Houston Cougars vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 11/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Cougars vs California Golden Bears

Date: Sunday, November 8, 2026

Location: Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, NV

TV: ESPN+

Tahoe Blue Event Center is the location where the California Golden Bears (2-0) will play the Houston Cougars (1-0) on Sunday.

The Houston Cougars faced La Salle and took home the win by a score of 94-55 in their last contest. Houston wrapped up the contest with a 54.4% FG percentage (31 out of 57) and converted 5 out of their 14 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Cougars made 27 of their 37 tries for a rate of 73.0%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 41 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 21 assists in the game as well as forcing 18 turnovers and earning 11 steals. When discussing defense, Houston allowed the other team to go 25.0% from the floor on 15 out of 60 shooting. La Salle distributed 11 assists and had 6 steals for this game. In addition, La Salle had 23 boards (9 offensive, 14 defensive), but didn't notch a block. La Salle finished 73.9% from the charity stripe by burying 17 of their 23 attempts. They knocked down 8 of 39 attempts from three-point range. Concerning personal fouls, the Cougars ended up finishing with 20 while La Salle finished the game with 26 personal fouls.

Dedan Thomas Jr. is one player who had an impact for this game. He finished 28.6% from the floor and dished out 5 dimes. He played 27 mins and also totaled 3 boards. He totaled 16 points on 2 out of 7 shooting.

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Houston will enter this matchup with a record of 1-0 on the year. They are losing possession via turnover 13.0 times per contest and as a team they are committing 20.0 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Houston is pulling down 47.0 rebounds per game and is sitting with 21 dimes on the season, which is 240th in the nation in terms of passing. The Cougars are connecting on 35.7% on shots from downtown (5 of 14) and 73.0% from the charity stripe. They average 94.0 points per contest (70th in college) while hitting 54.4% from the field.

On defense, the Cougars are forcing 19.0 turnovers per game while drawing 26.0 fouls. They are conceding 20.5% from beyond the arc and they are 46th in D-1 in opponents PPG (55.0). The Cougars are giving up a shooting percentage of 25.0% (15 of 60) and they concede 32.0 boards per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 50th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 11 surrendered for the year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the California Golden Bears went home victorious with a score of 84-70 when they played Radford. The Golden Bears recorded 27 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds totaling 30 for this game. They also turned it over 14 times, while recording 7 steals in the game. Radford had 12 fouls in this contest which took the Golden Bears to the free throw line for a total of 14 attempts. They were able to knock down 9 of those for a percentage of 64.3%. In reference to shots from downtown, California buried 17 out of their 35 tries (48.6%). When the final whistle was blown, the Golden Bears walked away from this one shooting 29 out of 59 from the floor which had them shooting 49.2%. The Golden Bears permitted Radford to knock down 27 of their 65 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 41.5% in the matchup. They finished shooting 24.1% from behind the 3-point line by hitting 7 of 29 and finished the game at 9 out of 15 at the free throw line (60.0%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, California allowed Radford to collect 32 in total (10 on the offensive glass).

Nojus Indrusaitis ended up being a major contributor for the Golden Bears for the game. He scored 30 points in his 32 mins of playing time and totaled 2 dimes for the contest. He made 10 of 15 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and had 5 rebounds.

California has a mark of 2-0 so far this season. The Golden Bears are committing 12.5 personal fouls per game and they shoot 67.3% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 24.0 times per contest (16th in the country) and they turn it over 11.0 times per game. California has scored 199 pts this season and they average 37.5 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Golden Bears are connecting on 55.2% from the field, which ranks them 29th in college hoops.

The California defense allows 29.9% on shots from 3-point land (20 of 67) and their opponents are making 64.5% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 19.0 dimes and 36.0 boards every game, which ranks them 335th and 209th in college. The Golden Bears defensively are ranked 258th in the country in PPG given up with 78.0. They are forcing 14.5 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.0% from the floor (218th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take California

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