Louisville vs. California (-1) Point Spread Picks

California (23-10, 19-13 ATS) was riding a nice wave of momentum before a 79-75 loss to Washington in the Pac-10 championship. Before that, the Golden Bears had won six consecutive games, and they remain a very strong 9-2 in their past 11 games. California has also been excellent on NCAA basketball odds; they're 8-2 in their past 10 games against the spread and also had a six-game win streak before the loss to Washington.

Jerome Randle is Cal's leading scorer at 18.7 points per game, but he struggled badly against the Huskies, shooting 3-11 and scoring just 12 points. A few other players stepped up and showed they can be valuable pieces during March Madness, however. Jamal Boykin, who averaged 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this season, lit up Washington for 20 points and 14 boards. Third-leading scorer Theo Robertson also got into the mix, scoring a game-high 25 points. Still, the Golden Bears need Randle to deliver the goods if they're going to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville (20-12, 10-17 ATS) has rotated wins and losses since mid-February. A 69-66 loss to Cincinnati in the Big East tournament dropped the Cardinals to a ho-hum 3-3 in their past six games straight up. Results have actually been disastrous against the spread; Louisville has covered just three times in its past 10 outings on college basketball odds.

The loss to Cincinnati was very disappointing to Louisville, as the Cardinals were favored. Their leading scorer, Samardo Samuels, was solid if unspectacular by scoring 13 points. Guard Edgar Sosa proved he can be a real threat, though, by torching Cincy with 28 points on 10-16 shooting. The Cardinals need to get down-and-dirty against California; they were dominated 46-29 on the glass against Cincinnati, and a similar performance will surely doom them.

SportsInteraction has set the total at 149.5. The total has gone under in seven of Louisville's last 10 games. For Cal, the total has gone over in three straight contests.

Game Prediction

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