UC Irvine vs Oregon CBB Picks
The Oregon Ducks have played well this season, and as a result, they enter their matchup with the UC Irvine Anteaters as the No. 13 team in the country. [ad-4468020]
UC Irvine (6-5, 0-0 Big West) @ No. 13 Oregon (9-0, 0-0 Pac-12)
Tuesday, Dec. 17 10:30 PM ET @ Matthew Knight Arena
Spread: Oregon -13.5
O/U: Currently OFF
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For the Ducks, things are about to take another step in the right direction, as Dominic Artis and Ben Carter are expected to make their long-awaited returns to the court.
UC Irvine
While the odds won’t be in UC Irvine’s favor for this one, the team and its fans can find solace in the fact that they have already beaten one Pac-12 opponent this season. The Anteaters took down the Washington Huskies by double digits back in November, giving it confidence entering this matchup.
Unfortunately for UC Irvine, looking further back in history doesn’t bode well for the team. It is 0-8 straight up against its last eight ranked opponents, which dates them back to 2005 in a win over Stanford.
Four Anteaters are currently averaging double-digit points, but nobody is scoring better than 12.4 points per game on the year.
That honor belongs to Chris McNealy, a 6’4” guard.
Looking back at the win over Washington, UC Irvine got a massive performance out of its 7’6” freshman, Mamadou Ndiaye. The big man recorded 18 points, nine blocks and eight rebounds.
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Expecting that kind of performance again is ambitious for even the most optimistic of fans, but a dominant performance will be needed if the Anteaters hope to pull off the upset.
Oregon
The Ducks are scoring at an incredible pace this season, averaging 89.1 points per contest—the second-best mark in all of college basketball. Not only are they scoring a lot of points, but they’re doing it efficiently. They’re 30th in assists at 16.2 per game, and they’re fourth in field-goal percentage at 53.2 percent on the year.
The additions of Artis and Carter to the roster will surely help boost this team’s reputation as a March Madness contender, but don’t expect the two to have a huge impact right away.
Head coach Dana Altman has said that he will integrate them into the lineup slowly, which makes sense considering the success they’ve found as is.
If Oregon wants to run away with this one, it must pay attention to the glass. Its offense has been good enough to ignore a number of pathetic rebounding efforts, but the Anteaters won’t let them get away with that.
UC Irvine is 22nd in the nation in rebounds per game, while the Ducks are just 194th.
Getting physical on the block is going to be crucial come Tuesday, but if they can do it, the Ducks should walk away with wins both straight up and against the spread.
Prediction: Oregon 83 – UC Irvine 67
