If you’re a fan of offense and uptempo basketball, you might want to shield your eyes from Friday’s Pac-12 affair between rivals California and Stanford, which seems likely to end the night with more bricks than buckets.
While both of these offenses have their issues, California’s scoring profile is particularly atrocious in just about every way. The Golden Bears rank among the absolute worst teams in the country in 3-point percentage (27.5 percnt), turnover rate (22.2 percent) and assist rate (45 percent) — a holy trinity for bad offensive basketball.
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California vs. Stanford prediction (9 p.m. ET on ESPNU)
Cal also boasts the nation’s sixth-slowest tempo, and when combined with horrid shooting and a lack of ball control, it makes for one of the least productive offenses in the country. It doesn’t help that leading scorer Devin Askew (16.1 ppg), who owns the eighth-highest usage rate (33.1 percent) in college basketball, missed his third game of the season last week and is questionable for this one, too.
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Stanford’s rotation is healthy coming into this one, but that doesn’t mean much for a team that’s struggled to score, anyway. The Cardinal is also underwhelming from deep (30.8 percent) and turns it over at a high rate (20.6 percent), though an efficient defense has helped this group tread water against lesser competition.
That said, Friday’s tilt will prove challenging for both of these offenses, especially with two of the nation’s tallest front courts limiting easy opportunities inside. Bet the Under here and watch at your own peril.
California vs. Stanford pick
Under 124.5 points (BetMGM)