California at Oregon Prediction - Basketball Picks 3/2/23

Oregon Ducks (16-13) vs California Golden Bears (3-26)

Game Info: Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 11:00 pm (Matthew Knight Arena)

Betting Odds: Oregon Ducks -19 -- Over/Under: 131.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The California Golden Bears will head up to Eugene to face the Oregon Ducks in Pac-12 play on FS1 from the Matthew Knight Arena. Cal leads the all-time series, 74-61 but Oregon has won ten of the last eleven meetings.

Cal fell to 3-19 after losing to Colorado in Boulder. The Golden Bears led the Buffs at the break, but ended up losing by 13 points after a sloppy second half. Cal is scoring 58.5 points per game, while allowing 69.7 ppg, and shooting 39.1% from the field.

Cal dropped thirteen straight games, and the storm has just poured on in Berkeley this winter. The Golden Bears are 2-16 in Pac-12 play, with a 0-qp road record. Leading scorer Devin Askew (15.5) is out for the remainder of the season with hernia surgery, and there’s been little pulse from them offensively. Leading rebounder Lars Thiemann (9.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg) also missed the loss to Wazzu.

Oregon moved to 16-13 after beating Oregon State in Corvallis. The Ducks and Beavers would need overtime to decide a winner, and UW would escape with a one-point win, 72-71. Oregon is scoring 70.5 points per game, while allowing 67.2 ppg, and shooting 45% from the field.

Oregon barely escaped in the Civil War matchup, but they come into a very manageable spot at home this Thursday. The Ducks are 10-8 in Pac-12 play, with a 11-5 home record. Senior big N’Faly Dante has posted three straight double-doubles, and after having a season-high 18 boards in the win over OSU, he leads Oregon in scoring (13.6) and (8.1). Senior guard Jermaine Couisnard is second on the team at 13.1 ppg, while fellow veteran guard Will Richardson is averaging 12.8 ppg and a team-lead 5.3 apg.

Oregon is 13-14-1 against the spread this season, with a 14-14 over/under record. California is 11-16 ATS this year, with a 13-14 o/u record.

There’s no way Oregon loses this game to Cal, and as hard as it may be to buy into this team being 20-point favorites, their opponents might just be that bad. Cal represents the worst scoring offense in the nation, and after dropping each of their last five road games by double figures, they can be targeted here. It simply should just come down to a matter of how much for Oregon here, so take their spread in this Pac-12 contest. Also give the under a view with neither school starring on the offense end.