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California Golden Bears Predictions: 2011 CBB Future Lines

Quick article by Kyle Hunter detailing the California Golden Bears 2011 Season win total odds for over under NCAA Basketball betting futures and a season wins prediction…

2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Team Previews – California Golden Bears

It will be the first year for the new Pac 12 conference, and California is looking to play a major role in the Pac 12 standings.

2011- 2012 California Golden Bears College Basketball Preview
California 2011-2012 Odds to Win NCAA Championship from Bookmaker: +8,000
California 2011-2012 Odds to Win Pac 12 Regular Season Championship from 5Dimes: +850

Mike Montgomery has proven that he knows how to coach. Montgomery turned Stanford into a perennial power, and many believe he could do that in time with the Cal basketball program. Montgomery himself said last year that he believes it takes three or four years to create a good defensive team. This is his fourth year with the team, and expectations are much higher for the Golden Bears than they were this time last season. This is one of the rare teams in the Pac 12 that returns a lot of top flight talent.

Last Year’s Results: 18-15 (4th in the Pac 10)

California came into last season with low expectations because they lost eight key contributors from the previous year. It turns out that guys like Jorge Gutierrez, Allen Crabbe, and Harper Kemp turned into team leaders. Cal started the season horribly on the offensive end, but as the season went along this team definitely matured quite nicely. The Golden Bears won five of their last seven games last year. Opponents shot 36.4% from behind the arc against Cal, so that is an area that must improve.

Roster Changes

The Golden Bears lose only one player from last year’s team. Markhuri Sanders-Frison battled injury problems all of last year, and he never really was able to show his full skill set. At the same time, the Golden Bears didn’t really have much room to bring in new stars either. David Kravish and Christian Behrens will be the two newcomers for this team, but I don’t expect them to see the floor much at all. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Top Players

Crabbe was only a freshman last year, and he showed he can take over the game at times. Crabbe makes good decisions with the basketball, but he needs to try to get to the free throw line more often. Montgomery called Gutierrez “a winner”, and he is a perfect guy to lead this team. Gutierrez is a very good on the ball defender. Harper Kemp shot an amazing 54% from the floor last year, and he has impressive moves down in the low post. Brandon Smith is a candidate for a breakout year in 2011-2012.

California 2011-2012 College Basketball Prediction: #10 Seed in NCAA Tournament (Loss in First Round of NCAA Tournament)

I think this California team will be better than last year, but I’m not sure they’ll jump quite as much as some believe. The team really doesn’t have a great defensive presence on the inside, and that could definitely hurt them against teams with good big men. The Golden Bears have a very good nucleus, but they are definitely lacking in the depth department. By the time the end of the season rolls around, this team won’t be as fresh as many of their counterparts.

Montgomery is a very good coach, and I expect him to get the most out of this team, but I don’t think the ceiling is too high for this group. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cal is one of the last few teams into the NCAA Tournament this year.

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By Kyle Hunter

Kyle Hunter sports picks – A degree in finance and a great ability to follow important trends and statistics set him apart from the rest. Totals are Kyle's specialty, so look for a lot of totals picks from NBA, NCAAF, & the NFL. Check out his plays today.