UC Irvine Anteaters vs USC Trojans Prediction, 12/8/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UC Irvine Anteaters vs USC Trojans

Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Location: Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: UC Irvine (+11.5)

Galen Center is the venue where and the USC Trojans (3-1) will take on the UC Irvine Anteaters (2-2) on Tuesday. The spread on this matchup has USC as 11.5-point favorites. The O/U is set at 137.5.

UC Irvine enters this matchup with a mark of 2-2 for the season. The Anteaters are shooting 39.1% on three-point attempts (25 of 64) and 74.7% from the free throw line. They average 92.3 points per game (18th in the country) while shooting 54.1% from the floor. They turn it over 15.0 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.0 fouls per contest. As a unit, UC Irvine is snagging 44.8 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 75 assists for the year, which is 30th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. When they are on defense, the Anteaters are able to force 16.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.3 fouls. They are currently ranked 235th in college hoops in giving up assists with 56 surrendered this season. The Anteaters defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 39.7% (96 of 242) and they concede 27.5 rebounds per contest as a squad. They surrender 34.3% on 3-point attempts and they are 132nd in Division 1 in points per game allowed (68.0).

The UC Irvine Anteaters stepped onto the hardwood against the La Sierra Golden Eagles and earned the victory with a final of 104-54 in their last contest. UC Irvine finished with a 55.9% FG percentage (38 of 68) and buried 6 of their 16 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Anteaters knocked down 22 of their 28 attempts for a rate of 78.6%. In terms of grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 41 with 16 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 14 assists for this contest in addition to earning 18 steals and 4 blocks. Concerning defense, UC Irvine allowed the other team to go 55.9% from the field on 38 of 68. La Sierra dished out 16 assists and 6 steals for the matchup. Additionally, the Golden Eagles grabbed 21 rebounds (5 offensive, 16 defensive) and added 4 rejections. La Sierra finished shooting 64.3% at the charity stripe by converting 9 of 14 tries. They also knocked down 7 of 24 shots from beyond the arc.

Collin Welp is one guy who played a lot in this matchup. He ended up scoring 14 points on 6 out of 7 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 20 minutes played and also collected 5 rebounds. Welp ended up going 85.7% from the field and distributed 2 assists. Someone else that was a major contributor in this contest for the Anteaters was Dawson Baker. He snagged 5 boards and earned 2 dimes. He went 61.5% from the floor in the game by connecting on 8-of-13 (21 points). Overall, Baker saw the court for 18 min.

USC has a record of 3-1 for the campaign. The Trojans commit 17.5 personal fouls every game and they hit 62.3% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 12.8 times per game (200th in the country) and they are giving up possession 13.0 times per game. USC has scored 308 pts for the campaign (77.0 per game) and they grab 43.0 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Trojans are shooting 49.3% from the field, which ranks them 108th in the country. The Trojans are ranked 103rd in the country in PPG allowed with 65.8. They have allowed 11.8 dimes and 33.5 boards per contest, which has them ranked 110th and 96th in those categories on the defensive end. The USC defense gives up 35.5% on shots from 3-point land (38 of 107) and their opposition makes 69.4% of their free throw shots. They are able to force 12.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 35.4% from the field (27th in college basketball).

The last time they took the hardwood, the USC Trojans took a loss by a final score of 61-58 when they faced the Connecticut Huskies. The Trojans were able to corral 21 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in the matchup. They blocked 5 tries while getting 2 steals for this contest. The Huskies had 21 fouls in this game which got the Trojans to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to bury 17 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 81.0%. In terms of shots from beyond the perimeter, USC buried 3 of their 19 attempts (15.8%). When this game wrapped up, the Trojans shot 19 for 53 from the floor which had them at 35.8%. The Trojans allowed the Huskies to make 19 of 55 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 34.5% in this contest. They went 36.8% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 7 out of 19 and finished the contest at 16 of 20 at the free throw line (80.0%). With respect to rebounding, USC allowed Connecticut to pull down 39 in all (14 offensive).

Evan Mobley saw the court a lot for the Trojans for this contest. He buried 4 out of 10 for this game for a field goal percentage of 40.0%, which had him sitting at 17 points. Mobley totaled 7 boards in his 37 mins and earned 3 assists in the matchup. One more player that ended up coming through for USC was Drew Peterson. He accumulated 9 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood by way of 3 of 6 from the floor in this matchup. Peterson walked away from this one going 50.0% from the field as well as contributing 2 assists and 5 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UC Irvine (+11.5)

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