| MATCHUP | Utah Utes | California Golden Bears |
|---|---|---|
| Team Records | 6-2 | 6-1 |
| Where | Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, CA | |
| When | Tuesday, December 2, 2025 | |
| Time | 10:00 PM EST | |
| TV | ACC Extra | |
The Utah Utes and the California Golden Bears meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Haas Pavilion. Here’s a Utah vs California prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Utah vs California pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.
Utah Utes Betting Preview
Utah opened up the season on a nice run but they’ve had a couple of bumps in the road lately. The Utes won their first five games, taking out San Jose State, Weber State, Holy Cross, Sam Houston and Fort Wayne in succession during that time. Following a pair of losses to Cal Poly and Grand Canyon, the Utes took another win over Ole Miss last week. In eight games so far this year, that gives Utah a 6-2 record overall.
In the Ole Miss game last Wednesday, the Utes came out of halftime looking at a 42-34 advantage. Utah had to scramble in the second on a 40-33 deficit but came out on the winning side 75-74. Don McHenry led the team on 27 points with three assists and two rebounds, while Terrence Brown added 14 points and four assists. Josh Hayes put up 10 points with three rebounds for the Utes in the win as well.
California Golden Bears Betting Preview
Over on the Golden Bears’ side, they’re looking pretty good so far with just one close loss on the card. California opened the season with a three-game win streak over Cal State Bakersfield, Wright State and Cal State Fullerton. After a three-point loss to Kansas State, California has since won three more games. Those victories have come versus Presbyterian, Sacramento State and UCLA. That gives the Golden Bears a 6-1 run across their first seven games this year.
In the UCLA game last Tuesday, the Bears came out of halftime with a five-point deficit. California surged on a 44-31 run the rest of the way however, resulting in an 80-72 comeback win. Chris Bell led the team with 22 points and six boards, while Dai Dai Ames had 14 points in 24 minutes. Justin Pippen chipped in with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists for the Golden Bears in the victory effort.
Utah Utes @ California Golden Bears Betting Trends: December 2, 2025
Why the California Golden Bears will win
- California has won each of its last six games at Haas Pavilion.
Why the Utah Utes will win
- Utah has won each of its last four games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Utah vs California Prediction
I’m going to stay with Cal. This should be a pretty good matchup though, and you could call it either way. The Bears got into trouble early versus UCLA in their last outing, but to their credit Cal came alive and took the comeback win. The Bears shot 44.8 percent from the field and had 31 rebounds with 15 team assists. The most important stat was perhaps the 11-of-22 (50 percent) from outside, not to mention the 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) from the line or the eight turnovers. Cal has 77 or more points in all but one game this year—the outlier being 67 points in a 10-point victory over Presbyterian.
As for Utah, they posted a gritty win over a good Ole Miss team in their last outing, thanks largely to 47.2 percent shooting from the field and 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from outside. The Utes were competitive on the boards but did get outmuscled in the paint 40-26. It was a nice bounce-back effort after just 58 points in the loss to Grand Canyon, but the Utes will have their hands full again in this one.