California Golden Bears vs Syracuse Orange Prediction, 2/11/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs Syracuse Orange

Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Location: JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Syracuse Orange (13-11) will try to defeat the California Golden Bears (17-7) at JMA Wireless Dome on Wednesday.

The California Golden Bears faced off with Clemson and ended up losing by a score of 77-55 in their last game. California wrapped up the game with a 39.6% FG percentage (19 of 48) and made 4 out of their 13 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Golden Bears made 13 of 15 shots for a rate of 86.7%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 24 with 3 of them being offensive. They also doled out 7 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In terms of defending, California let their opponent shoot 55.1% from the floor on 27 out of 49 shooting. Clemson distributed 16 dimes and had 7 steals in this game. In addition, Clemson collected 29 rebounds (4 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Clemson finished the game at 57.9% from the charity stripe by knocking down 11 of their 19 tries. They buried 12 of 26 attempts from 3-point range. In relation to personal fouls, the Golden Bears walked away with 16 while Clemson totaled 15 personal fouls.

Justin Pippen is a player who was a major contributor for this game. He finished shooting 46.2% from the floor and also recorded 2 assists. He played 31 mins and grabbed 5 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 19 points on 6 out of 13 shooting.

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California enters this one with a win-loss mark of 17-7 on the campaign. They average 77.8 points per contest (142nd in Division 1) while going 44.6% from the floor. The Golden Bears are connecting on 37.3% on 3-point shots (215 of 577) and 78.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, California is collecting 34.6 boards per contest and has totaled 330 dimes on the season, which ranks 225th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.2 times per contest and as a group they commit 18.5 fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Golden Bears are forcing their opponents into 11.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.8 personal fouls. They rank 242nd in college in giving up assists with 342 relinquished this season. The Golden Bears defense is giving up a FG percentage of 42.5% (603 of 1,420) and they surrender 36.3 boards per contest as a unit. They concede 30.6% from 3-point land and they are ranked 117th in college in PPG allowed (71.5).

When they last played, the Syracuse Orange took a loss by a score of 72-59 when they faced Virginia. The Orange pulled down 22 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in this matchup. They coughed up the ball 13 times, while recording 4 steals for this game. Virginia committed 14 personal fouls in the game which took the Orange to the free throw line for a total of 7 tries. They were able to make 6 of the free throw tries for a rate of 85.7%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, Syracuse made 3 out of their 11 attempts (27.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Orange shot 25 out of 51 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.0%. The Orange allowed Virginia to make 26 of 63 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 41.3% in this game. They shot 33.3% from 3-point land by going 10 out of 30 and finished the contest at 10 out of 14 from the charity stripe (71.4%). When discussing rebounding, Syracuse permitted Virginia to pull down 33 overall (14 on the offensive glass).

Naithan George ended up having an impact for the Orange in the matchup. He totaled 19 points in his 35 minutes of playing time and accounted for 3 assists in the game. He knocked down 8 of 9 for this game for a field goal rate of 88.9%, and added 1 rebound.

Syracuse has a mark of 13-11 on the season. The Orange are responsible for committing 16.6 fouls per game while shooting 63.6% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.1 times per contest (256th in college) and they turn it over 11.3 times per contest. Syracuse has scored 1,803 points this year (75.1 per game) and they grab 34.7 rebounds per game. As an offensive team, the Orange are shooting 47.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 78th in college.

The Syracuse defense surrenders 32.2% on shots from behind the 3-point line (158 of 491) and their opposition makes 72.5% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 13.4 assists and 36.4 rebounds every game, which ranks 182nd and 295th in college hoops. The Orange on defense are ranked 98th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 70.8. They are forcing their opponents into 13.0 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 42.4% from the floor (87th in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Syracuse

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