Virginia vs California prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball

01/08/2025 10:24 AM

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

This is not the most fascinating game on the slate in college basketball for January 8, but it is certainly an intriguing game from a betting standpoint. Which team is going to win this game between Virginia and Cal? Both teams are struggling. Cal is 0-3 in the ACC under second-year coach Mark Madsen. Virginia is struggling with program icon Tony Bennett having stepped away from coaching just before the season began. Interim boss Ron Sanchez is doing the best he can, but Bennett left him with a less-than-great roster and a generally unenviable situation.

Cal played well in the first few weeks of the season but ran into multiple injuries and missed key players in subsequent games. The flow of Madsen’s rotations and allocations of minutes has been disrupted, and Cal is clearly trying to get back to a place of harmony and comfort. Cal, however, has shown sparks of brilliance. The Golden Bears led Missouri by 18 points on the road. They led Pitt by 13 points on the road. The Golden Bears can play really well against solid opponents. We have seen it. It’s just that Cal cannot sustain what it starts and establishes. The Golden Bears lost each of those two games in which they built big first-half leads. They will go through a 10-minute sequence in which they can’t do anything wrong, but then they will go through a 12- or 15-minute period in which they can’t really do anything right. Games get away from this team. It can’t stop the opponent’s surge once it gets rolling. This is something Madsen will have to deal with as this season goes along. Given that Virginia does not have an especially potent or dangerous offense, the Cavaliers might be the kind of opponent Cal can contain, especially at home.

Virginia is a competitive team. The Hoos beat North Carolina State after being down by 10 points on New Year’s Eve. They made a good Louisville team work hard to beat them this past weekend. Virginia can and does still play solid defense. There is an identity on this team. The problem is that UVA doesn’t have the high-end weapons on offense to truly put opponents in difficult situations on a consistent basis. It remains a mystery that after Virginia won the national championship in 2019, the program could not continue to recruit at a high level and bring in the caliber of player to maintain the elite standard Tony Bennett established. Virginia is not a cash-poor school, either. Getting clobbered in the NIL and transfer portal arenas has hurt the UVA program, but understanding why it happened is a mystery which might not ever make complete sense to anyone who follows college basketball.

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

College Basketball Odds: Virginia-California Odds

Virginia: +2.5 (-104)

Moneyline: +126

California: -2.5 (-118)

Moneyline: -152

Over: 131.5 (-110)

Under: 131.5 (-110)

How to Watch Virginia vs California

Time: 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT

TV: ESPNU

*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*

Why Virginia Will Cover The Spread/Win

Cal will get a lead, but it will give up the lead. Virginia is getting a few points on the spread, and that might be enough.

Why California Will Cover The Spread/Win

Cal can win by just three points, at home, against an anemic and impotent UVA team and cover the spread. That seems too good to pass up.

Final Virginia-California Prediction & Pick

Cal at this small of a spread is too good to pass up. Take California.

Final Virginia-California Prediction & Pick: California -2.5

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