Air Force vs California prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball

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It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Air Force-California prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Air Force California.

The Cal Golden Bears, like the various other teams in the Pac-12 Conference last season, are in a new conference situation. They will represent the ACC when they take the floor against Air Force on Thursday night. Mark Madsen is in his second year as Cal’s head coach. He got his feet wet last season, inheriting a program which had bottomed out and needed a rebuild. It was widely felt that Madsen would need at least three years to get the Cal program rolling. This is not a make-or-break season for him. The main thing for Madsen and Cal to achieve this season is significant player and program development, to the extent that the Bears enter next season knowing — not thinking, but knowing — they will be a serious player in the ACC and in college basketball at large.

So far this season, Cal and Madsen have to be encouraged by what they see. They lost at Vanderbilt against a good Commodore team. Cal was never expected to win that game. Playing that game was supposed to give the Golden Bears some teachable moments they could use to learn and grow for the remainder of their season.

Mission accomplished.

Playing that Vanderbilt game created an “iron sharpens iron” dynamic which justifies why coaches play tough schedules in November. They want their team to be tested, even if it means eating a loss. The process of losing accelerates the growth curve for a team. It worked as intended for Madsen and Cal. The Golden Bears followed their loss to Vanderbilt with a huge road win at USC this past Sunday. Cal was the better team for most of that game, nursing a small lead for a majority of the second half and managing to maintain it down the stretch. Cal held USC’s offense to just two points in the final 6:30 of regulation. Madsen has to be highly encouraged by what he saw in that game. Being able to get stops on a consistent basis offers Madsen ample reason to think his team can significantly improve at the defensive end of the floor and become a genuine defensive force this season.

Cal was not favored to win at USC. The Bears are favored to win big against Air Force. Can they drop the hammer and show that they can put the boot to the throat against an inferior opponent?

Here are the Air Force-California College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel 

College Basketball Odds: Air Force-California Odds

Air Force: +16.5 (-115)

Moneyline: +1060

California: -16.5 (-105)

Moneyline: -2300

Over: 137.5 (-110)

Under: 137.5 (-110)

How to Watch Air Force vs California

Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT

TV: ESPN Plus, ACC Network Extra

Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)

Why Air Force Will Cover The Spread/Win

Cal played well against USC, but USC is going through a sorting-out process with a roster almost entirely comprised of transfers under first-year coach Eric Musselman. USC is not a particularly good team right now, which elicits the point that Cal’s win — while very important for the Golden Bears — could still be deceptive in terms of measuring how much the Golden Bears have actually evolved. The spread is 16.5 points, and we’re not sure Cal deserves to be favored by such a large margin at this point in the program’s development under Mark Madsen.

Why California Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Cal Bears are rolling. That USC win is going to cause confidence to soar on this team. Air Force is a bad basketball team which has already lost multiple home games to smaller-conference opponents. Now AFA is going on the road to play a Cal team which is showing clear signs of improvement. This looks like a bloodbath, a 25-point win for Cal.

Final Air Force-California Prediction & Pick

The spread is big, but the gap between these teams is bigger. We do think Cal wins by at least 20. Take Cal.

Final Air Force-California Prediction & Pick: California -16.5

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