California vs UC Davis 11/7/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The UC Davis Aggies and the California Golden Bears meet Monday in college basketball action from Haas Pavilion. UC Davis is coming off a 13-11 overall record last season, landing far down the standings of the Big West Conference. As for California, they managed a disappointing 12-20 record overall last year and weren’t a factor in the Pac-12. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

UC Davis took a baby step forward last season, finishing 13-11 overall and 5-6 in Big West matchups. The Aggies were near the middle of the standings with that effort, finishing ahead of CSU Northridge, CSU Bakersfield, Cal Poly and UC San Diego. 

UC Davis came out of non-conference play at 6-4, then the team was only able to play one game from December 22 to January 8 due to virus protocols. Ultimately the Aggies lost three of their final four regular-season matchups and fell to CSU Fullerton in the conference tourney. 

Over on the California side, they improved over the 2020-21 season last year (9-20 overall) with a 12-20 record overall and a 5-15 Pac-12 finish. The Golden Bears were three games behind Stanford in the standings, ahead of only Utah and Oregon State. 

California was 9-5 at one point in the season, then the team hit a rough 10-game losing streak. The Bears would lose four of their final five regular-season games, and the campaign ended with a 66-59 loss to Washington State in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. 

The Aggies are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 Monday games and 4-1 ATS in their last five overall. The Golden Bears are 15-4 ATS in their last 19 Monday games and 13-5 ATS in their last 18 at home. 

PICK: I’m going to take an optimistic stab on California, but staying away in reality. It’s probably going to be another rough campaign for the Golden Bears as they fight their way back toward relevance. That said, it’s not crazy to think that California could take a step forward. Last year’s number-four scorer Jalen Celestine is back in action, and Joel Brown should help facilitate the offensive movement as well. Devin Askew will also be another player to watch; he comes in as a transfer after spending time with Kentucky and Texas. It might not be pretty, but I think Cal can cover if they come out firing.