California vs Washington Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 2/23/23
Washington Huskies (15-13) vs. California Golden Bears (3-24)
February 23, 2023 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: California Golden Bears +5.5 / Washington Huskies -5.5 ; Over/Under: 130
(Get latest betting odds)
The Washington Huskies and the California Golden Bears meet Thursday in college basketball action from Haas Pavilion. Washington sits at 15-13 so far this year. The Huskies beat Oregon State in their last game. As for California, they’re currently 3-24 after a loss to UCLA. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Washington Huskies
Washington managed a 12-8 record over their first 20 games of the year. The Huskies have since gone 3-5 in the last eight outings with losses to Utah, Arizona, UCLA and USC alongside wins over Arizona State, Oregon and Oregon State.
In the Oregon State game on Saturday, the Huskies went into the second half with a 26-18 advantage. Washington kept it up on a 35-29 run and took the win 61-47. Leading the way was Jamal Bey with 15 points and five rebounds.
California Golden Bears
Over on the California side, it’s been a tough year—needless to say. The Bears have wins over only TX-Arlington, Colorado and Stanford. California has lost 11 straight games, most recently to Arizona State, USC and UCLA.
Back on Saturday versus UCLA, the Bears were drilled 38-15 in the first half. California didn’t get any closer on a 40-28 second-half deficit and lost 78-43. Kuany Kuany was the leading team scorer on 14 points and five rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m leaning toward taking a stab on the Bears. Probably not touching it, though. The line seems a little too thin here. California is struggling mightily this season so it’s tough to know how they’ll look in this one—even at home. That said, the Huskies are sitting on a pair of consecutive wins for the first time since mid-January. That’s encouraging news for them, considering California nearly knocked out the Huskies in overtime the last time these teams met up on January 14 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Washington eked out an 81-78 win in that one and the ghost of it will loom large here. The Bears have just 103 combined points in their last two games, so they’ll need to get off to a good start in order to post the cover in this rematch. I think they can do it if all goes well.
