Arizona vs Cal Poly Prediction
I’ll probably just stick with Arizona but I’m also probably not messing with it. The Wildcats got outmuscled by a good UCLA team in their first game of the year this week, getting just four points from their bench players. Neither team shot very well; Arizona had 37 percent to the Bruins 38 percent. The Wildcats added a fairly rough 23 percent (7-of-30) from outside with 11 turnovers. UCLA led most of the way (90 percent) and had a 16-point lead built up at one point. All of that said, the good news here is that Arizona will have an overmatched team to beat up on in game two, which should help them get their confidence back.
As for Cal Poly, they didn’t have too may issues versus Cal State-San Marcos in their opener, shooting 44 percent from the field with a 59-36 rebounding advantage. It was a sloppy game though, with 25 turnovers for the Mustangs. Cal Poly is about to see a huge uptick in talent here.
Game Info, Stats and Previews
The Cal Poly Mustangs and the Arizona Wildcats meet Thursday in college basketball action from McKale Center. Here’s a collection of relevant information and reasoning for a sound Arizona vs Cal Poly prediction. We have looked at this information from a betting perspective and attempted to determine the best Arizona vs Cal Poly pick.
Cal Poly Mustangs Betting Preview
The Mustangs weren’t able to reach the .500 mark overall last year, going just 14-19 overall. Cal Poly did get to .500 in the Big West at 10-10, which put the team in front of only Long Beach State, UC Riverside and Cal State Bakersfield. The Mustangs finished the regular season on a pretty nice 5-2 run but they didn’t last too long in the Big West Tournament. Cal Poly took a 72-69 loss to UC San Diego in the opening round which ended their season for good.
This year Cal Poly already has one game (and one victory) in the bag so far. The Mustangs took on Cal State-San Marcos on Monday in front of just over 1,000 fans, powering out a 78-62 win in the end. Leading the charge was Hamad Mousa with 18 points, seven rebounds and four turnovers. Cayden Ward added 15 points with 11 rebounds and five assists for a double-double and Guzman Vasilic had 13 points, six boards and three assists. All five Mustangs starters finished in double-digits during the victory effort.
Arizona Wildcats Betting Preview
Over on the Arizona side, they had a deep tournament run last season but fell just short of their ultimate goal. The Wildcats went through the regular season at 36-3 overall and 16-2 in the Big 12. With that effort Arizona finished in first place for a regular-season championship. The Wildcats got through UCF, Iowa State and Houston on the way to a Big 12 Tournament as well. In the NCAA Tournament, Arizona ran through LIU, Utah State, Arkansas and Purdue before a loss to Michigan in the Final Four that finished off their year.
Arizona played their first game of the 2026-27 season against UCLA on Monday. In that one the Wildcats took an 84-75 loss at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in front of just under 11,000 fans. Leading the Wildcats in scoring was Ivan Kharchenkov with 38 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Derek Dixon added 18 points with five rebounds and three turnovers while Motiejus Krivas chipped in eight points with nine boards and four turnovers.
Cal Poly Mustangs @ Arizona Wildcats Betting Trends: November 5, 2026
Why the Arizona Wildcats will win
- Arizona has won each of its last 28 games as a top-15 AP-ranked team against a non-AP-ranked team at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena.
- Cal Poly has lost each of its last seven games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Arizona has won the first half in each of its last 11 games against non-Conference opponents at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena.
Why the Cal Poly Mustangs will win
- Cal Poly has won the first half in each of its last four night games against non-Conference opponents.