Cal State-Bakersfield vs Long Beach State 1/1/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Long Beach State Beach will travel to the Icardo Center to take on the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners this Saturday night in College Basketball action.

The Long Beach State Beach dropped to 3-7 on the season after being defeated by the 16^th ranked USC Trojans, 73-62, on December 12^th. Long Beach State gave USC all they could handle in the first half and went into halftime tied at 38-all, however, Long Beach State struggled offensively in the 2^nd half and could not fight back after the Trojans took a 68-56 lead with 2:15 left in regulation. Long Beach State shot 38.3% from the field & 27.8% from beyond the arc while allowing USC to shoot 49.1% from the field & 41.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Beach was Joel Murray who had 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, & 2 steals.

On the season, Long Beach State is averaging 73.1 ppg on 45.0% shooting from the field. The Beach are averaging 5.5 three-pointers per game on 32.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Long Beach State has been led by Joel Murray (16.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.3 spg), Colin Slater (12.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.1 apg), Jordan Roberts (9.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.1 spg), & Drew Cobb (5.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.6 apg).

Defensively, Long Beach State is allowing their opponents to average 81.2 ppg on 46.1% shooting from the field. The Beach have a rebound margin of 3.5 and a turnover margin of -3.6.

The CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners dropped to 5-5 on the season after being defeated by the CSU Fullerton Titans, 73-67, this past Thursday. CSU Bakersfield struggled defensively in the 2^nd half against CSU Fullerton and could not fight back after the Titans took a 65-51 lead with 3:22 left in regulation. CSU Bakersfield shot 41.3% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while allowing CSU Fullerton to shoot 42.9% from the field & 22.2% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Roadrunners was Kaleb Higgins who had 14 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, & 1 steal.

On the season, CSU Bakersfield is averaging 64.4 ppg on 41.9% shooting from the field. The Roadrunners are averaging 4.2 three-pointers per game on 30.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, CSU Bakersfield has been led by Justin McCall (10.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg), Kaleb Higgins (10.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.3 spg), Justin Edler-Davis (9.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg), & Shaun Williams (6.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg).

Defensively, CSU Bakersfield is holding their opponents to an average of 63.9 ppg on 40.2% shooting from the field. The Roadrunners have a rebound margin of 2.4 and a turnover margin of 3.0.

The Beach are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road games, however, are just 6-15-1 ATS in their last 22 games following a ATS win. The Roadrunners are 8-22-1 ATS in their last 31 home games & 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.

Long Beach State has been average on the offensive end, ranking 156^th in scoring offense & 147^th in FG%, however, the Beach have really struggled defensively as they come into this matchup ranked just t-344^th in scoring defense & 316^th in defensive FG%. CSU Bakersfield has struggled on the offensive end this season as they currently rank just 311^th in scoring offense, however, the Roadrunners have been great defensively and come into this matchup ranked 78^th in scoring defense & 83^rd in defensive FG%.

CSU Bakersfield has struggled ATS as of late, however, the Roadrunners have been good at home, posting a 4-1 record, and between the fact that Long Beach State hasn’t played a game in almost three weeks and that I think that the CSU Bakersfield offense will have some success against the poor Long Beach State defense, I’m taking the Roadrunners to cover this mid-range home spread. Good Luck!