Washington vs. Cal Baptist Basketball Prediction, Odds, Line, Pick, and Preview: November 17

The Washington Huskies (3-0) will host the Cal Baptist Lancers (2-1) on Thursday night.

Cal Baptist has won two straight since dropping their season opener against Long Beach State, 79-64. They beat Cal State Northridge 62-55 on Tuesday night. A trio of starters will return for the Lancers this season with the addition of Utah transfer Riley Battin and former Loyola Marymount standout Joe Quintana. Riley had 12 points and six rebounds in the win over Northridge. Quintana added 11 points of his own.

Washington has won all three non-conference home games this season, albeit struggling in the first half. They trailed Dixie State and North Florida at the break, but exploded for significant second-half scoring outputs to pull away late. Leading scorer Keion Brooks Jr., a transfer from Kentucky, has missed Washington's previous two games with a leg injury. He scored 20 points in their home opener against Weber State. Freshman Keyon Menifield has been electric for the Huskies, averaging 18.3 points on 49% shooting during his first month of collegiate hoops.

Washington vs. Cal Baptist Betting Odds

Team	Spread	Over/Under	Moneyline
California Baptist Lancers	+8	0133.5	+320
Washington Huskies	-8	u133.5	-390

All Lines Provided by DraftKings Sportsbook

Bet $5+ on any sport pre-game ML, Get $200 If Your Bet Wins on DraftKings

ShotQuality Tale of the Tape

The 2021-22 ShotQuality data illustrated a grim picture of the Washington offense. They were dead last in open three rate with an extremely poor catch & shoot off the dribble three-point SQ PPP. They made their money on free throw rate (FTR), while Cal Baptist was one of the worst teams in the country in fouls committed last season. The Huskies' frequency percentages from the previous year suggest they will lean heavily toward isolation and transition shots near the hoop this year with the retention of coach Mike Hopkins. The Lancers were halfway decent in both shot types.

Offensively, Cal Baptist posted a 1.04 AdjOFF SQ number, good enough for 96th in the country. They were near the elite percentile in shot selection (91st) and spacing (75th). Their best key stats came in FTR, which happens to be the Huskies' worst metric. The Lancers heaved up a ton of off-screen shots last year while the Huskies were torn apart by that shot type. Although Washington did a lousy job defending the opposing three-point line, Cal Baptist did a bad job finding open shooters or hitting off dribble threes.

Washington vs. Cal Baptist Prediction

From an officiating standpoint, tendencies suggest there will be a ton of free throws tonight. Both teams got to the line a healthy amount last season while adding scoring power via the transfer portal this off-season.

The young talent has brought a scoring edge to the Huskies this season in the form of Keyon Menifield. Pair that with returns and quality transfers, and they can score quickly. However, Cal Baptist is no slouch either, suggesting the over is the play in this late-night matchup.