Check out our free Southern Utah vs California Baptist pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Riverside. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Southern Utah vs California Baptist Pick & Preview: Wednesday, February 1st Betting Odds

Thunderbirds vs Lancers Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Southern Utah Thunderbirds at California Baptist Lancers
  • Where: Riverside at CBU Events Center
  • Date: Wednesday, February 1st
  • Betting Odds: Southern Utah +2.5, SUTAH +118 | CABAP -146 O/U 143.5

Thunderbirds Preview:

Southern Utah will take the floor against the Lancers with an overall record of 15-7. So far, the Thunderbirds have played 10 games on the road, with a record of 4-6. For the season, Southern Utah has been the underdog in 7 games, sitting with a mark of 2-5. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Thunderbirds being +2.5 point underdogs.

Southern Utah will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Tevian Jones who is averaging 19.43 points per game for the Thunderbirds. Jones is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Thunderbirds’ offensive game plan is the play of Maizen Fausett who has hit 51.4% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 11.68 points per game.

Southern Utah comes into today’s matchup vs California Baptist, looking to continue their strong offensive play, as they are averaging 78.4 points per game. Through 22 games, they have hit 45.8% of their field goal attempts. In terms of pace, the Thunderbirds have preferred to slow the game down, ranking 266th in possessions per game.

Lancers Preview:

The California Baptist Lancers head into today’s game in what will be their 23rd game of the season, posting a record of 13-9. So far this season, California Baptist has played 12 games at home, sitting with a record of 9-3. The Lancers’ are sitting with a betting line that is -2.5 points in their favor. For the season, California Baptist has been favored to win in 14 games, sitting with a mark of 8-6.

California Baptist’s leading scorer this season is Taran Armstrong, who is averaging 11.45 points per contest. So far, Armstrong has accounted for 16.4% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 4.27 rebounds per game and 4.91 assists. Joe Quintana is the second leading scorer for the Lancers, averaging 10.29 points per game. Between him and Quintana, they are accounting for 30.4% of the team’s scoring.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for California Baptist this season, as they are currently ranked 196th in college basketball at 71.0 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Lancers’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 33.2%, placing them 312th in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: Southern Utah Thunderbirds +2.5

A key to this matchup, will be 3-point shooting. Coming into the game, both California Baptist and Southern Utah are excellent 3-point shooting teams, averaing 8.73 and 8.26 made 3’s per game, respectively. In terms of the odds, we like the Southern Utah Thunderbirds to cover as +2.5 point dogs. Look for their defense to do a good enough job closing out on the Lancers’ outside shooters to make things difficult for California Baptist. At +2.5 we like the chances of Southern Utah covering the spread as underdogs.