The California Golden Bears and the Washington Huskies meet Saturday in college basketball action from Hec Edmundson Pavilion. California is sitting at 3-14 overall and coming off a loss to Washington State. As for Washington, they’re fresh off a Thursday game versus Stanford. In that one the Huskies powered out a 17-point win. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
California hit an ugly 0-12 streak to start out the season. The Bears would finally get a win over TX-Arlington on December 21. Since then Cal is 2-2 with wins over Colorado and Stanford between losses to Utah and Washington State.
In the Washington State game on Wednesday, the Bears took a one-point deficit into the second half. California was outscored 35-21 from there and lost 66-51. Marsalis Roberson was the only team double-digit scorer with 11 points.
Over on the Washington side, they were 9-3 through 12 games with losses to Cal Baptist, Oregon State and Gonzaga. The Huskies would then hit a losing streak versus Auburn, USC, UCLA, Arizona and Arizona State.
Matched up against Stanford on Thursday, Washington jumped out to a 47-29 halftime lead. The Huskies were outscored 40-39 in the second half during an 86-69 win. Braxton Meah put up 21 points, and Keion Brooks doubled on 19 points and 11 rebounds.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on California here. Probably staying away, though. The Bears have obviously not been a very reliable team this year. That said, Cal is much improved over this current 3-2 stretch. They’ve hit 73 or more points in each of their wins, so if the Bears get off to a good start in this one I think they’ve got a chance. As for Washington, they’ve faced some pretty tough teams lately so this one should seem like a bit of a respite. Even if the Huskies win big here, I think Cal has a decent chance to hit the cover in garbage time.