UC Riverside Highlanders vs Cal State Northridge Matadors Prediction, 2/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Riverside Highlanders vs Cal State Northridge Matadors

Date: Saturday, February 7, 2026

Location: Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge, CA

TV: ESPN+

Premier America Credit Union Arena is where the Cal State Northridge Matadors (13-10) will attempt to beat the UC Riverside Highlanders (8-15) on Saturday.

The UC Riverside Highlanders faced off with Cal Poly and took a loss by a score of 94-87 in their last game. In reference to fouls, the Highlanders ended up walking away with 20 and Cal Poly finished the game with 22 fouls. They also converted 9 out of their 26 tries from three-point range. Cal Poly shot 81.0% at the free throw line by burying 17 of 21 attempts. Furthermore, Cal Poly pulled down 27 rebounds (11 offensive, 16 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Cal Poly earned 16 assists and had 9 steals for the game. In relation to defending, UC Riverside allowed 53.1% from the field on 34 of 64 shooting. They also distributed 12 dimes in this contest while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 2 steals. In relation to grabbing boards, they compiled 37 with 19 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Highlanders knocked down 17 of 26 attempts for a rate of 65.4%. UC Riverside finished with a 47.0% FG percentage (31 of 66) and knocked down 8 of 20 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Andrew Henderson is a player who was important for the contest. He ended up finishing with 39 points on 17 out of 31 shooting. He saw the court for 40 mins and totaled 5 boards. He finished the contest at 54.8% from the floor and also totaled 3 dimes.

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UC Riverside comes into this matchup with a record of 8-15 this season. They are turning it over 13.7 times per game and as a squad they commit 18.6 personal fouls per contest. As a team, UC Riverside is pulling in 34.4 rebounds per game and has accumulated 290 dimes so far this season, which is 277th in the nation in terms of passing. The Highlanders are connecting on 32.8% on shots from distance (162 of 494) and 72.7% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 72.2 pts per game (279th in the nation) while shooting 43.9% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Highlanders are forcing their opponents into 11.2 turnovers per game while drawing 17.2 fouls. They currently rank 209th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 313 surrendered this season. The Highlanders defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 47.7% (649 of 1,361) and they concede 35.0 rebounds per contest as a squad. They give up 34.5% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 286th in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (77.7).

For their last game, the Cal State Northridge Matadors got the victory with a final of 81-64 against UC-San Diego. The Matadors corralled 31 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 for this game. They also coughed it up 15 times, while recording 3 steals in this matchup. UC-San Diego had 21 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Matadors to the charity stripe for a total of 23 attempts. They were able to make 18 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 78.3%. When discussing 3-pointers, Cal State Northridge knocked down 7 of 21 attempts (33.3%). When all was said and done, the Matadors ended up going 28 for 62 from the floor which had them at 45.2%. The Matadors allowed UC-San Diego to make 24 out of 70 tries from the field which left them shooting 34.3% in this contest. They wrapped up this game 28.6% from beyond the arc by going 8 out of 28 and finished the game at 8 of 18 at the free throw line (44.4%). Concerning team rebounding, Cal State Northridge allowed UC-San Diego to collect 30 overall (13 on the offensive side).

Mahmoud Fofana pitched in for the Matadors for the contest. He earned 22 points in his 29 mins on the court and totaled 1 assist in this game. He made 8 of 11 for the matchup for a rate of 72.7%, and totaled 10 rebounds.

Cal State Northridge has a mark of 13-10 on the year. As an offense, the Matadors are connecting on 44.8% from the field, which is 213th in the country. Cal State Northridge has totaled 1,863 pts on the season (81.0 per contest) and they collect 42.1 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.1 times per game (43rd in college) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 13.6 times per game. The Matadors are responsible for committing 18.7 personal fouls every game while shooting 66.2% from the charity stripe.

The Cal State Northridge defense allows 33.9% on shots from distance (232 of 684) and their opponents are knocking down 74.8% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 15.1 assists and 35.5 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 296th and 240th in college hoops. The Matadors on the defensive side of the court are 311th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 79.3. They have forced 12.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.3% from the floor (93rd in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UC Riverside

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