The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners and the Long Beach State Beach meet Thursday in college basketball action from Walter Pyramid. Cal State Bakersfield comes into this matchup at 10-19 overall. The Roadrunners lost to CSU Fullerton in their last game. As for Long Beach State, they’re 16-14 overall after a win versus CSU Northridge on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners
Cal State Bakersfield put up a 7-15 stretch in their first 22 outings of the year. The Roadrunners are a sketchy 3-4 since then however, losing to Long Beach State, Hawaii, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton along the way.
Back on Saturday versus Cal State Fullerton, CSU Bakersfield scored 33 points in the first half, 27 in the second and six in overtime on the way to a tough 70-66 loss. Travis Henson led the team on 22 points and five rebounds during the defeat.
LBSU Beach
Over on the Long Beach State side, they hit a 12-10 run over their first 22 games this season. The Beach are 4-4 in their last eight with wins over CSU Fullerton, UC Irvine, CSU Bakersfield and CSU Northridge along the way.
Matched up against CSU Northridge on Saturday, the Beach jumped out to a 35-28 halftime lead. Long Beach State kept the pace with 36 more points from there and won 71-64. Lassina Traore topped the team on 18 points and Aboubacar Traore doubled with 17 points and 12 boards.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stick with Long Beach State in this one. The Beach were able to fend off Cal State Northridge in their last outing, halting a three-game losing streak. The good news for Long Beach State is that they’ve still been scoring well with 67 or more points in 24 straight games. The Beach do give up a lot on the other side, though. The last time these teams played each other was February 11 at Icardo Center. Long Beach State hit a 39-27 stretch out of the gate and won 79-69 in that one. I like another strong performance from the Beach with a cover in the rematch.