The Stanford Cardinal (17-14, 11-7 Pac-12) go head-to-head against the California Golden Bears (8-23, 2-16 Pac-12) in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament at T-Mobile Arena. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Network at 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 7, 2018.
The game’s Over/Under (O/U) opened at 143 points with Stanford set as a 9.5-point favorite.
California Golden Bears vs. Stanford Cardinal Betting Prediction
The Golden Bears are hoping for a better outcome after their 66-54 loss to the No. 19 Arizona Wildcats in their last outing. Arizona was effective at getting to and converting from the free throw line. The Wildcats made 23 of their 26 free throws (88.5 percent), while the Golden Bears were just 9-15 (60.0 percent). Justice Sueing led California in scoring with 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting.
In the Cardinal’s last game, they edged the Arizona State Sun Devils, 84-83. The Cardinal, who came into the game averaging an offensive rebounding percentage of 32.3, had an absurd mark of 38.7 and had a free throw rate of 0.396 (above their season average of 0.285). Reid Travis was the game’s high scorer with 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting.
The aggressive Stanford offense could be living from the foul line in this contest. The Cardinal currently rank 29th in the NCAA with a free throw attempt (FTA) rate of 0.288, while California ranks 292nd in FTA rate allowed (0.277).
California heads into the contest with records of 8-23 straight up (SU) and 11-17 against the spread (ATS). Vegas has a tendency to place the total high when the Golden Bears are involved, as 16 of their 28 games have gone under the total.
Meanwhile, Stanford owns records of 17-14 SU and 15-15-1 ATS. Coinciding with California, games involving the Cardinal have finished under the total 54.8 percent of the time.
Travis has averaged 19.8 points and 9.2 rebounds over the last five games for Stanford.
The two teams have split their two matchups this season. The Cardinal won the most recent matchup 77-73, but were not able to cover as 5-point favorites. The game finished with a total of 150 points, which was 8.5 points above the projected point total of 141.5 points. The Cardinal knocked down 19 of their 25 free throws (76.0 percent) and had a much better effective field goal percentage (0.500 vs. 0.393). Daejon Davis scored a game-high 22 points.
California Golden Bears vs. Stanford Cardinal Betting Pick
Pick: SU Winner – Stanford, ATS Winner – California, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes:
California averages 4.8 blocks per game, which ranks 24th in the NCAA. Stanford ranks 200th in blocks allowed per game (4.5).
The Cardinal rank 139th in assists per game (13.6) while the Golden Bears rank 283rd (10.0).
California averages 6.9 steals per game, which ranks 68th in the nation. Stanford ranks 177th in steals allowed per game (6.8).
The Cardinal rank 48th in rebounds per game (38.2) while the Golden Bears rank 142nd (35.5).
Stanford ranks 277th in three pointers attempted per game (17.8) while California ranks 298th (15.9).
Bettings Trends:
In their last five games, California is 2-3 ATS with 3 unders and 2 overs.
Stanford is 3-2 ATS with 4 overs and 1 under over their last five games.
The Golden Bears’ average margin of defeat in their last five games has been 13.2, up from 9.6 for the season.
During their last five games, the Cardinal have scored an average of 81.6 points per game (5.8 above their season average) and allowed an average of 78.6 points per game (3.7 above their season average).
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