The Santa Clara Broncos and the California Golden Bears meet Saturday in college basketball action from Haas Pavilion. Santa Clara sits at 7-3 so far this year. The Broncos beat Mount St. Mary’s in their last game. As for California, they’re 5-5 this season and fresh off a win over Idaho State. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Santa Clara got off to a nice 5-0 start this year, but then hit their first loss on November 25 versus Fresno State. The Broncos lost again to UC Irvine, beat Hawaii and lost to LA Tech. Back on Tuesday Santa Clara got another win versus Mount St. Mary’s.
In the matchup versus the Mountaineers, Santa Clara posted a 46-43 edge in the first half and a 42-34 run from there in a nice 88-77 win. Top scorer Jalen Williams finished on 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Over on the California side, their year started out at 2-2 with wins over San Diego and Southern Utah. The Bears have gone 3-3 in the half-dozen games since, losing to Florida, Seton Hall and Utah alongside wins versus Fresno State, Oregon State and Idaho State.
In the Wednesday game versus Idaho State, California posted 42 points in the second half on the way to a dominant 72-46 victory. Both Lars Thiemann and Andre Kelly scored 12 points apiece, and Grant Anticevich doubled up with 10 boards and 10 points.
The Bears are 22-8 ATS in their last 30 at home and 4-0 ATS in their last four after an ATS win. Cal is 5-0 ATS in the last five overall.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara is 1-4 ATS in their last five overall and 22-8 ATS in their last 30 after an ATS loss. The over is 11-4 in the Broncos’ last 15 overall.
PICK: I’m going with California but probably staying away. The Bears put up a good effort against a not-so-good Idaho State team in their last outing, shooting 47.5 percent from the field with 44 rebounds. Cal has been uninspiring at many points this season so far though, and they’ve hit 65 or fewer points in four of their last six.
As for Santa Clara, they’ve hit 70 points or more in each of their last three games. The Broncos are giving up a lot of points to good offensive teams, though. I think California will find a few opportunities here if they can get the scoring going.