UC Riverside Highlanders vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 12/23/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Riverside Highlanders vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Location: Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

The UCLA Bruins (9-3) will go up against the UC Riverside Highlanders (6-7) at Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday.

The UC Riverside Highlanders stepped onto the hardwood against St. Thomas and ended up losing by a score of 92-78 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Highlanders finished with 14 and St. Thomas recorded 16 personal fouls. They also converted 8 of 16 shots from three-point range. St. Thomas finished 84.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of their 19 tries. Moreover, St. Thomas totaled 20 rebounds (0 offensive, 20 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. St. Thomas recorded 22 dimes and had 9 steals in this contest. With regard to defending, UC Riverside allowed the other team to go 60.7% from the field on 34 out of 56 shooting. They also distributed 20 dimes in this contest as well as forcing 6 turnovers and having 1 steal. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they earned 24 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Highlanders knocked down 15 of their 16 tries for a percentage of 93.8%. UC Riverside wrapped up the contest with a 49.1% field goal percentage (28 of 57) and knocked down 7 of their 17 3-pointers.

Osiris Grady is someone who was a major factor for the matchup. He totaled 21 points on 8 out of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 37 mins but didn't pull down any rebounds. He finished shooting 53.3% from the field and recorded 2 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Tonight

UC Riverside comes into this one with a record of 6-7 on the year. They cough up possession 13.1 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 17.1 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, UC Riverside is grabbing 34.9 rebounds per game and has earned 171 assists on the season, which ranks 198th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Highlanders are connecting on 35.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (100 of 283) and 73.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 74.9 points per contest (248th in Division 1) while hitting 46.4% from the field.

On defense, the Highlanders have forced 10.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.8 personal fouls. They are conceding 35.4% on three-point shots and they rank 267th in Division 1 in points per game from their opponents (76.8). The Highlanders defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 47.6% (369 of 775) and they concede 33.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 262nd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 174 relinquished this year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the UCLA Bruins walked away with a victory by a final of 108-87 against Cal Poly. In the matter of rebounding, UCLA allowed Cal Poly to pull down 28 in total (7 offensive). They finished shooting 43.8% from downtown by shooting 14 out of 32 and finished the contest at 21 of 22 from the free throw line (95.5%). The Bruins allowed Cal Poly to make 26 of their 51 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.0% for this contest. In all, the Bruins walked away from this one shooting 35 for 61 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 57.4%. In relation to shots from beyond the arc, UCLA buried 12 of their 28 attempts (42.9%). They were able to make 26 of the free throw tries for a rate of 89.7%. Cal Poly had 26 personal fouls for this game which got the Bruins to the charity stripe for 29 tries. They turned the ball over 8 times, while earning 10 steals for the contest. The Bruins collected 17 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 21 in the game.

Skyy Clark was important for the Bruins for this game. He accumulated 30 points in his 31 mins on the court and tallied 2 dimes in this matchup. He buried 10 out of 19 for the contest for a rate of 52.6%, and added 2 rebounds.

UCLA has a mark of 9-3 for the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bruins are connecting on 48.8% from the floor, which is 53rd in college hoops. UCLA has scored 965 points on the year (80.4 per game) and they pull in 32.8 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 16.6 times per contest (79th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 10.3 times per game. The Bruins are committing 17.3 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 75.4% from the free throw line.

The UCLA defense surrenders 31.5% on shots from 3-point land (91 of 289) and their opponents are knocking down 74.6% of their foul shots. They have allowed 13.8 dimes and 31.8 boards per game, which is ranked 217th and 63rd in those categories. The Bruins defensively are ranked 91st in the country in points per game surrendered with 69.3. They are able to force 13.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.2% from the floor (128th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UC Riverside

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.