UC Riverside Highlanders vs UC Irvine Anteaters Prediction, 12/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Riverside Highlanders vs UC Irvine Anteaters

Date: Thursday, December 4, 2025

Location: Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA

TV: ESPN+

The UC Riverside Highlanders (4-4) are headed to Bren Events Center on Thursday where they will compete against the UC Irvine Anteaters (5-4).

The UC Riverside Highlanders faced off with Utah Tech and took a loss by a final of 77-69 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Highlanders ended up finishing with 15 and Utah Tech recorded 15 personal fouls. They knocked down 6 out of their 15 shots from beyond the arc. Utah Tech went 83.3% from the free throw line by knocking down 15 of their 18 attempts. In addition, Utah Tech pulled down 24 boards (4 offensive, 20 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Utah Tech doled out 14 assists and had 6 steals in this contest. In relation to defending, UC Riverside allowed 52.8% from the floor on 28 out of 53 shooting. They also dished out 8 dimes for this contest as well as creating 5 turnovers and earning 2 steals. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 25 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Highlanders made 12 of their 17 tries for a percentage of 70.6%. UC Riverside walked away from the contest having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (26 out of 52) and buried 5 out of their 19 shots from distance.

Osiris Grady is a player who was a major contributor in this matchup. He walked away with 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting. He played 29 mins and snagged 4 rebounds. He finished shooting 77.8% from the floor and also totaled 1 assist.

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UC Riverside will enter this matchup with a mark of 4-4 for the year. They turn the ball over 14.6 times per game and as a group they commit 16.3 fouls every game. As a team, UC Riverside is pulling down 34.9 rebounds per game and has tallied 103 dimes this year, which is 274th in the nation in terms of passing. The Highlanders are shooting 35.4% on three-point shots (62 of 175) and 75.0% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.0 pts per game (238th in the nation) while hitting 47.7% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Highlanders have forced 10.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 84th in Division 1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 91 surrendered on the season. The Highlanders defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 44.7% (217 of 485) and they surrender 33.3 boards per game as a unit. They concede 29.7% on shots from distance and they are 167th in college in PPG allowed (72.4).

The last time they took the court, the UC Irvine Anteaters got the win with a final of 72-63 when they faced San Jose State. The Anteaters snagged 29 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 39 in this matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while earning 5 steals for the contest. San Jose State had 13 fouls in the matchup which took the Anteaters to the free throw line for a total of 14 tries. They were able to make 8 of them for a rate of 57.1%. When it comes to shots from beyond the perimeter, UC Irvine buried 4 of their 12 attempts (33.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Anteaters ended up shooting 30 for 61 from the field which had them sitting at 49.2%. The Anteaters allowed San Jose State to bury 22 of their 70 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 31.4% for this game. They went 37.5% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 9 of 24 and finished the contest at 10 of 13 at the free throw line (76.9%). When talking about rebounding, UC Irvine allowed San Jose State to collect 41 in total (18 on the offensive glass).

Derin Saran was important for the Anteaters in the game. He earned 24 points in his 34 minutes on the court and earned 3 dimes for this contest. He converted 10 of 18 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 55.6%, and had 7 rebounds.

UC Irvine has a win-loss mark of 5-4 this season. As an offense, the Anteaters are connecting on 47.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 119th in college. UC Irvine has accumulated 717 points on the campaign (79.7 per contest) and they average 43.1 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 17.3 times per contest (54th in college hoops) and they are giving up possession 12.9 times per contest. The Anteaters are committing 16.6 fouls per game and they connect on 66.2% from the charity stripe.

The UC Irvine defense concedes 28.9% from downtown (59 of 204) and their opponents are converting on 64.4% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 11.0 assists and 38.0 total rebounds per game, which is 58th and 308th in those defensive categories. The Anteaters are ranked 18th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 63.6. They have forced 14.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 35.2% from the floor (4th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UC Riverside

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