Arizona Wildcats vs California Golden Bears Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/29/2023

Game Time: 10:30 pm ET, Friday, December, 29, 2023

Venue:  Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, CA

Where to Watch:  Pac-12 Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Arizona -17.5, Cal +17.5; Over/Under:  156.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Arizona -17.5, Cal +17.5; Over/Under:  156.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Arizona -17.5, Cal +17.5; Over/Under:  156.5 points

Arizona Wildcats:  9-2 (0-0) (1st place, Pac-12)

California Golden Bears:  4-7 (0-0) (12th place, Pac-12)

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Arizona Wildcats:  3-2  last 5

California Golden Bears:  2-3  last 5

Arizona is entering this game with a 9-2 record overall and they are 1-0 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a loss against the Florida Atlantic Owls in their last game. Caleb Love led the team in points per game in that game with 26 while Pelle Larsson was next on the team with 15. Pelle Larsson led the team in assists with 5 in that game while Oumar Ballo led the team in rebounds with 21. They were 38.8% from the field, 28% from 3-point range, and 84.6% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 92.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 70.3 PPG against them. Arizona has an ATS record of 9-2 this season and their O/U record is 5-6.

California is entering this game with a 4-7 record overall and they are 4-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the UC San Diego Tritons in their last game. Fardaws Aimaq led the team in points in that game with 19 while Jalen Cone was next on the team with 15. Jalen Cone and Keonte Kennedy each led the team in assists with 5 in that game while Fardaws Aimaq led the team in rebounds with 10. They were 48.1% from the field, 45.5% from 3-point range, and 50% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 76 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 75.9 PPG against them. California has an ATS record of 6-5 this season and their O/U record is 8-3.

The current betting odds have Arizona listed as a 17.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Arizona has looked really good in their games this season with their 9-2 record overall and they are ranked as one of the best teams in the country right now, inside the top 5. Their only 2 losses were against Purdue and FAU who are both ranked teams too. Meanwhile, California has looked terrible in their games this season with their 4-7 record overall. They are opening up their conference schedule here on their home court but they have already been struggling against much weaker non-conference teams. Arizona is one of the best teams in the country right now and they have been sitting on that loss against FAU all through the Christmas break. Arizona is going to be motivated to come out strong in this game and put that close loss against FAU behind them by opening up their conference schedule with a nice win here. Cal doesn't have the talent to keep this game close, even being at home, and Arizona will eventually pull away in this game where there is no way back in it for Cal. The best way to place a bet here is on Arizona to cover the spread in this game. 

Arizona California Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Friday, December, 29, 2023 (10:30 pm ET start time) is Arizona 96 California 66.

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Arizona Wildcats: 9-2 ATS in all games. 12-6 ATS as a road favorite or pick. 15-6 ATS in a road game where the total is 155 to 159.5. 27-18 OVER as a favorite of 10 or more points. 25-18 OVER after one or more consecutive overs. 32-24 OVER after scoring 80 points or more.

California Golden Bears: 5-11 ATS as a home underdog of 10 or more points. 2-4 ATS in all home games. 8-3 OVER in all games. 6-0 OVER as an underdog. 12-6 OVER after 2 straight games committing 11 or less turnovers. 32-21 OVER off a home no-cover where the team won straight up as a favorite.

Arizona Wildcats:  H. Veesaar (F) Early Jan - Elbow. D. Anderson (F) out for season - Redshirt.

California Golden Bears:  N. Okafor (F) Ques Fri - Undisclosed. V. Pavlovic (G) Ques Fri - Undisclosed.

“We told our guys these are the type of teams you're going to play once you make a deep tournament run. They're an incredible team, incredibly well-coached. That No. 1 kid (Davis) was nails and they're veterans.” - Tommy Lloyd after his team’s loss against FAU in their last game on Saturday.

"I felt we had probably about as good of a first half defensively as we've had all year. We had a couple of lapses at the end of the first half, but we've really emphasized the defense, so that was fantastic." - Mark Madsen after his team’s win against UC San Diego in their last game on Wednesday.

O. Ballo 

K. Boswell 

K. Johnson 

P. Larsson 

C. Love

F. Aimaq 

M. Bowser 

J. Cone 

G. Newell 

J. Tyson

PPG: C. Love (16.5)

APG: K. Boswell (4.4)

Reb/G: O. Ballo (8.1)

PPG: J. Tyson (19.4)

APG: K. Kennedy (4.5)

Reb/G: F. Aimaq (10.7)

Coaches:

Arizona Wildcats: Tommy Lloyd (3rd season)

California Golden Bears: Mark Madsen (1st season)