UC Irvine Anteaters vs Cal Poly Mustangs Prediction, 2/12/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Irvine Anteaters vs Cal Poly Mustangs

Date: Thursday, February 12, 2026

Location: Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, CA

TV: ESPN+

The Cal Poly Mustangs (9-16) will take on the UC Irvine Anteaters (16-8) at Mott Athletics Center on Thursday.

The UC Irvine Anteaters faced off with UC Santa Barbara and took a loss by a score of 84-79 in their last contest. UC Irvine ended with a 50.0% field goal percentage (31 of 62) and buried 5 of their 14 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Anteaters converted 12 of their 13 shots for a percentage of 92.3%. In the matter of hauling in rebounds, they earned 25 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 14 assists in this matchup while creating 13 turnovers and having 7 steals. When discussing defense, UC Irvine let their opponent shoot 50.9% from the field on 29 out of 57 shooting. UC Santa Barbara earned 11 dimes and had 7 steals in the matchup. Moreover, UC Santa Barbara snagged 36 rebounds (12 offensive, 24 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. UC Santa Barbara finished the game shooting 76.0% at the charity stripe by making 19 of 25 shots. They also made 7 of their 23 shots from three-point range. When discussing fouls, the Anteaters ended up with 20 while UC Santa Barbara finished the game with 11 fouls.

Andre Henry is someone who came through in this matchup. He finished the game shooting 54.5% from the field and also distributed 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 29 minutes and totaled 2 boards. He recorded 18 points on 6 out of 11 shooting.

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UC Irvine will play this contest with a win-loss record of 16-8 on the season. They are losing possession via turnover 12.2 times per game and as a squad they are committing 16.1 fouls per game. As a team, UC Irvine is grabbing 40.6 rebounds per game and has totaled 384 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 77th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Anteaters are connecting on 32.4% on shots from distance (130 of 401) and 68.3% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 77.5 pts per contest (151st in college hoops) on 46.3% from the field.

On defense, the Anteaters are forcing their opponents into 13.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.9 fouls. They rank 91st in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 295 surrendered for the year. The Anteaters defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 37.8% (570 of 1,509) and they surrender 37.2 rebounds per contest as a team. They relinquish 33.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 40th in D-1 in opponents PPG (67.7).

In their last game, the Cal Poly Mustangs took a loss by a score of 67-58 against UC Davis. The Mustangs were able to corral 24 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 for the game. They coughed it up 19 times, while getting 7 steals for the matchup. UC Davis was called for 15 personal fouls for the contest which took the Mustangs to the free throw line for a total of 14 tries. They were able to convert 14 of them for a clip of 100.0%. Regarding shooting from 3-point land, Cal Poly made 8 of their 32 tries (25.0%). Overall, the Mustangs ended up going 18 out of 57 from the floor which had them sitting at 31.6%. The Mustangs allowed UC Davis to make 22 out of their 61 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 36.1% for the contest. They went 27.6% from beyond the arc by going 8 out of 29 and ended up going 15 of 17 from the free throw line (88.2%). When talking about how they rebounded, Cal Poly allowed UC Davis to pull down 35 in all (13 on the offensive side).

Hamad Mousa ended up being a major contributor for the Mustangs in this matchup. He earned 12 points in his 33 mins on the court and had 1 assist for this contest. He made 2 out of 12 in this matchup for a rate of 16.7%, and accounted for 6 rebounds.

Cal Poly has a record of 9-16 so far this season. When it comes to offense, the Mustangs are connecting on 43.2% from the field, which has them ranked 293rd in college. Cal Poly has earned 2,028 points on the year (81.1 per contest) and they collect 37.3 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 13.2 times per contest (243rd in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 16.1 times per contest. The Mustangs commit 19.5 fouls per contest and they shoot 77.5% from the free throw line.

The Cal Poly defense surrenders 35.3% on shots from distance (246 of 697) and opponents are making 72.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 16.3 assists and 37.4 total boards per game, which is ranked 337th and 327th in those defensive categories. The Mustangs on the defensive side of the court are 361st in college in PPG given up with 86.0. They are forcing 12.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.4% from the floor (301st in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cal Poly

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