In Saturday’s college hardwood action, the Colorado Buffaloes (16-5 overall, 10-4 Pac-12) take on the California Golden Bears (7-15, 2-13) at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Colorado-California college basketball odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Colorado at California: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:10 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Colorado -700 (bet $700 to win $100) | California +500 (bet $100 to win $500)
- Against the spread/ATS: Colorado -10.5 (-115) | California +10.5 (-105)
- Over/Under: 134.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Colorado at California: Three things to know
- Colorado is tied with USC for the most wins in conference play (10), although the Buffalos they have four losses in the Pac-12, two more than the first-place Trojans. Still, Colorado remains in the hunt for the conference’s regular-season title.
- Cal has been the conference punching bag, winning just two league tilts in 15 tries. The Bears did have a spirited effort in their 76-75 loss against Utah Thursday, and they have covered two straight, and six of the past eight overall.
- Cal has posted an impressive 5-1 ATS mark across the past six games as an underdog of 8.5 or more points. The Bears are also 4-1 ATS in their past five games at Haas Pavilion.
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Colorado at California: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Colorado 69, California 61
Money line (ML)
Colorado (-700) proved at Stanford Thursday that it can win on the road. The Buffaloes have struggled away from Boulder but threw down an emphatic 69-51 win in Palo Alto in a key Pac-12 game involving conference contenders. Surely, in a trip across the Bay Bridge to Berkeley, they’ll spank the cellar-dwelling Bears, right? Probably, but risking seven times your potential return is just not a good long-term betting strategy. AVOID.
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Against the spread (ATS)
CALIFORNIA +10.5 (-105) hasn’t found a lot of success winning straight up, but it has been cover kings. Cal is 6-2 ATS across the past eight, while Colorado is just 2-3 ATS over the previous five. Yes, Colorado dusted Cal 89-60 in Boulder back on Jan. 14, but the Bears have been solid against the number since. Colorado will win, but Cal should be able to keep the margin within single digits.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 134.5 (-110) is a slam-dunk play here, pun totally intended. Colorado’s defense has been suffocating lately, allowing just 50.0 PPG over the past two outings. It allowed just 60 points to Cal in the first meeting in Boulder. The Under is 4-2 in Colorado’s past six overall. Look for another Under result here.
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