California Golden Bears play the Mississippi State Bulldogs in first round of NCAA Tournament

Published Mar. 21, 2025 3:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Mississippi State Bulldogs (21-11, 8-10 SEC) vs. California Golden Bears (25-8, 13-7 ACC)

Los Angeles; Saturday, 5:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Golden Bears -1.5; over/under is 145.5

BOTTOM LINE: Cal squares off against Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Golden Bears have gone 13-7 against ACC opponents, with a 12-1 record in non-conference play. Cal scores 73.7 points and has outscored opponents by 9.1 points per game.

The Bulldogs are 8-10 against SEC teams. Mississippi State is fourth in the SEC with 37.7 rebounds per game led by Madina Okot averaging 9.6.

Cal averages 73.7 points, 10.0 more per game than the 63.7 Mississippi State gives up. Mississippi State has shot at a 46.1% clip from the field this season, 6.7 percentage points higher than the 39.4% shooting opponents of Cal have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ioanna Krimili is scoring 14.2 points per game with 2.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists for the Golden Bears. Ugonne Onyiah is averaging 16.3 points and 8.4 rebounds over the past 10 games.

Debreasha Powe averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, scoring 8.7 points while shooting 40.4% from beyond the arc. Jerkaila Jordan is shooting 38.1% and averaging 14.5 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Bears: 6-4, averaging 72.2 points, 31.8 rebounds, 16.2 assists, 4.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.9 points per game.

Bulldogs: 5-5, averaging 72.2 points, 36.4 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 10.1 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.