NCAA basketball on Monday night and we will see the Arkansas Razorbacks travel to the west coast to take on the California Golden Bears in the 2nd round of the NIT Tournament. The game has a start time of 11:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN 2. Vegas odds have the Golden Bears listed as 2.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 152.5.
Stat Pack: The Arkansas Razorbacks beat Indiana State, 91-71, in the first round of the NIT Tournament. That win now has them at 22-11 on the year, but they have gone just 3-6 on the road. The Razorbacks play an uptempo style of ball and it has resulted in them averaging 80.6 ppg, which is 16th in the nation. They hit just 44.5% of their shots overall (157th), but are solid from long range, hitting 36.9% of their shots from beyond the arc (72nd) and they are also 80th in FT shooting (72.5%). The offense is led by Rashad Madden, who averages 12.6 ppg, while Bobby Portis is close behind at 12.3 ppg. Portis is the team leader in rebound at 6.7 rpg. Michael Qualls (11.8 ppg) rounds out the double digit scorers on the team. Defensively, the Razorbacks do allow teams to shoot just 40.4% from the field (39th), buut they also allow 71.2 ppg, which is 210th in the nation.
For California, they got to the 2nd round by winning their opener, 77-64, over Utah Valley. The win now has the Golden Bears at 2013 overall, including a 14-4 mark at home. The Bears average a modest 72.5 ppg (120th) on 45.4% shooting overall (118th), 34.4% from long range (176th) and 67.9% from the FT line (245th). The team is led by Justin Cobbs, who averages 15.7 ppg. David Kravish (11.3 ppg), Tyrone Wallace (11.2 ppg) and Richard Solomon (11.0 ppg) also average in double figures for the Bears. Solomon Leads the team in rebounding at 10.2 rpg. Defensively the Bears are a decent team, as they come in allowing just 69.3 ppg on 41.9% shooting, but they don't defense the arc very well, allowing teams to hit 36.1% from long range, which is 276th in the nation.
Pick: I like the Under in this game. California doesn't play many high scoring games at home, where their games have averaged 138.2 ppg. Cal plays very good defense at home, allowing just 64.3 ppg and Arkansas struggles to score on the road, averaging just 69.6 ppg on 39.5% shooting. Very hard to see them putting up more than 70 points in this one. Arkansas does allow 76 ppg and Call averages 73.9 ppg, but overall Cal has been struggling to score of late as they have averaged just 62.8 ppg in their last 6 games. The Cal defense should dictate pace in the game and keep in the lower 140's at best.
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