Pick details
Abilene Christian (8-10) vs California Baptist (8-9)
Game Info: Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 7:00 pm (Moody Coliseum (Abilene))
The Line: Betting Odds: Abilene Christian +1 — Over/Under: 137.5
The California Baptist Lancers and the Abilene Christian Wildcats meet Saturday in college basketball action from Moody Coliseum. Here’s a Cal Baptist vs Abilene Christian prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Cal Baptist vs Abilene Christian pick. We will examine:
The California Baptist Lancers’ recent form and player performance
The Abilene Christian Wildcats’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the California Baptist Lancers
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Abilene Christian Wildcats
Recent betting trends in games played between Cal Baptist and Abilene Christian
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Cal Baptist vs Abilene Christian game
California Baptist Lancers Betting Preview
The Lancers have had quite an inconsistent run so far this year. Cal Baptist has been fighting off the .500 mark for most of the season, and as of late, they’re losing the battle. The Lancers opened on a 5-3 run with wins over Incarnate Word, Kennesaw State, Long Island U, Eastern Washington, and Fresno State. After losses to UCF, San Diego State, and Middle Tennessee, the Lancers beat Fresno State, Jackson State, and Seattle U (with a loss to UC Irvine) in their next four outings. Since then it’s been a pair of consecutive losses to Utah Valley and Tarleton State for an 8-9 overall record through the first 17 games of the season so far.
In the Tarleton State matchup back on Thursday, the Lancers entered the second half sporting a 31-20 deficit. California Baptist got slightly better from there on a 37-36 advantage but still lost by double-digits 67-57 in the end. The only starter in double-figures was Dominique Daniels, who finished with 19 points, two boards, one assist, and one steal. Martel Williams came off the bench to provide 16 points, two steals, and two rebounds as well.
Abilene Christian Wildcats Betting Preview
Over on the Abilene Christian side, they’ve also been pretty inconsistent this year. The Wildcats opened on a pretty solid run over their first 13 games, but have since fallen back below .500 themselves. The wins over that opening run came courtesy of Howard Payne, McMurry, Texas State, Southern Miss, Omaha, New Mexico State, Hardin Simmons, and Texas Southern. Since then it’s been a string of five straight losses, though. Abilene Christian has dropped to Texas A&M, Stephen F. Austin, Utah Valley, Seattle U, and Grand Canyon in succession over that quintet for an 8-10 overall record this season.
Matched up against Grand Canyon on the road Thursday, the Wildcats were way behind by halftime on a 38-21 deficit. Abilene Christian didn’t get any closer in the second half on a 50-37 run and lost big 88-58 in blowout fashion. The only starter to finish in double-figures was Bradyn Hubbard with 13 points, five rebounds, and five steals. Christian Alston added 10 points with three rebounds in 12 minutes of action off the bench during the loss as well.
Why the Abilene Christian Wildcats will win
- California Baptist has lost seven of its last eight night games against Conference opponents.
- Abilene Christian has won five of its last six night games at Moody Coliseum (Abilene).
- Abilene Christian has won the first half in four of its last five games at Moody Coliseum (Abilene).
Why the California Baptist Lancers will win
- Abilene Christian has lost each of its last six games against Conference opponents.
Cal Baptist vs Abilene Christian Prediction
I’ll stick with Cal Baptist I suppose. You could make a good case either way here, though. The Lancers really need a good bounce-back effort on offense after a listless loss to Tarleton State in their last outing. Cal Baptist shot just 34.1 percent from the field in that one and had 13 turnovers for 17 Texans points. The Lancers haven’t reached 70 points for four straight games—a 1-3 stretch.
As for Abilene Christian, they shot an embarrassing 31.6 percent from the field with 19 turnovers in their latest loss to a good Grand Canyon team. The Wildcats have been below 70 points in seven straight games themselves (a 1-6 run) so I’m not expecting much out of them offensively either. There’s not much to like here, but I think Cal Baptist still has the edge.
Andrew Jett's Pick: Cal Baptist Lancers -1
