forest finished the game having earned a 52.1% field goal percentage (25 of 48) and buried 4 of their 12 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Demon Deacons made 25 of their 33 shots for a percentage of 75.8%. When discussing hauling in rebounds, they earned 29 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 10 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 8 steals. In reference to defending, Wake Forest allowed 42.9% from the floor on 24 out of 56 shooting. Stanford totaled 11 dimes and had 10 steals in the game. In addition, Stanford totaled 26 rebounds (10 offensive, 16 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Stanford finished the game shooting 90.5% when shooting free throws by making 19 of their 21 shots. They also converted 6 out of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc. Regarding fouls, the Demon Deacons walked away with 19 and Stanford racked up 24 fouls.

Cameron Hildreth is one player who played a role for the game. He went 70.0% from the field and dished out 1 assist. He played for 34 minutes played and also snagged 2 rebounds. He accounted for 22 points on 7 of 10 shooting.

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Wake Forest comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 17-6 this year. They are turning it over 11.8 times per contest and as a group they commit 16.7 fouls every game. As a team, Wake Forest is grabbing 33.5 boards per contest and has accounted for 261 assists this year, which is 324th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Demon Deacons are shooting 28.8% on shots from downtown (137 of 475) and 75.2% from the free throw line. They have an average of 70.1 points per contest (283rd in Division 1) while hitting 44.7% from the field.

Defensively, the Demon Deacons are able to force 14.0 turnovers per game and they draw 18.2 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 30.4% on 3-point attempts and they are 48th in college in PPG from their opponents (66.5). The Demon Deacons defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 39.3% (519 of 1,321) and they surrender 35.0 rebounds per contest as a team. They rank 174th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 297 conceded on the year.

The last time they took the court, the California Golden Bears went home victorious with a score of 74-62 when they played North Carolina State. The Golden Bears pulled down 29 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 38 for the contest. They gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while earning 4 steals for the contest. North Carolina State was called for 13 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Golden Bears to the charity stripe for a total of 12 tries. They were able to make 11 of them for a percentage of 91.7%. When talking about 3-point shots, California converted 9 out of 21 tries (42.9%). At the conclusion of this game, the Golden Bears went 27 for 64 from the floor which had them sitting at 42.2%. The Golden Bears allowed North Carolina State to bury 24 of their 62 tries from the field which had them at 38.7% in this matchup. They went 23.1% from 3-point land by connecting on 3 out of 13 and walked away from this one shooting 11 out of 11 from the free throw line (100.0%). In reference to how they rebounded, California allowed North Carolina State to grab 30 overall (4 offensive).

Jovan Blacksher Jr. ended up being important for the Golden Bears in the game. He earned 18 points in his 35 minutes of playing time and tallied 2 assists for this game. He converted 5 of 10 in this game for a rate of 50.0%, and accounted for 1 rebound.

California has a record of 12-11 so far this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Golden Bears are connecting on 42.4% from the floor, which ranks 301st in the nation. California has totaled 1,730 pts for the campaign (75.2 per game) and they pull down 37.4 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 10.5 times per game (353rd in college hoops) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.3 times per game. The Golden Bears commit 16.0 fouls every game and they go 75.5% from the free throw line.

The Golden Bears defensively are ranked 276th in the country in PPG given up with 75.0. They are able to force 10.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.1% from the field (312th in college). The California defense concedes 36.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (163 of 444) and opponents are connecting on 73.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 11.9 dimes and 34.5 rebounds per game, which ranks them 74th and 186th in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take California

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