UC Riverside Highlanders vs Santa Clara Broncos Prediction, 3/18/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Riverside Highlanders vs Santa Clara Broncos

Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Location: Leavey Center in Santa Clara, CA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: UC Riverside (+11)

The UC Riverside Highlanders (21-12) are traveling to Leavey Center on Tuesday where they will compete against the Santa Clara Broncos (20-12) in the 1st round of the NIT. UC Riverside opens this game as 11-point dogs. The betting total comes in at 152.5.

The UC Riverside Highlanders stepped onto the hardwood against Cal Poly and took a loss by a final of 96-83 in their last game. UC Riverside finished with a 45.3% field goal percentage (29 out of 64) and converted 9 of 32 shots from 3-point land. At the free throw line, the Highlanders converted 16 of 20 attempts for a rate of 80.0%. In reference to pulling down boards, they compiled 26 with 5 of them being offensive. They also distributed 11 assists for this game as well as forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and earning 8 steals. In terms of defending, UC Riverside allowed the other team to go 47.5% from the floor on 29 of 61 shooting. Cal Poly doled out 21 assists and had 7 steals in this contest. Furthermore, Cal Poly snagged 38 boards (10 offensive, 28 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Cal Poly ended up shooting 83.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 20 of 24 tries. They also made 18 of their 35 shots from long range. In relation to fouls, the Highlanders left the arena with 22 and Cal Poly totaled 19 fouls.

Isaiah Moses is one player who was important for this game. He accounted for 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 minutes played and collected 4 boards. He finished the game shooting 61.1% from the field and also totaled 2 dimes.

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UC Riverside comes into this contest with a mark of 21-12 so far this season. They average 75.2 pts per contest (140th in the country) while connecting on 42.7% from the field. The Highlanders are shooting 33.8% on shots beyond the perimeter (297 of 880) and 75.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, UC Riverside is grabbing 37.5 rebounds per game and has earned 430 assists on the campaign, which is 200th in college in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 11.1 times per game and as a team are committing 18.2 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Highlanders are able to force 11.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.4 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 244th in Division 1 in allowing assists with 449 conceded on the year. The Highlanders defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 44.4% (860 of 1,936) and they concede 34.8 rebounds per game as a team. They are relinquishing 34.2% from beyond the arc and they are 252nd in college in points per game allowed (74.2).

In their last game, the Santa Clara Broncos went home defeated by a final of 78-76 when they faced Pepperdine. When talking about cleaning the glass, Santa Clara permitted Pepperdine to pull down 27 in total (7 offensive). They finished the game shooting 33.3% from distance by going 8 out of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 8 out of 11 at the free throw line (72.7%). The Broncos permitted Pepperdine to convert 31 out of 61 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.8% for this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Broncos went 26 out of 64 from the field which gave them a rate of 40.6%. When talking about three-point attempts, Santa Clara knocked down 12 of 34 attempts (35.3%). They were able to bury 12 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. Pepperdine committed 17 fouls for the contest which got the Broncos to the free throw line for a total of 16 tries. They also turned it over 12 times, while earning 4 steals in this contest. The Broncos were able to pull down 23 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 for this game.

Tyeree Bryan pitched in for the Broncos for the contest. He had 18 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 3 dimes in this contest. He buried 6 out of 11 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and had 4 rebounds.

Santa Clara has a win-loss mark of 20-12 this year. The Broncos are committing 16.7 fouls per game and they connect on 72.8% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 16.8 times per contest (22nd in the country) and they turn the ball over 12.0 times per game. Santa Clara has scored 2,601 points on the year (81.3 per contest) and they average 37.9 boards per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Broncos are hitting on 46.7% from the floor, which ranks them 70th in D-1.

The Broncos on the defensive side of the court are 210th in D-1 in points allowed per contest with 72.8. They have forced 12.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 43.4% from the floor (158th in college). The Santa Clara defense surrenders 30.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (233 of 758) and their opposition knocks down 72.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 14.8 assists and 33.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 307th and 96th in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UC Riverside (+11)

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