Cal Poly Mustangs vs CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners Prediction, 1/29/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cal Poly Mustangs vs CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners

Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026

Location: Icardo Center in Bakersfield, CA

TV: ESPN+

The Cal Poly Mustangs (7-14) are headed to Icardo Center on Thursday where they will compete against the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (8-13).

The Cal Poly Mustangs faced off with CSU Fullerton and took a loss by a final of 93-78 in their last contest. When discussing personal fouls, the Mustangs ended up finishing with 24 while CSU Fullerton finished the game with 16 personal fouls. They also knocked down 12 of 32 shots from beyond the arc. CSU Fullerton finished the contest at 80.8% from the free throw line by making 21 of 26 attempts. In addition, CSU Fullerton snagged 30 rebounds (11 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't have a block. CSU Fullerton distributed 20 dimes and had 10 steals in this matchup. When discussing defense, Cal Poly allowed the other team to go 46.9% from the field on 30 of 64 shooting. They also recorded 17 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 3 steals. In reference to rebounding, they earned 35 with 12 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Mustangs knocked down 11 of 15 attempts for a percentage of 73.3%. Cal Poly ended having earned a 43.5% FG percentage (27 of 62) and made 13 of their 37 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Cayden Ward is a player who was a contributor for the matchup. He notched 20 points on 7 out of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 33 mins and totaled 7 rebounds. He ended up going 50.0% from the field and recorded 1 assist.

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Cal Poly enters this one with a win-loss mark of 7-14 on the campaign. They turn the ball over 16.1 times per game and as a group are committing 20.0 fouls per game. As a unit, Cal Poly is collecting 37.9 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 263 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 271st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Mustangs are shooting 33.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (226 of 678) and 75.4% from the free throw line. They are averaging 79.8 pts per contest (115th in Division 1) while shooting 42.2% from the floor.

On defense, the Mustangs are forcing 12.3 turnovers per game while drawing 20.6 fouls. They rank 348th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 347 conceded on the campaign. The Mustangs defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 46.5% (636 of 1,367) and they surrender 37.5 rebounds per contest as a squad. They surrender 34.5% from 3-point land and they are 360th in Division 1 in opponents PPG (86.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners took a loss by a score of 98-71 when they played Hawaii. When discussing cleaning up the glass, CSU Bakersfield allowed Hawaii to collect 51 in total (16 on the offensive side). They finished 26.9% from beyond the arc via 7 out of 26 and ended up shooting 27 out of 34 from the free throw line (79.4%). The Roadrunners permitted Hawaii to make 32 out of 65 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 49.2% for the game. When the game finished, the Roadrunners ended up shooting 20 out of 57 from the field which gave them a rate of 35.1%. In relation to shooting from 3-point land, CSU Bakersfield buried 3 of their 11 attempts (27.3%). They were able to knock down 28 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 71.8%. Hawaii was called for 25 fouls for the matchup which got the Roadrunners to the charity stripe for a total of 39 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while getting 6 steals for the matchup. The Roadrunners pulled down 19 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 23 in this contest.

Dailin Smith pitched in for the Roadrunners for the matchup. He recorded 28 points in his 39 mins on the court and had 1 assist in this game. He converted 4 out of 16 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 25.0%, and had 2 rebounds.

CSU Bakersfield has a win-loss mark of 8-13 for the campaign. The Roadrunners are responsible for committing 20.2 personal fouls every game and they shoot 74.4% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 10.6 times per game (356th in the country) and they are turning it over 13.5 times per contest. CSU Bakersfield has totaled 1,522 points this season (72.5 per game) and they average 35.4 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Roadrunners are shooting 41.5% from the field, which ranks 333rd in D-1.

The Roadrunners on the defensive end are ranked 299th in the country in PPG allowed with 78.5. They are forcing their opponents into 13.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 45.4% from the floor (267th in Division 1). The CSU Bakersfield defense allows 34.3% on 3-point attempts (158 of 461) and their opposition knocks down 70.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 13.6 assists and 37.5 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 201st and 326th in college.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take CSU Bakersfield

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