The Oakland Golden Grizzlies take on the Hawaii Warriors in Honolulu, HI, as part of the Diamond Head Classic. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Hawaii is favored by 3 points on the spread with a moneyline of -155. The total is set at 133.5 points.
Here are my Oakland vs. Hawaii predictions and college basketball picks for December 25, 2024.
Oakland vs Hawaii Prediction
My Pick: Hawaii -3 (Play to -4)
My Oakland vs Hawaii best bet is on the Warriors spread, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Oakland vs Hawaii Odds
| Oakland Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -110 | 133.5 -108o / -112u | +130 |
| Hawaii Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -110 | 133.5 -108o / -112u | -155 |
- Oakland vs Hawaii spread: Hawaii -3
- Oakland vs Hawaii over/under: 133.5 points
- Oakland vs Hawaii moneyline: Hawaii -155, Oakland +130
- Oakland vs Hawaii best bet: Hawaii -3 (Play to -4)
Spread
I have the Bows on the spread up to 4.
Moneyline
I'm avoiding the moneyline.
Over/Under
I have no pick on the total.
My Pick: Hawaii -3 (Play to -4)
Oakland vs Hawaii College Basketball Betting Preview
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies have to feel a bit disappointed by playing in the third-place game. They led Oregon State by 12 with four minutes left before the wheels fell off, which was eerily similar to their double-digit lead with two minutes left against Loyola Chicago.
On the flip side, Hawaii is playing with house money here, even in its home venue. The Rainbow Warriors took care of business against Charlotte, but they lost by 14 to the overwhelming favorite in the tourney, Nebraska. There is no shame in that defeat.
Contrasting styles will collide here, as Oakland is big on attempting 3s (shooting jumpers on 42% of its field goals), while Hawaii allows the fewest number of 3s (26% of the time).
The Golden Grizzlies’ shooting remains a concern, but the interior combination of Buru Naivalurua and Allen Mukeba has shined in Hawaii.
Mukeba was brilliant in Oakland’s loss to Oregon State, scoring 21 points on 10-of-10 shooting. However, scoring against Hawaii’s interior won’t come easily.
Another shining Oakland player is Malcolm Christie, who demands attention from defenses due to his shooting. Even if he doesn’t have the ball, the gravity provided by the chance of Christie firing a 3 is enough to scare a defense into staying tight on him.
I don’t think Oakland will be able to dominate Hawaii’s interior like it did against Oregon State, as the Bows have a solid duo of Xavier transfer Gytis Nemeiksa and Tanner Christensen.
Hawaii holds teams to 46% shooting from 2-point range, so Oakland will need to look for other ways to score.
The one real concern for Hawaii’s defense is how often it sends teams to the foul line, as it ranks 331st in FTA/FGA.
Can Oakland respond by getting to the line? I’m not banking on it. The Golden Grizzlies get there only 25% of the time.
Although I have worries about Hawaii’s backcourt starters — Marcus Greene and Kody Williams — things might be shifting in the right direction for Greene, at least. The 6-foot-2 senior guard has scored 15+ points in four of his past five games, which helps open up the interior for the bigs to score.
Stylistically, this is a very poor matchup for the Golden Grizzlies. They play zone almost exclusively in the half-court, but it’s a 1-1-3 zone, focused more on cutting off passing lanes and pressuring more than a 2-3 zone.
One aspect of the two zones that are very similar is the amount of clean corner looks the opposing teams gets.
Oregon State made a living shooting from the corner in its miracle win, and every time a Beavers guard got the ball into the paint, a good look from the corner opened up.
While Hawaii isn’t a stellar perimeter shooting squad, placing Ryan Rapp in the corner ready to fire is probably the best way to expose Oakland’s perimeter defense.
I have no clue how Oakland scores against Hawaii’s defense, especially with the two bigs patrolling the paint to contain Mukeba/Naivalurua and Oakland being a poor perimeter shooting squad.
KenPom has the number at Hawaii -1, but I was willing to play the Bows to -4, so the line sitting at -3 is right in the wheelhouse.
