Cal State-Bakersfield vs. California Prediction College Basketball Tips 11/4/24

Current betting trends and series with the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners

Current betting trends and series surrounding the California Golden Bears

Current betting trends for games between CSU Bakersfield and California

A summary that puts everything together and leads to a favorable betting result for the CSU Bakersfield vs. California game

Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners Betting Preview

The Roadrunners did not have a great season in 2023-24, posting a 13-19 record overall and an 8-12 run in Big West Conference play. CSU Bakersfield finished just two spots ahead of Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly in the standings.

Roadrunners head coach Rod Barnes will begin his 14th season at the helm in 2024-25. He has high hopes for some improvement this year with four starters returning. The only exception was Kaleb Higgins, last season's leading scorer (17.9 PPG).

California Golden Bears betting preview

On the California side, they had a similar season last year, going 13-19 overall with a 9-11 run in the Pac-12. This put the Golden Bears almost in the middle of the pack, ahead of five other teams. California lost to Stanford in the first round of the conference tournament in its last appearance.

This season, California is rebooting in head coach Mark Madsen's second season. All five starters from last year are gone, including Fardaws Aimaq (graduation), Devin Askew (LBSU transfer), ND Okafor (Washington State transfer) and Jaylon Tyson (NBA Draft).

Why the California Golden Bears will win

• California has won five of its last six daily games against the Big West Conference.
• Cal State Bakersfield has lost 15 of its last 20 games against opponents not ranked in the AP.
• Cal State Bakersfield has lost the first half in four of its last five games against non-conference opponents.

Why the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners will win

• California has lost each of its last four games against opponents not ranked in the AP rankings.

Matchup/League Facts

• Cal State Bakersfield ranked 357th among Division 1 teams in three-point field goals made per game last season (4.7).
• Cal State Bakersfield ranked 18th among Division 1 teams in opponent field goals made per game last season (22.6).

CSU Bakersfield vs. California Prediction

I might take a look at CSU Bakersfield here. The Roadrunners have plenty of returning experience this season and hit the junior college ranks hard in the offseason to bring in additional talent. Junior Jemel Jones (33.6 PPG) comes from College of the Sequoias after winning NJCAA Division II Player of the Year honors and should help immediately. The only major downside on paper is the Roadrunners' frontcourt; They could get pushed around by the bigger teams.

As for Cal, they took a step forward last season despite their ugly losing record. However, only two players remain from last year's squad (Devin Curtis and Vladimir Pavlovic), so we will see a lot of new faces. On paper, however, the Bears have enough talent to continue their upward trend. However, it may not yet lead to a successful record.