UC Riverside vs Cal State-Bakersfield 2/17/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners will travel to SRC Arena to take on the UC Riverside Highlanders this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners lost their 7^th straight game and dropped to 6-13 on the season after being defeated by the CSU Northridge Matadors, 71-65, this past Saturday. CSU Bakersfield struggled on both ends of the court against CSU Northridge and could not fight back after the Matadors took a 44-29 lead with 15:53 left in regulation. CSU Bakersfield shot 36.5% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while allowing CSU Northridge to shoot 50.0% from the field & 42.1% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Roadrunners was Justin Edler-Davis who had 19 points, 7 rebounds, & 2 steals.

On the season, CSU Bakersfield is averaging 64.2 ppg on 41.4% shooting from the field. The Roadrunners are averaging 4.1 three-pointers per game on 28.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, CSU Bakersfield has been led by Justin McCall (10.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Justin Edler-Davis (9.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Kaleb Higgins (9.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.2 spg), & Shawn Stith (6.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.1 apg).

Defensively, CSU Bakersfield is allowing their opponents to average 66.4 ppg on 43.7% shooting from the field. The Roadrunners have a rebound margin of 3.3 and a turnover margin of 2.3.

The UC Riverside Highlanders lost their 2^nd straight game and dropped to 12-9 on the season after being defeated by the UC San Diego Tritons, 85-62, this past Saturday. UC Riverside struggled on both ends of the court in the 2^nd half and could not fight back after the Tritons took a 63-46 lead with 10:17 left in regulation. UC Riverside shot 43.9% from the field & 26.1% from beyond the arc while allowing UC San Diego to shoot 55.6% from the field & 44.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Highlanders was Dominick Pickett who had 18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, & 2 steals.

On the season, UC Riverside is averaging 63.1 ppg on 41.8% shooting from the field. The Highlanders are averaging 6.7 three-pointers per game on 29.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, UC Riverside has been led by Zyon Pullin (13.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.8 apg), Dominick Pickett (11.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.6 spg), J.P. Moorman II (11.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 apg), & Callum McRae (9.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.1 apg).

Defensively, UC Riverside is holding their opponents to an average of 61.4 ppg on 40.3% shooting from the field. The Highlanders have a rebound margin of 2.7 and a turnover margin of -1.4.

The Roadrunners are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games & 1-6 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games. The Highlanders are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games & 2-7 ATS in their last 9 February games.

Both teams have been led by their defenses as the Roadrunners ranks 102^nd in scoring defense while UC Riverside ranks 19^th in scoring defense and it’s hard to imagine that we are going to see a lot of points in this one. UC Riverside was able to pick up a 65-64 win at CSU Bakersfield earlier this season, however, as this is a large spread for a Highlanders team that is ranked just 329^th in scoring offense & 285^th in FG%, I think the play here is to take CSU Bakersfield and the points. Good Luck!