Pac 12 Tourney – Cardinal vs Golden Bears NCAAB Handicapping Prediction
Cal (23-8) may be a safe bet to make the Big Dance, but they really blew it at the end of the regular season losing their last 2 games, including their last one to Stanford, to finish Pac 12 play one game behind conference winner Washington.
Venue/ Stadium: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Time/Date: 9 PM EST Thursday, March 8, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Cal -4
Over/Under: 132
Stanford Cardinal vs. California Golden Bears Preview
Cal (23-8) may be a safe bet to make the Big Dance, but they really blew it at the end of the regular season losing their last 2 games, including their last one to Stanford, to finish Pac 12 play one game behind conference winner Washington. Stanford (21-10) won 4 of their last 6 games of the season, but at only 10-8 in conference play they may have to win this game to have any chance to make the Big Dance.
In their last games Stanford beat Arizona State 85-65 in the first round of the conference tourney and Cal lost to Stanford 75-70 in their regular season finale.
This season Cal is 16-13 ATS with an O/U record of 11-18 and Stanford is 15-13 ATS with an O/U record of 14-14.
The reason the Cardinal beat the Golden Bears at the end of the season was their defense, which held Cal to only 40.7% shooting.
Stanford leading scorer Chasson Randle (13.6 ppg) has been en fuego lately, as he not only scored 30 points in the win over Arizona State, but he has averaged 21.5 ppg in his last 4 games. He is a great 3-point shooter and the Golden Bears cannot let him have open looks from deep. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Stanford F/C Josh Owens (12.1 ppg 5.8 rpg) has been struggling and needs to get back on track in this game. If the Golden Bears can keep the G duo of Randle and Aaron Bright (11 ppg) from having big games, especially behind the 3-pt arc, they will be in good shape.
Cal is led by the backcourt duo of Allen Crabbe (15.4 ppg) and Jorge Gutierrez (12.9 ppg) and these 2 struggled in the last game against Stanford. Crabbe did have 20 points in the game and shot the 3 well, but was only 5/13 from the field. These 2 also have to do a better job handling the rock, as each had 4 turnovers in the loss to the Cardinal.
Cal Freshman David Kravish (7 ppg 5.7 rpg) has to be THE man in the lane, as they have missed leading rebounder Richard Solomon, who has been out for several games due to eligibility issues.
In some betting trends for this Pac 12 quarterfinal match up Stanford is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall, 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS win, and they have an Over record of 4-1 in their last 5 neutral site games.
Cal is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall, 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above 60%, and they have an Under record of 8-0 in their last 8 neutral site games.
Jason’s Pick: I think Stanford will continue to roll, as their backcourt will come up big in this game and they will win and cover advancing to the conference semis.
