UC Irvine Anteaters vs UC Davis Aggies Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Irvine Anteaters vs UC Davis Aggies

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: University Credit Union Center in Davis, CA

TV: ESPN+

The UC Irvine Anteaters (12-6) are hitting the road to University Credit Union Center on Saturday where they will try to defeat the UC Davis Aggies (9-7).

The UC Irvine Anteaters took the court against Hawaii and went home with a loss by a final score of 67-66 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Anteaters ended up with 15 and Hawaii totaled 15 fouls. They knocked down 6 of 24 attempts from three-point range. Hawaii shot 69.2% from the free throw line by converting 9 of their 13 shots. Moreover, Hawaii pulled down 29 boards (9 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't have a block. Hawaii earned 15 assists and had 7 steals in this matchup. In the matter of defense, UC Irvine allowed 40.6% from the floor on 26 of 64 shooting. They also doled out 6 assists for the game in addition to forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and having 9 steals. In regard to hauling in boards, they collected 40 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Anteaters knocked down 12 of their 15 attempts for a rate of 80.0%. UC Irvine wrapped up the game having earned a 38.8% FG percentage (26 out of 67) and knocked down 2 out of their 8 three-point shots.

Derin Saran is one player who was a major factor in this contest. He ended up finishing with 22 points on 10 out of 21 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 31 mins played and grabbed 3 boards. He finished 47.6% from the field and also recorded 2 dimes.

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UC Irvine will play this game with a mark of 12-6 on the year. They average 77.9 pts per contest (159th in D-1) while connecting on 46.7% from the floor. The Anteaters are connecting on 34.7% on 3-pointers (108 of 311) and 67.7% from the free throw line. As a team, UC Irvine is pulling down 40.4 boards per contest and has 298 dimes this year, which has them ranked 50th in college hoops in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 12.3 times per contest and as a team they are committing 16.2 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Anteaters are able to force 13.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.1 fouls. They rank 109th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 216 conceded for the season. The Anteaters are allowing a FG percentage of 37.9% (430 of 1,135) and they concede 37.1 boards per contest as a unit. They give up 33.2% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 37th in the country in points per game allowed (66.8).

The last time they took the court, the UC Davis Aggies took a defeat with a final score of 84-78 against Cal Poly. In reference to cleaning up the glass, UC Davis allowed Cal Poly to grab 32 in total (5 offensive). They wrapped up this game 29.4% from 3-point land via 10 out of 34 and ended up going 26 out of 28 at the free throw line (92.9%). The Aggies allowed Cal Poly to knock down 24 of their 57 tries from the field which had them shooting 42.1% in this contest. In all, the Aggies finished the game shooting 25 for 63 from the field which gave them a rate of 39.7%. With respect to shooting from downtown, UC Davis converted 11 of 28 attempts (39.3%). They were able to convert 17 of the free throws for a rate of 85.0%. Cal Poly was called for 18 personal fouls for the game which got the Aggies to the free throw line for 20 tries. They turned it over 10 times, while getting 6 steals in this contest. The Aggies recorded 24 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 32 in this contest.

Carl Daugherty Jr. ended up being a factor for the Aggies in the game. He tallied 18 points in his 32 mins of playing time, but didn't record an assist. He converted 6 of 10 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and earned 2 rebounds.

UC Davis has a win-loss record of 9-7 for the season. As an offensive unit, the Aggies are shooting 47.2% from the field, which has them ranked 94th in college. UC Davis has accounted for 1,296 points for the campaign (81.0 per game) and they grab 33.4 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 16.6 times per contest (67th in college) and they cough up possession 13.0 times per game. The Aggies commit 19.1 fouls per game while shooting 76.3% from the charity stripe.

The Aggies defensively are ranked 259th in college in points per game surrendered with 76.4. They are forcing 14.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.6% from the field (241st in D-1). The UC Davis defense gives up 35.4% on shots from beyond the arc (128 of 362) and their opposition makes 73.5% of their free throw attempts. They concede 14.1 assists and 34.0 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 241st and 153rd in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UC Irvine

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