California vs Stanford 1/6/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Stanford Cardinal and the California Golden Bears meet Friday in college basketball action from Haas Pavilion. Stanford is currently 5-9 on the year. The Cardinal lost to Utah in their last matchup. As for California, they’re 2-13 so far after a Saturday win over Colorado. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Stanford went 4-6 over their first 10 games this year, beating Pacific, Cal Poly, Florida State and Green Bay in that time. The Cardinal have since gone 1-3 with losses to Teas, Colorado and Utah. 

In the Utah game back on Saturday, the Cardinal were outscored 30-23 in the first half. Stanford posted 43 points from there but couldn’t come back in a 71-66 loss. Spencer Jones topped the team on 16 points with four rebounds. 

Over on the California side, they lost 12 straight games to begin the year before finally getting a win over TX-Arlington on December 21. The Bears would then lose to Utah and beat Colorado in their next pair. 

On Saturday versus Colorado, the Bears were up 39-27 by the second half. California had to scramble a bit from there but pulled off the win 80-76. Joel Brown posted 21 points, and Grant Newell doubled on 13 points and 12 rebounds. 

PICK: I might take a stab on California here. Sure, this matchup doesn’t have a ton of intrigue involved in it, but it should be a competitive affair if the Golden Bears play well. California has scored 73 or more points in two of the last three games—both wins—so if they get off to a good start here anything’s possible. Stanford should put up a fight as well; they’ve scored 66 or more points in three straight games. It’ll be an entertaining matchup at least, and I like California to bag a cover.