UCLA Bruins (12-11) vs. California Golden Bears (10-13)
February 10, 2024 5:30 pm EDT
The Line: California Golden Bears -2; Over/Under: 133.5
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The UCLA Bruins and the California Golden Bears meet Saturday in college basketball action from Haas Pavilion. UCLA is 12-11 so far. The Bruins have won four straight, most recently versus Stanford. As for California, they’re 10-13 following an overtime win versus USC on Wednesday. Let’s get into our UCLA vs. California prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UCLA Bruins
The Bruins got off to a rough 6-10 start this year with wins over only St. Francis PA, Lafayette, LIU, Chaminade, UC Riverside and Oregon State. UCLA is 6-1 in their last seven outings though, beating Washington, Arizona State, USC, Oregon State, Oregon and Stanford.
In the Stanford matchup on Wednesday, the Bruins went into the locker room with a two-point edge. UCLA managed to fend off the Cardinal on a 47-41 run from there and won it 82-74. Sebastian Mack was the top team scorer with his 21 points in 28 minutes of work.
California Golden Bears
Over on the Golden Bears’ side, they only beat St. Thomas-MN, CSU Bakersfield, Santa Clara and UC San Diego in their first 14 outings. California is 6-3 in their last nine outings with wins over UCLA, Colorado, Washington State, Stanford, Arizona State and USC in that stretch.
Back on Wednesday versus USC, the Bears gave up a 42-31 halftime lead and had to go to an extra period. After overtime, California emerged with a hard-fought win 83-77. Jaylon Tyson led the team on 27 points and 11 boards, while Fardaws Aimaq added 15 points and 20 rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE UCLA VS CALIFORNIA PREDICTION
I’ll stay with UCLA. You could make a case either way, though. The Bruins gave up 52.8 percent shooting in their latest win over Stanford, however the 20 points off 15 Cardinal turnovers helped turn the tide. UCLA shot well in that one themselves with 45.3 percent from the field. That makes 71 or more points in three straight games for the Bruins.
The last time these teams met up, California secured a 66-57 road victory back on January 6. UCLA shot 42.9 percent from the field in that one but also had a 39-29 rebounding deficit and 12 turnovers (which led to 15 Bears points). The Bruins are going to have to play a much cleaner game in the rematch but I think they’ve got a good shot at a cover/win.
