UC Irvine Anteaters vs Long Beach State Beach Prediction, 2/19/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Irvine Anteaters vs Long Beach State Beach

Date: Thursday, February 19, 2026

Location: Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA

TV: ESPN+

The UC Irvine Anteaters (17-9) are headed to Walter Pyramid on Thursday where they will play the Long Beach State Beach (8-18).

The UC Irvine Anteaters played CSU Fullerton and earned the victory with a final of 86-65 in their last contest. UC Irvine ended the contest having earned a 57.4% field goal percentage (35 out of 61) and made 10 of their 24 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Anteaters knocked down 6 of 10 shots for a percentage of 60.0%. In the matter of hauling in rebounds, they collected 39 with 5 of them being offensive. They also distributed 21 assists for this game while creating 9 turnovers and having 6 steals. In relation to defending, UC Irvine allowed their opponent to shoot 37.3% from the field on 25 out of 67 shooting. CSU Fullerton totaled 18 dimes and had 9 steals for the game. On top of that, CSU Fullerton pulled down 26 boards (8 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't have a block. CSU Fullerton finished the game at 55.6% when shooting free throws by converting 5 of their 9 shots. They also knocked down 10 of their 32 tries from downtown. With respect to personal fouls, the Anteaters walked away with 16 while CSU Fullerton had 12 personal fouls.

Andre Henry is one guy who played a role in the matchup. He finished with 19 points on 8 of 8 shooting. He played for 24 minutes played and also grabbed 3 rebounds. He shot 100.0% from the field but wasn't able to get a dime.

Get all of our NCAA Parlay Picks

UC Irvine steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 17-9 on the campaign. They have an average of 77.7 pts per game (143rd in Division 1) while connecting on 46.3% from the field. The Anteaters are shooting 33.3% on shots from downtown (151 of 453) and 68.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, UC Irvine is grabbing 40.6 rebounds per game and has racked up 421 dimes on the year, which ranks 67th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 12.5 times per contest and as a team they are committing 16.2 personal fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Anteaters are forcing 13.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.5 fouls. They currently rank 113th in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 331 relinquished for the year. The Anteaters defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 37.8% (621 of 1,642) and they relinquish 37.3 boards per game as a team. They relinquish 33.3% on shots from downtown and they rank 43rd in college in points per game allowed (68.0).

In their last game, the Long Beach State Beach took a defeat with a final score of 71-54 against UC Davis. The Beach earned 17 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 25 for the matchup. They coughed it up 16 times, while earning 8 steals in this contest. UC Davis was called for 15 personal fouls for the contest which got the Beach to the free throw line for a total of 13 shots. They were able to make 9 of them for a percentage of 69.2%. In the matter of 3-point attempts, Long Beach State converted 3 of their 14 attempts (21.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Beach shot 21 out of 58 from the field which had them shooting 36.2%. The Beach allowed UC Davis to convert 27 of their 57 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.4% for the contest. They went 33.3% from downtown by connecting on 8 out of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 9 out of 10 at the charity stripe (90.0%). With respect to how they rebounded, Long Beach State allowed UC Davis to collect 31 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Gavin Sykes ended up being important for the Beach for the game. He tallied 18 points in his 36 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for the contest. He knocked down 5 out of 13 for the contest for a field goal rate of 38.5%, and earned 4 rebounds.

Long Beach State has a mark of 8-18 for the season. The Beach are committing 19.7 fouls every game and they go 73.4% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.6 times per contest (212th in college) and they lose possession via turnover 12.5 times per game. Long Beach State has accumulated 1,928 pts this season (74.2 per contest) and they collect 32.5 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Beach are connecting on 45.7% from the field, which has them ranked 150th in the nation.

The Beach are ranked 269th in college hoops in points given up per game with 77.0. They are able to force 13.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.2% from the floor (330th in Division 1). The Long Beach State defense allows 35.6% on 3-pointers (183 of 514) and their opponents are making 76.1% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 14.3 assists and 33.8 rebounds every game, which is 260th and 139th in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UC Irvine

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.