The California Golden Bears take on the Arizona Wildcats. Check out our college basketball odds series for our California Arizona prediction and pick.

The Arizona Wildcats were roaring along and enjoying a very good season. They had won the Maui Invitational by beating San Diego State and then Creighton. Courtney Ramey, the transfer from Texas, was making significant contributions to the lineup under coach Tommy Lloyd. Big man Oumar Ballo had replaced Christian Koloko (who is now in the NBA along with former Wildcat Bennedict Mathurin) quite effectively, providing the two-way play and paint protection the Wildcats need in order to be supremely formidable. Creighton is the Big East Conference favorite. By beating the Bluejays in a big-boy Maui final, the Wildcats had established themselves as the team to beat in the Pac-12 Conference. UCLA had been struggling, but Arizona picked up where it left off with a roster which had to be remade after Koloko and Mathurin left. Lloyd's artistry in reassembling a roster was magnificent. It seemed that Arizona, which went 18-2 in the 20-game Pac-12 schedule last season, had a chance to do the same this season.

In one night, that whole line of thought was derailed.

The Wildcats were absolutely stunned by Utah this past Thursday night in Salt Lake City. They were completely ambushed by the Utes, who hammered them 81-66. Utah crashed the glass for 17 offensive rebounds. The Utes defended the 3-point line extremely well. Arizona lost the game on the perimeter, making just 4 of 28 3-point shots. Arizona's backcourt — the starters and reserves — combined for just 20 total points in the whole game. That's an astonishing statistic to come from that game. Another eye-popping fact is that Utah's bench outscored Arizona's bench 19-7. In a 15-point game, that 12-point bench difference really mattered. This clunker came out of nowhere, and now the Wildcats have to pick up the pieces. The idea that this team can go 18-2 in the 20-game conference schedule has been shattered. Can the U of A really go 18-1 the rest of the way? It seems unlikely, but maybe that's the next great feat Tommy Lloyd can produce in Tucson.

California is one of the worst Power Five conference teams in college basketball. The Golden Bears have an 0-8 record. Coach Mark Fox is utterly failing to find solutions. Cal's defense was respectable this past Wednesday against USC in the Pac-12 opener for both teams. The Bears had held USC to 46 points through three-fourths of the game, but Cal's offense died in the final 10 minutes. The Bears' stagnation led to a 66-51 defeat. Cal just doesn't have a single difference-making player who can take over when everything else looks bleak. Fox has not been able to manage the transfer portal well, and it's hard to see how or when the Cal program is going to rebound — not just this season, but in the next few years.

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the California-Arizona College Basketball odds.

College Basketball Odds: California-Arizona Odds

California Golden Bears: +23.5 (-115)

Arizona Wildcats: -23.5 (-105)

Over: 142.5 (-110)

Under: 142.5 (-110)

Why California Could Cover the Spread

The argument to make for California covering the spread is that Arizona — hammered by Utah — isn't nearly as good as many people thought, and that the Wildcats are going through problems which won't be resolved.

Why Arizona Could Cover the Spread

The Wildcats are likely to bounce back from the Utah loss. If  Tommy Lloyd is as good a coach as we think he is, this team will come surging out of the tunnel and will put a smackdown on a bad Cal team.

Final California-Arizona Prediction & Pick

California is horrible, and Arizona is angry. The Wildcats will win by 30.

Final California-Arizona Prediction & Pick: Arizona -23.5