Cal vs Arizona Tech CBB Picks
The California Golden Bears and the Arizona Wildcats have both won three of their last four contests entering Wednesday night’s matchup, but it’s the latter that enters as the No. 3 team in the country. [ad-4468020]
California (18-9, 9-5 Pac-12) @ No. 3 Arizona (25-2, 12-2 Pac-12)
Wednesday, Feb. 26 9:00 PM ET ESPN2 @ McKale Center
Arizona – 13
O/U: 133.5
[dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
ATS Matchup Insight | CP Insider Gambling Preview
On the year, Arizona has gone 25-2, with its only two losses taking place in conference play. The team has been one of the most dominant squads in the entire country all year, and after this game with the Golden Bears, they’ll have just three more to go before the Pac-12 tournament begins.
California
The Wildcats will be favored in this one, as they will for the remainder of their regular season schedule, but don’t tell that to the California Golden Bears, as the team from Berkley should be confident having already taken down then-No. 1 Arizona back on Feb. 1.
The last time these two met, Cal came away with a 60-58 win. Justin Cobbs hit a step-back jump shot with less than one second remaining, giving the Wildcats their first loss of the year.
Aside from a heroic last-second shot, California did an excellent job of defending the three-point line. Arizona, who is shooting 35.3 percent from downtown this season, shot just 2-of-11 in that category that night. Cal, who also manages to shoot 35.3 percent from deep range, knocked down 50 percent of its attempts.
[ad-6571516]
The Wildcats pride themselves on the defensive side of the floor, so improving their own percentage isn’t going to be the focus; it will be stopping Cal from being so efficient, as they also shot 44.6 percent from the field compared to just 32.3 percent from Arizona.
Arizona
Not only do the Golden Bears have confidence from their win against Arizona earlier this season, but they can find solace in the fact that they were the last team to win on the Wildcats’ home court—something that has yet to be done this season.
That may be great news for a California team that is clinging into confidence, but putting it in perspective, that means the Wildcats have taken full advantage of their home crowd all year, and shouldn’t expect to do anything different this time around.
In this matchup, expect the shooting percentages to balance out. Arizona played a horribly inefficient game in Game 1, while the Golden Bears found a way to put the ball in the basket just enough to sneak away with one of the most dramatic wins of the year.
Arizona’s defense will be ready come Wednesday, and if the offense does even just a tad better than it did last time, the No. 3 team in college basketball—a true championship hopeful—should be able to walk away with a solid win once again at McKale Center.
Prediction: Arizona 69 – California 58
