The Cal State Northridge Matadors and Stanford Cardinal meet Monday in college basketball action at the Maples Pavilion. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

Cal State Northridge Matadors Betting Preview

The Cal State Northridge Matadors won 7 games last year and have won single-digit games in each of the last 3 years. Cal State Northridge now enters the Andy Newman coaching era. Dionte Bostick returns after averaging 12.4 points and 3.6 rebounds, while De’Sean Allen-Eikens averaged 11.1 points and 1.3 assists. Lamine Niang played in 109 minutes last season, and Dearon Tucker averaged 3.6 rebounds. The Cal State Northridge Matadors say goodbye to the majority of last year’s team, outside of two of their top-3 scorers. Bostick and Allen-Eikens are proven talents, but they’ll have to do a ton of heavy lifting early if this season is going to be a success.

Stanford Cardinal Betting Preview

The Stanford Cardinal won 14 games last year and haven’t made the big dance since the 2013-14 season. Stanford enters the eighth season under coach Jerod Haase. Spencer Jones returns after averaging 14.1 points and 4.7 rebounds, while Brandon Angel averaged 9.5 points and 1.8 assists. James Keefe played in 341 minutes last season, and Maxime Raynaud averaged 6.1 rebounds. The Stanford Cardinal return enough production, including their top player in Jones, so they should be respectable in the PAC-12. Stanford also has a pair of 4-star recruits in Kanaan Carlyle and Andrej Stojaković. Stanford could have one of its better seasons in recent memory. 

Randy’s Pick

The Cal State Northridge Matadors weren’t good last year, and they lost the majority of their roster outside of two players. This has a chance to be one of the best Stanford Cardinal seasons in recent memory, with so much returning production. Stanford could be a team to watch, especially in the PAC-12 this season. Thick line, but there’s no reason for this game to be close given the experience and talent gap.