UC San Diego Tritons vs Cal State Northridge Matadors Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC San Diego Tritons vs Cal State Northridge Matadors

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge, CA

TV: ESPN+

The UC San Diego Tritons (15-6) are hitting the road to Premier America Credit Union Arena on Saturday where they will meet the Cal State Northridge Matadors (11-10).

The UC San Diego Tritons took the court against UC Irvine and went home with a loss by a final score of 61-59 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Tritons finished with 11 while UC Irvine finished the game with 8 personal fouls. They also converted 4 out of their 16 tries from distance. UC Irvine shot 53.8% at the free throw line by converting 7 of 13 attempts. Additionally, UC Irvine totaled 39 rebounds (6 offensive, 33 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. UC Irvine totaled 12 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. In the matter of the defense, UC San Diego allowed the other team to shoot 40.3% from the field on 25 out of 62 shooting. They also recorded 14 dimes in the game while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and having 7 steals. Pertaining to grabbing boards, they earned 39 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Tritons knocked down 6 of 9 tries for a rate of 66.7%. UC San Diego walked away from the contest having earned a 33.8% field goal percentage (22 of 65) and converted 9 out of their 32 3-pointers.

Leo Beath is one guy who was important in this matchup. He ended up with 16 points on 6 of 14 shooting. He saw the court for 32 minutes and grabbed 10 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 42.9% from the field and distributed 1 assist.

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UC San Diego comes into this game with a record of 15-6 this year. They turn the ball over 10.6 times per game and as a group they commit 16.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, UC San Diego is pulling down 37.6 boards per game and has earned 319 dimes for the year, which is 116th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Tritons are shooting 34.5% on shots from distance (194 of 562) and 70.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 79.3 points per game (126th in the nation) while going 46.9% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Tritons are forcing 11.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.6 personal fouls. They are ranked 191st in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 282 conceded for the year. The Tritons defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 41.6% (525 of 1,263) and they surrender 35.5 rebounds per game as a team. They are surrendering 33.5% from 3-point land and they are ranked 113th in college hoops in opponents points per game (71.0).

When they last stepped on the court, the Cal State Northridge Matadors took a loss by a score of 89-68 when they faced Hawaii. When talking about rebounds, Cal State Northridge allowed Hawaii to grab 36 in all (10 offensive). They finished 40.0% from beyond the perimeter by going 12 out of 30 and walked away from this one shooting 21 out of 29 at the free throw line (72.4%). The Matadors permitted Hawaii to convert 28 out of 60 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 46.7% for the contest. When all was said and done, the Matadors shot 27 out of 71 from the floor which had them shooting 38.0%. In relation to 3-pointers, Cal State Northridge knocked down 5 of their 19 tries (26.3%). They were able to make 9 of them for a rate of 47.4%. Hawaii committed 20 personal fouls for the contest which got the Matadors to the charity stripe for 19 shots. They also turned the ball over 14 times, while getting 10 steals in the game. The Matadors were able to corral 25 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 in this contest.

Larry Hughes Jr. ended up having an impact for the Matadors in the matchup. He converted 7 of 20 for this contest for a rate of 35.0%, and earned 2 rebounds. He earned 19 points in his 29 minutes of playing time, but wasn't able to get an assist.

Cal State Northridge has a mark of 11-10 for the campaign. The Matadors are responsible for committing 18.6 personal fouls every game and they connect on 66.3% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.3 times per game (66th in D-1) and they lose possession via turnover 13.5 times per contest. Cal State Northridge has totaled 1,688 pts for the season (80.4 per contest) and they pull in 41.8 boards per game. As an offense, the Matadors are connecting on 44.4% from the floor, which is 237th in the nation.

The Matadors on defense are ranked 324th in the country in points per game surrendered with 80.1. They are forcing 12.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 42.7% from the floor (124th in college). The Cal State Northridge defense surrenders 34.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (214 of 630) and their opponents are knocking down 76.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 15.0 assists and 35.3 total rebounds per game, which is 295th and 231st in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UC San Diego

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