Virginia Tech Hokies vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 1/11/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Virginia Tech Hokies vs California Golden Bears

Date: Saturday, January 11, 2025

Location: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA

TV: ESPN+

Haas Pavilion is the site where the California Golden Bears (8-7) will attempt to beat the Virginia Tech Hokies (6-9) on Saturday.

The Virginia Tech Hokies took the court against Stanford and went home with a loss by a final score of 70-59 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Hokies finished with 16 and Stanford recorded 11 fouls. They knocked down 9 out of their 24 tries from long range. Stanford finished the game at 88.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of their 17 shots. Moreover, Stanford collected 32 rebounds (8 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Stanford dished out 15 dimes and had 2 steals for the matchup. In regard to defense, Virginia Tech let their opponent shoot 44.2% from the floor on 23 of 52 shooting. They also recorded 8 assists in the game while forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and earning 3 steals. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 24 with 4 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Hokies buried 3 of 7 tries for a rate of 42.9%. Virginia Tech finished the game having earned a 46.4% FG percentage (26 out of 56) and made 4 out of their 14 shots from beyond the arc.

Ben Burnham is a guy who came through for the matchup. He ended up finishing with 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting. He saw the court for 27 minutes played and also pulled down 4 boards. He finished the game shooting 70.0% from the floor and distributed 1 assist.

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Virginia Tech enters this contest with a win-loss mark of 6-9 on the season. They currently have an average of 70.3 points per contest (293rd in college hoops) while shooting 44.1% from the field. The Hokies are hitting 34.7% on shots from distance (116 of 334) and 73.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Virginia Tech is grabbing 33.2 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 208 dimes for the campaign, which is 207th in the nation in terms of passing. They cough up possession 13.8 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 17.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Hokies are able to force 12.3 turnovers per game while drawing 15.4 personal fouls. They are conceding 33.1% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 237th in D-1 in PPG allowed (73.3). The Hokies are allowing a field goal percentage of 46.0% (384 of 835) and they surrender 31.0 rebounds per game as a group. They currently rank 239th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 212 surrendered this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the California Golden Bears went home victorious with a score of 75-61 when they faced Virginia. The Golden Bears earned 27 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 37 in this game. They also coughed it up 9 times, while getting 3 steals for the contest. Virginia was called for 23 personal fouls in this game which got the Golden Bears to the charity stripe for a total of 33 attempts. They were able to convert 27 of those for a percentage of 81.8%. In regard to shots from beyond the arc, California converted 4 of their 13 attempts (30.8%). Overall, the Golden Bears shot 22 out of 51 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.1%. The Golden Bears allowed Virginia to knock down 19 out of 58 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 32.8% for this contest. They finished 30.4% from three-point range by hitting 7 out of 23 and ended up shooting 16 of 18 at the free throw line (88.9%). In regard to team rebounding, California permitted Virginia to grab 28 in all (8 on the offensive side).

Andrej Stojakovic was important for the Golden Bears in this game. He buried 6 out of 11 in the matchup giving him a rate of 54.5%, and accounted for 4 rebounds. He accumulated 23 points in his 35 minutes of playing time and added 3 assists in this contest.

California has a win-loss record of 8-7 for the season. As an offense, the Golden Bears are hitting on 45.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 173rd in the nation. California has accounted for 1,164 pts for the campaign (77.6 per game) and they average 36.6 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 10.1 times per contest (358th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.6 times per contest. The Golden Bears commit 17.5 fouls per game and they shoot 75.2% from the charity stripe.

The California defense surrenders 37.1% from downtown (119 of 321) and opponents are converting on 70.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 12.7 dimes and 32.1 rebounds per contest, which ranks 152nd and 68th in D-1. The Golden Bears on the defensive side of the court are 293rd in the country in PPG given up with 75.8. They are forcing their opponents into 11.4 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the field (324th in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take California

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