Arizona Wildcats vs California Golden Bears Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/23/2022

Game Time: 3:00 pm ET, Sunday, January 3, 2022

Venue:  Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, CA

Where to Watch:  Pac-12 Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Arizona -13.5, California +13.5; Over/Under:  137.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Arizona -13.5, California +13.5; Over/Under:  137.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Arizona -13.5, California +13.5; Over/Under:  137.5 points

 

Arizona Wildcats:  15-1 (1st place, Pac-12)

California Golden Bears:  9-9 (10th place, Pac-12)

 

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Arizona Wildcats:  4-1 last 5

California Golden Bears:  1-4 last 5

 

 

 

Arizona is coming into this game with a 15-1 record overall and they are 3-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 6th conference matchup of the year and they are currently 5-0 in their conference games this season. Their last loss was against the Tennessee Volunteers but they have gone on a 4 game winning streak since then with wins coming against the Washington Huskies, the Colorado Buffaloes, the Utah Utes, and the Stanford Cardinal in their last game. Oumar Ballo led the team in points in that game off the bench with 21 while Bennedict Mathurin and Pelle Larsson were both next on the team with 13 points each. Kerr Kriisa led the team in assists in that game with 7 while Dalen Terry led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 55.4% from the field, 28.6% from 3-point range, and 81% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 88.3 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 63.9 PPG against them. Arizona has an ATS record of 10-5-1 this season and their O/U record is 9-7.

 

 

California is coming into this game with a 9-9 record overall and they are 9-3 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 8th conference matchup on their schedule this year and they are currently 2-5 in their conference games this season. Their last win was against the Arizona State Sun Devils but they have gone on a 4 game losing streak since then with losses coming against the USC Trojans, the UCLA Bruins, the Washington Huskies, and the Washington State Cougars in their last game. Jordan Shepherd led the team in points in that game with 17 while Andre Kelly was next on the team with 12 points. Shepherd also led the team in assists in that game with 2 while Kelly led the team in rebounds with 14. They were 39.6% from the field, 25% from 3-point range, and 71.4% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 64.6 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 62.7 PPG against them. California has an ATS record of 13-5 this season and their O/U record is 8-10.

 

Arizona is coming into this game as a 13.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Arizona has won 4 straight games and they have won all 4 against conference opponents and by impressive margins of victory with most of them being around 20 points or more. They are going up against a Cal team that has not been playing well losing 4 straight games and they are likely to get blown out by a great Arizona side that only has 1 loss this season and is one of the best teams in the nation. The best bet to place in this game is on Arizona to cover the spread here.

 

Arizona California Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Sunday, January 3, 2022 (3:00 pm ET start time) is Arizona 85 California 57.

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Arizona Wildcats: 9-16 ATS after covering 2 of their last 3 against the spread. 3-10 ATS off 2 straight wins against conference rivals. 14-19 ATS after playing 4 consecutive games as favorite. 9-16 ATS after 3 or more consecutive wins. 

California Golden Bears: 25-19 ATS after 2 straight games with 12 or less assists. 30-15 ATS in all home games. 6-1 ATS after a combined score of 125 points or less 2 straight games. 24-16 ATS after a game where they covered the spread. 6-1 ATS after 4 or more consecutive losses.

 

 

Arizona Wildcats:  A. Tubelis (F) Ques Sun - Ankle injury. K. Aiken Jr. (F) Out indefinitely - Personal.

California Golden Bears:  J. Brown (G) Ques Sun - Illness. M. Bowser (F) Out indefinitely - Ankle injury. D. Thorpe (F) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

"I'm really proud of him. He was great tonight. He was a physical force on both ends of the floor. I thought he was the game-changer tonight." - Tommy Lloyd on Oumar Ballo in their win against Stanford on Thursday night.

 

 

''We did a lot of things to give us a chance throughout the game, but against the best you have to be a little better than we were tonight. We can probably point to four or five small, little mistakes in the game that ended up being the difference. Just being a little more consistent across the board, I think, would help get us over the hump.'' - Mark Fox on his team’s loss against UCLA.

 

 

 

Christian Koloko 

K. Kriisa 

B. Mathurin 

D. Terry 

A. Tubelis

 

G. Anticevich 

J. Brown 

A. Kelly 

K. Kuany 

J. Shepherd

 

 

PPG: B. Mathurin (17.7)

APG: K. Kriisa (5.5)

Reb/G: C. Koloko (6.8)

 

PPG: J. Shepherd (14.3)

APG: J. Brown (3.2)

Reb/G: A. Kelly (8.7)

 

Coaches:

Arizona Wildcats: Tommy Lloyd (1st season)

California Golden Bears: Mark Fox (3rd season)