Stanford vs California Prediction 2/22/25 College Basketball Picks Today

In this article, we will formulate a Stanford vs California Prediction for this college basketball game on Saturday,  February 22nd, at the Maples Pavilion. Let’s take a look at a California Golden Bears vs Stanford Cardinal pick. 

Stanford has won the last two games against Cal, including earlier this year when they won 89-81. 

Stanford Is Suddenly Bad Again?

Stanford has had some key wins this season, but they are suddenly struggling again, and they have lost two games in a row. The two losses have been nothing like each other, though. Two games ago against Georgia Tech the defense gave up only 60 points, but they still lost. The defense made very few stops in the last game against Duke while losing 106-70. Stanford’s defense had no answers all night, allowing the Blue Devils to shoot 62.5 percent from the field, including 14 makes from deep. The offense wasn’t awful, and they shot 41.4 percent from three. 

Despite the struggles, Stanford still sits with a 16-10 record, and a strong finish could still earn them a berth into the tournament. 13 of their 16 wins this season have come at home. Stanford is averaging 74.6 points while their defense is giving up 71.8 points per game. The Cardinal want to play a faster pace, but they need to have more care on defense, especially in this game. Maxime Raynaud is averaging 19.9 points while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line. 

Cal Fell Just Short

Cal faced off against Georgia Tech in the last game, falling just short. California scored 45 points in the second half to even force overtime, but the short wouldn’t fall late, and they lost 90-88. Cal shot 50 percent from the field, but they allowed GT to shoot 54.7 percent from the field and 55 percent from behind the three-point line. It doesn’t matter how good the offense does; if they allow opponents to shoot over 54 percent from the field, they will have some trouble. The top offensive player was Baye Ndongo, who finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and one assist. 

Cal has a 12-14 record overall, and only two wins have come on the road. One issue for the Golden Bears has been getting out to slow starts. They are averaging only 34.19 points per first half. Andrej Stojakovic has been the top player for Cal, averaging 17.7 points while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 32 percent from deep. One issue that has plagued the team has been injuries. BJ Omot was the team’s third-leading scorer before he was ruled out for the rest of the season. 

Why California Will Cover Against Stanford

• Stanford has lost four of its last five games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Stanford vs California Prediction

Stanford already has a cover against Cal this season, but I expect different results here. There is no doubt that California has had issues with the defense, but this is a good offensive team, averaging 74.7 points. Even without Omot, this California offense is good, and Stojakovic will have another big here. Stanford’s defense allowed Duke to light up the scoreboard in the last game, and it will be Deja Vu for them as their defense will struggle again. Cal has covered the last four games on the road. This game will come down to the final couple of minutes. Back California against the spread.