Check out our free UC Irvine vs Santa Clara pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Santa Clara. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

UC Irvine vs Santa Clara Pick & Preview: Thursday, December 15th Betting Odds

Anteaters vs Broncos Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: UC Irvine Anteaters at Santa Clara Broncos
  • Where: Santa Clara at Leavey Center
  • Date: Thursday, December 15th
  • Betting Odds: UC Irvine +1.5, UCIRV +102 | SANCLR -126 O/U 142.0

Anteaters Preview:

UC Irvine will take the floor against the Broncos with an overall record of 7-3. So far, the Anteaters have played 6 games on the road, with a record of 4-2. For the season, UC Irvine has been the underdog in 3 games, sitting with a mark of 1-2. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Anteaters being +1.5 point underdogs.

UC Irvine will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer DJ Davis who is averaging 16.1 points per game for the Anteaters. Davis is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Anteaters’ offensive gameplan is the play of Dawson Baker who has hit 52.0% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 13.6 points per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for UC Irvine this season, as they are currently ranked 351st in college basketball at 66.2 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that that have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Anteaters’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 32.5%, placing them 346th in the NCAA.

Broncos Preview:

Santa Clara heads into this matchup having played 12 games and have an overall record sitting at 9-3. So far this season, Santa Clara has played 10 games at home, sitting with a record of 9-1. The Broncos’ are sitting with a betting line that is -1.5 points in their favor. For the season, Santa Clara has been favored to win in 7 games, sitting with a mark of 6-1.

Brandin Podziemski comes into today’s game as the Broncos’ leading scorer at 18.45 points per contest. Not only has Podziemski been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Santa Clara’s top rebounder at 9.0 boards per contest. Behind Podziemski, the team has benefited from the strong play of Carlos Stewart who is second on the team in scoring at 14.18 points per game. Overall, he has hit 41.8% of his shots and is adding 2.73 boards per game.

Through 12 games, Santa Clara has been playing well on offense, averaging 78.1 points per game. Even though the team has been methodical with their pace, the Broncos’ shooters have been hot from outside, hitting 38.8% of their shots per game. This strong shooting percentage has equated to an average of 7.34 made 3’s per contest.

Free Spread Prediction: Santa Clara Broncos -1.5

Leading into this matchup, the Santa Clara Broncos are currently the favorites to pick up the win, with a spread sitting at -1.5. According to our analysis, we anticipate a strong offensive effort from the Broncos’ shooters to be enough to pull out the win and cover the spread. For the season, Santa Clara has a field goal percentage of 49.0, good for 20th in college basketball. In addition, look for the team to add to their trend of covering the spread on the road. Over their last 10 road matchups, they are 5-4-1 vs the spread.