Washington Huskies at California Golden Bears
Haas Pavilion – Berkeley, California
Wednesday, January 15, 2014, 11:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPNU
Opening Line: California -9
Current Line: California -8 1/2
Opening Total: 148
Current Total; 145
Opening Money Line: Cal -450 / Washington +355
Current Money Line: Cal -425 / Washington +335
Early in Pac 12 play, five teams have one loss or fewer in the conference. Arizona is 4-0, followed by California at 3-0, Colorado and Washington at 3-1, and UCLA at 2-1. The 12-4 California Golden Bears host the 11-6 Washington Huskies Wednesday night in a key game in the conference.
The series is tied at 78 wins apiece for Cal and Washington. The Golden Bears lead the series 41-23 in Berkeley. Washington has won 4 of the last 5 games in the series including 62-47 in Berkeley last year in the only meeting between the schools. The Huskies and Golden Bears will meet again February 15 in Seattle.
Washington is coached by Lorenzo Romar. The Huskies have home losses to UC-Irvine and Connecticut, neutral site losses in New York City to Indiana and Boston College, and road losses to San Diego State and Arizona. Washington has key wins over Montana, Long Beach State, Tulane, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado 71-54 Sunday in Seattle. The Huskies have won 5 of their last 6 games, including 2 straight. Washington is 7-9 ATS and the total is 7-8 this season.
Washington is outscoring teams 77-75 this season. The Huskies are shooting 45.2% from the field, and 35.9% from 3 point range. Washington is #8 nationally in free throw shooting at 76.6% from the line. Huskies’ opponents are shooting 47.3% from the field and 30.7% from 3 point range. Washington is #316 nationally out of 351 teams in field goal defense. The Huskies average 35.2 rebounds per game and opponents average 29.4 per game. Washington averages 13.6 assists, 11.6 turnovers, 5.8 steals and 3.6 blocks per game. Opponents average 12.8 assists, 11.8 turnovers, 5.4 steals, and 4.5 blocks per game.
Guard C. J. Wilcox averages 20.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks. Guard Andrew Andrews averages 13.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Guard Nigel Goss-Williams averages 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 seals per game. Forward Perris Blackwell averages 10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Guard Darin Johnson averages 7.2 points, and 2.2 rebounds per game. Guard Mike Anderson averages 6.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. Desmond Simmons and Shawn Kemp, Jr. will also get significant minutes in the rotation. Forward Jernard Jerreau is out for the season with a knee injury.
California is coached by Mike Montgomery. The Golden Bears have losses to Syracuse and Dayton in the Maui Invitational, at UC-Santa Barbara and at Creighton. Cal has key wins over Oakland, Minnesota in Maui, UC-Irvine, Fresno State, Nevada, Stanford, Oregon and at Oregon State 88-83 Saturday. The Golden Bears have won 4 straight games, and this is their first home conference game this season. Cal is 8-7 ATS and the total is 6-9 this season.
California is outscoring teams 76-69 this season. The Golden Bears are shooting 46.5% from the field and 34.5% from 3 point range. Cal makes 69.9% from the free throw line. Golden Bear opponents are shooting 41.3% from the field and 35.9% from 3 point range. Cal averages 37.9 rebounds per game and opponents average 29.8 per game. The Golden Bears average 15.6 assists, 10.5 turnovers, 5.8 steals and 4.4 blocks per game. Opponents average 11.6 assists, 10.8 turnovers, 4.5 steals, and 3.3 blocks per game.
Cal guard Justin Cobbs averages 15.1 points, 2.8 blocks, and 6.4 assists per game. Forward Richard Solomon averages 12.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. Forward David Kravish averages 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. Guard Tyrone Wallace averages 11.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Guard Jabari Bird averages 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. He is probable with an ankle injury. Guard Jordan Mathews averages 8.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Guard Ricky Kreklow averages 6.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. He is out until late January with a broken hand.
Washington is 4-0 ATS in road games, and against teams with winning home records, 4-1 in Pac 12 games, 5-2 after a straight up win, 3-8 after a cover, and 1-5 in Wednesday games. The road team has covered four of the last 5 games in this series. The Huskies are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games against the Golden Bears.
California is 4-0 ATS overall, 8-3-1 against Pac 12 teams, 11-5 against teams with winning records, 4-10 at home after 3 or more consecutive road games, and 0-4 in Wednesday games. The over is 9-3 ATS in the last 12 in this series including 5-1 in Berkeley. The favorite has covered 5 of the last 7 games in this series.
Both of these teams are comfortable playing in the mid 70’s, but Cal is a much better defensive team. The Golden Bears are also a better rebounding team, but neither team has a lot of size. Cal is undefeated at home this season and I think that continues. The Golden bears win and cover at home.
