The Oregon State Beavers take on the California Golden Bears Thursday in what will be both teams’ first conference game of the season. California is coming off a win against Fresno State and already has wins against Southern Utah and San Diego.
Meanwhile, Oregon State is 1-6 on the year and have just one win against Portland State. Since that win, the Beavers have lost six straight games.
Here are our college basketball picks and predictions for the only Pac-12 matchup tonight between the Oregon State Beavers and California Golden Bears.
Oregon State vs California odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
California opened as a 2-point favorite and currently, that line has been bet up to -2.5 at most outlets. Meanwhile, the total opened at 126 and is now as high as 127 at a couple of outlets.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.
Oregon State vs California predictions
Predictions made on 12/2/2021 at 9:20 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Oregon State vs California game info
• Location: Haas Pavillion, Berkeley, CA
• Date: Thursday, December 2, 2021
• Tip-off: 10:30 p.m. ET
• TV: Pac-12 Network
Oregon State at California betting preview
Injuries
Oregon State: Chol Marial C (Out).
California: onty Bowser F (Out), D.J. Thorpe F (Out).
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Golden Bears are 8-0 ATS in their last eight games as a favorite of 0.5-6.5. Find more NCAA betting trends for Oregon State vs. California.
Oregon State vs California picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
It’s been an ugly start to the season for the Oregon State Beavers. After defeating Portland State, the Beavers have lost six straight games with a couple home losses to mid-major schools.
The Beavers have an effective field goal percentage of 47.4% while only grabbing 24.4% offensive rebounds. It would be nice if Oregon State was able to crash the glass, as the Beavers are only shooting 28.8% from long range.
To the Beavers’ credit, they have been able to limit turnovers to just 16.5% and are shooting 49.3% inside the arc, but overall, shots just aren’t falling and the offense just isn’t working.
The Beavers have two players in double figures, including Warith Alatishe and Jarod Lucas, however, neither scores over 11 points per game this year. Alatishe is really the only reliable player, especially on the boards.
Defensively, Oregon State is just pure average. Teams are taking plenty of time off the clock against them, ultimately making the Beavers work on the defensive end. The only way Oregon State can stick around in games is with its defense.
Meanwhile, California has really struggled on the offensive glass, bringing down just 20.8% of offensive rebounds. However, it’s at least able to shoot 36% from downtown.
The only downside here is that the Golden Bears will rarely take threes and instead like to shoot inside the arc, where they’re shooting 45.7% from the field.
Ultimately though, California shoots better, and that should give them the edge at home to cover the spread.
Prediction: California -2.5 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
I’ll bite on the Under here. California has been one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country, limiting opponents to just 20.4% offensive rebounds on the season.
Meanwhile, California is dreadful on the offensive glass, grabbing just 20.8 percent of offensive rebounds. It sounds like a lot of one-and-done on both sides of the ball.
Meanwhile, California is taking 19.5 seconds per possession on offense while Oregon State’s opponents are taking 18.6 seconds per possession.
The slow pace, along with a limited number of second chances, makes me like the Under, even at the low number of 127.
Prediction: Under 127 (-110)
Best bet
Both offenses are scoring about 65 points per game while both defenses are allowing under 70 points per game, on average.
When you match up these two teams and their style of players, the game slows down, second chances are hard to come by, and turnovers are limited.
Therefore, my best bet is Under 127.
Pick: Under 127 (-110)
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