CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners vs UC San Diego Tritons Prediction, 2/26/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners vs UC San Diego Tritons

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026

Location: LionTree Arena in San Diego, CA

TV: ESPN+

The UC San Diego Tritons (19-9) host the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (8-20) at LionTree Arena on Thursday.

The CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners faced off with CSU Fullerton and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 88-80 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Roadrunners finished with 20 while CSU Fullerton racked up 20 personal fouls. They also knocked down 16 of their 33 tries from distance. CSU Fullerton ended up shooting 66.7% from the free throw line by making 14 of their 21 shots. Additionally, CSU Fullerton grabbed 30 rebounds (5 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. CSU Fullerton dished out 18 dimes and had 3 steals for the matchup. Pertaining to defense, CSU Bakersfield allowed the other team to go 50.0% from the field on 29 of 58 shooting. They also distributed 10 assists in the game as well as forcing 9 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In regard to rebounding, they earned a total of 30 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Roadrunners buried 19 of their 23 attempts for a percentage of 82.6%. CSU Bakersfield walked away from the contest having earned a 42.2% FG percentage (27 of 64) and converted 7 of their 25 three-point shots.

Dailin Smith is a player who was a factor for this game. He was able to score 21 points on 6 of 17 shooting. He played 35 mins and also pulled down 1 rebound. He ended up going 35.3% from the field and distributed 1 assist.

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CSU Bakersfield heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 8-20 for the campaign. They are giving up possession 13.7 times per contest and as a group they commit 20.4 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, CSU Bakersfield is snagging 35.3 rebounds per game and has accounted for 303 dimes this year, which is 350th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Roadrunners are connecting on 29.3% on shots from distance (137 of 467) and 74.2% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 72.1 points per contest (273rd in Division 1) while hitting 41.5% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Roadrunners are forcing their opponents into 13.3 turnovers every game while drawing 19.0 personal fouls. They are ranked 286th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 413 surrendered for the campaign. The Roadrunners defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.8% (760 of 1,658) and they surrender 37.9 boards per game as a squad. They give up 35.6% on three-point shots while they are 338th in the nation in points per game allowed (80.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the UC San Diego Tritons went home victorious with a score of 71-69 when they played UC Irvine. With respect to how they cleaned up the glass, UC San Diego permitted UC Irvine to collect 35 in all (13 on the offensive side). They wrapped up this game 44.4% from three-point range by connecting on 8 out of 18 and finished the contest at 5 out of 7 at the charity stripe (71.4%). The Tritons permitted UC Irvine to knock down 28 of their 67 tries from the floor which had them shooting 41.8% in this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Tritons finished 26 for 59 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.1%. Concerning shots from downtown, UC San Diego knocked down 10 of 25 tries (40.0%). They were able to knock down 9 of the free throw tries for a clip of 81.8%. UC Irvine had 14 personal fouls in this contest which took the Tritons to the free throw line for a total of 11 tries. They also gave up possession 8 times, while getting 6 steals in this matchup. The Tritons pulled down 20 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 30 in this game.

Hudson Mayes ended up being important for the Tritons in this game. He buried 8 out of 16 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 8 rebounds. He scored 17 points in his 30 minutes on the court and earned 4 dimes in the matchup.

UC San Diego has a record of 19-9 for the season. The Tritons are committing 16.0 personal fouls every game and they shoot 69.2% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.8 times per game (124th in the country) and they are giving up possession 11.5 times per game. UC San Diego has accounted for 2,132 pts for the year (76.1 per game) and they collect 37.4 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Tritons are connecting on 45.8% from the floor, which ranks 146th in D-1.

The Tritons on the defensive side of the court are 82nd in D-1 in points given up per game with 70.3. They are forcing 11.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.4% from the floor (49th in college). The UC San Diego defense concedes 33.2% on shots from 3-point land (233 of 702) and opponents are making 70.1% of their free throw shots. They have given up 13.6 dimes and 35.8 boards per game, which ranks 202nd and 263rd in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take CSU Bakersfield

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