California Golden Bears vs Stanford Cardinal Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs Stanford Cardinal

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: Maples Pavilion in Stanford, CA

TV: ACC Network

The California Golden Bears (14-5) are headed to Maples Pavilion on Saturday where they will play the Stanford Cardinal (14-5).

The California Golden Bears faced North Carolina and went home with a win by a final score of 84-78 in their last contest. California ended with a 50.0% field goal percentage (29 out of 58) and converted 14 out of their 26 3-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Golden Bears made 12 of their 16 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned 29 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 20 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Concerning the defense, California allowed the other team to go 46.4% from the floor on 26 out of 56 shooting. North Carolina doled out 16 assists and had 10 steals for this game. On top of that, North Carolina pulled down 29 boards (6 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. North Carolina finished the game shooting 60.7% when shooting free throws by knocking down 17 of 28 attempts. They also made 9 out of their 27 attempts from 3-point land. When it comes to personal fouls, the Golden Bears left the arena with 20 while North Carolina accumulated 15 personal fouls.

John Camden is one guy who was a major factor for this contest. He recorded 20 points on 7 out of 14 shooting. He played 34 minutes and grabbed 2 boards. He shot 50.0% from the floor and totaled 4 assists.

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California comes into this contest with a win-loss record of 14-5 so far this year. They turn it over 9.9 times per game and as a team they are committing 18.3 fouls per contest. As a unit, California is grabbing 34.4 rebounds per game and has tallied 279 dimes on the campaign, which is 187th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Golden Bears are connecting on 36.3% on shots from distance (169 of 465) and 79.1% from the free throw line. They average 78.8 points per contest (134th in Division 1) while connecting on 45.2% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Golden Bears are forcing their opponents into 12.2 turnovers per game and they draw 18.6 fouls. They currently rank 227th in college in giving up assists with 272 surrendered for the season. The Golden Bears defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 42.1% (472 of 1,120) and they relinquish 36.2 boards per contest as a team. They are giving up 30.8% on three-point shots and they are 101st in college hoops in opponents points per game (70.5).

The last time they took the court, the Stanford Cardinal took a loss by a final score of 80-50 when they played Duke. The Cardinal recorded 15 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 25 for this game. They coughed up the ball 17 times, while earning 4 steals for the contest. Duke committed 18 fouls for the contest which got the Cardinal to the charity stripe for a total of 10 shots. They were able to make 6 of them for a rate of 60.0%. With respect to shots from downtown, Stanford converted 6 of 25 tries (24.0%). When the final whistle was blown, the Cardinal walked away from this one shooting 19 for 54 from the field which gave them a percentage of 35.2%. The Cardinal allowed Duke to bury 28 out of their 50 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 56.0% in this contest. They finished 40.0% from 3-point land by shooting 4 out of 10 and finished the game at 20 out of 28 from the free throw line (71.4%). In reference to attacking the glass, Stanford permitted Duke to collect 32 in all (10 on the offensive side).

Jeremy Dent-Smith pitched in for the Cardinal for the contest. He knocked down 7 of 15 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 46.7%, and added 3 rebounds. He accumulated 18 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 assists in the game.

Stanford has a win-loss record of 14-5 on the campaign. The Cardinal are committing 17.7 personal fouls every game and they go 72.1% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 12.2 times per game (311th in college) and they turn it over 11.3 times per contest. Stanford has accumulated 1,453 points this season (76.5 per game) and they average 34.4 boards per game. As an offense, the Cardinal are hitting on 43.1% from the floor, which ranks them 300th in Division 1.

The Stanford defense concedes 33.3% on 3-pointers (111 of 333) and their opponents are knocking down 75.5% of their foul shots. They concede 10.8 assists and 32.7 boards per contest, which is 24th and 76th in those categories. The Cardinal on defense are ranked 141st in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 72.2. They are forcing 13.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.0% from the field (294th in Division 1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take California

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