California Golden Bears vs Pepperdine Waves Prediction, 12/9/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs Pepperdine Waves

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Location: Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, CA

TV: CBS Sports

Odds/Point Spread: California (+6)

Firestone Fieldhouse is the site where and the Pepperdine Waves (2-2) will take on the California Golden Bears (2-3) on Wednesday. California opens this contest as 6-point dogs. The over/under has been set at 140.

California comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 2-3 so far this year. The Golden Bears are shooting 30.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (38 of 123) and 64.6% from the free throw line. They have an average of 65.4 points per outing (240th in D-1) while shooting 43.2% from the field. They are turning it over 16.4 times per game and as a team are committing 17.0 fouls per contest. As a unit, California is snagging 36.4 boards per contest and has accumulated 61 assists this season, which is 73rd in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. On defense, the Golden Bears are able to force 13.6 turnovers every game while drawing 17.8 personal fouls. They surrender 35.6% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 99th in D-1 in PPG allowed (65.4). The Golden Bears defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 44.4% (127 of 286) and they surrender 34.2 boards per game as a team. They are 271st in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 71 surrendered for the season.

The California Golden Bears faced off with the UCLA Bruins and went home with a loss by a final score of 76-56 in their last game. California ended the contest with a 44.9% FG percentage (22 of 49) and converted 9 of 26 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Golden Bears knocked down 3 of their 5 attempts for a percentage of 60.0%. In regard to grabbing boards, they compiled 22 with 3 of them being offensive. They also distributed 11 assists in this game as well as getting 3 steals and 2 rejections. In terms of the defense, California allowed 44.9% from the field on 22 of 49. UCLA doled out 23 assists and 6 steals in this game. Additionally, the Bruins pulled down 31 boards (6 offensive, 25 defensive) and earned 2 blocked shots. UCLA finished shooting 53.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 8 of their 15 tries. They converted 8 of their 14 shots from three-point range.

Ryan Betley is a player who was a contributor for the contest. He racked up 12 points on 5 out of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 35 minutes and also snagged 4 boards. Betley shot 45.5% from the field and also earned 2 assists. Another guy that was a major factor in this game for the Golden Bears was Matt Bradley. He had 3 boards and tallied 2 dimes. He finished the contest at 41.7% from the floor in this matchup by hitting 5-of-12 (12 points). When the final whistle blew, Bradley was on the hardwood for 23 min.

Pepperdine has a win-loss mark of 2-2 on the year. The Waves commit 22.0 fouls per contest and they hit 87.8% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 19.0 times per game (33rd in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 14.3 times per contest. Pepperdine has 338 points on the season (84.5 per game) and they average 40.3 boards per contest. As an offense, the Waves are hitting on 46.2% from the field, which ranks them 165th in the country. The Waves on defense are ranked 176th in Division 1 in PPG surrendered with 72.3. They are able to force 13.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 37.8% from the field (58th in college hoops). The Pepperdine defense gives up 24.4% on shots from distance (22 of 90) and opponents are making 70.3% of their foul shots. They allow 14.3 assists and 37.3 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 207th and 191st in Division 1.

When they last stepped on the court, the Pepperdine Waves took a loss by a score of 65-60 against the San Diego State Aztecs. The Waves recorded 19 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 22 for this game. They rejected 3 tries while earning 6 steals in this contest. The Aztecs committed 18 personal fouls in this game which took the Waves to the free throw line for a total of 10 attempts. They were able to knock down 7 of the free throws for a percentage of 70.0%. In the matter of shots from beyond the arc, Pepperdine made 7 of 21 tries (33.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Waves shot 23 for 54 from the floor which had them sitting at 42.6%. The Waves permitted the Aztecs to convert 21 out of their 50 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 42.0% in this matchup. They finished 10.5% from beyond the arc by shooting 2 of 19 and finished the game at 21 of 31 from the charity stripe (67.7%). Regarding how they rebounded, Pepperdine permitted San Diego State to collect 35 in total (9 offensive).

Colbey Ross ended up seeing a lot of time on the hardwood for the Waves in the matchup. He made 3 of 10 for the game for a field goal percentage of 30.0%, which got him 10 points. Ross had 4 rebounds in his 40 mins played and had 7 dimes for the matchup. Another guy that ended being a contributor for Pepperdine was Kessler Edwards. He notched 22 points in his 38 minutes on the court via 8 out of 18 shooting for this contest. Edwards ended the game having shot 44.4% from the floor and also contributing 2 assists and 5 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take California (+6)

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