Pepperdine vs Cal State Bakersfield Picks & Prediction for Saturday, December 13, 2025
Pepperdine travels to Bakersfield trying to halt a five-game skid, while Cal State Bakersfield looks to re-establish its home dominance in a late-night West Coast clash that will be on the radar of anyone hunting free college basketball picks. Both teams sit below .500, but their profiles are very different: Pepperdine’s perimeter-oriented attack against a Bakersfield group that leans into physicality and the glass.
Pepperdine Waves Preview
The Waves come in at 3–7 and in desperate need of a reset after five straight losses, but they haven’t been completely lifeless. Pepperdine’s offense has some pieces, led by Jalen Cooley at 13.2 points per game on 42.7% shooting from the floor and a phenomenal 95.6% at the line. Cooley is the type of guard who can punish undisciplined defense off the dribble and in pick-and-roll, and when he gets downhill, Pepperdine’s spacing starts to look much better. The problem is that too often, possessions devolve into contested jumpers late in the shot clock.
As a team, the Waves average 73.6 points per game, but they give up 75.5 and can be bullied inside. Rebounding (43 per game) is decent on paper, yet it doesn’t always show up in the defining moments; in recent losses to Cal State Fullerton and UCSB-adjacent competition, Pepperdine faded late defensively and on the glass. They’ve also struggled to close winnable games, losing multiple contests by single digits where turnovers and shot selection down the stretch proved costly. On the road, those issues tend to be magnified.
Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners Preview
Cal State Bakersfield sits at 4–7, but the record hides a team that can be nasty at home. The Roadrunners are led by Darius Smith, who averages 17.1 points per game despite shooting just 37.3% from the floor—he’s a volume scorer who thrives on attacking downhill, drawing contact, and forcing defenses to collapse. When he’s getting to the line and finishing at a respectable 75.9% clip, Bakersfield’s entire offense opens up, as kick-out opportunities for their wings and trail shooters become plentiful.
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Defensively, Bakersfield hasn’t looked pretty statistically, conceding 80.6 points per game, but part of that is schedule context and pace. What they do well, especially at home, is make teams uncomfortable with physical perimeter defense and strong rebounding (around 42 boards per game). The Roadrunners have already shown they can hang with and beat solid mid-major opponents in their own gym, and their recent win at Fresno State followed by competitive stretches against UCSB and CSUN show a team that is better than its overall scoring margin suggests. If they can tighten up transition defense, they’re clearly the more stable side here.
Pepperdine vs Cal State Bakersfield Prediction
On a neutral floor, this might be closer to a coin flip, but Bakersfield’s home-court comfort and superiority on the interior stand out. Pepperdine’s offense is reliant on Cooley and streaky perimeter shooting, and the Waves’ late-game issues are a real concern against a team that will pound the glass. Bakersfield has already shown that when they protect the ball and turn defense into offense, they can blow games open in spurts; Pepperdine hasn’t shown the same ability to string together stops. Expect the Roadrunners to wear down the Waves physically, win the rebounding battle, and control the second half. The best sportsbooks are the best way to go when you are betting on Pepperdine. Make sure you know about how the fans are looking on prediction markets for Cal State Bakersfield with the Onyx Odds promo code. Getting the most out of your bets on Pepperdine vs Cal State Bakersfield can be done by using the Fanatics Sportsbook promo code.
Final Score Prediction: Cal State Bakersfield 77, Pepperdine 69
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