UCLA Bruins (6-8) vs California Golden Bears (4-10)
2024-01-06 22:00:00 EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: UCLA Bruins -7 -- Over/Under: 136.5
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The California Golden Bears and the UCLA Bruins meet Saturday in college basketball action from Pauley Pavilion. California is currently 4-10 overall this year and fresh off a loss to USC. As for UCLA, they’re 6-8 on the season after falling to Stanford on Wednesday. Let’s get into our California vs. UCLA prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
California Golden Bears
The Bears managed a rough 3-5 run over their first eight games this year, beating only St. Thomas-MN, CSU Bakersfield and Santa Clara. Since then it’s been a 1-5 stretch with losses to Butler, Ole Miss, Arizona, Arizona State and USC (and a win over UC San Diego).
In the USC game on Wednesday, the Bears faced a 37-29 deficit by the break. California was able to keep the pace on a 45-45 run in the second but ended up losing 82-74 in the end. Leading team scorer Jaylon Tyson put up 23 points with seven rebounds and three steals in the defeat.
UCLA Bruins
Over on the Bruins’ side, they got off to a 5-2 run to kick off the year, losing to only Marquette and Gonzaga. It’s been a rough 1-6 stretch in the last seven however, as UCLA has fallen to Villanova, Ohio State, CSU Northridge, Maryland, Oregon and Stanford.
On Wednesday matched up against Stanford, the Bruins went into the locker room with a four-point lead 30-26. UCLA was outscored 33-23 in the second however, and ended up losing 59-53. Sebastian Mack was the top team scorer with his 14 points, four rebounds and two assists.
ANDREW’S FREE CALIFORNIA VS UCLA PREDICTION
I’ll stick with UCLA. Granted, there’s not a whole lot to like about this game as both teams are struggling. We should have a pretty good matchup, though. UCLA is coming off a sketchy performance against Stanford, shooting just 32.8 percent from the field. The Bruins have scored 60 points or fewer in five of the last seven games (all losses), so offense is going to be a priority on Saturday.
As for California, they’re scoring better with 69 or more points in seven straight games. The Bears have given up 71 or more points in five of their last six however, so this matchup could finish a lot of different ways. Ultimately I like UCLA to cover, but you could probably make a case for Cal as well.
