The UC Irvine Anteaters (8-4) and Sam Houston State Bearkats (5-5) will face off at Don Haskins Center for this game. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 21.
The Anteaters enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Chapman 65-51 on Friday. Aaron Wright played a pivotal role with 12 points, two rebounds, and two assists. The Bearkats, meanwhile, are coming off a 75-69 win against LIU Brooklyn on Friday. Aurimas Majauskas was the game’s top scorer, registering 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
Over the last five games, Mamadou Ndiaye has taken his game to another level for the Anteaters, averaging 15.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 3.2 blocks.
This one isn’t expected to be close when UC Irvine, a big 10-point favorite, takes on Sam Houston State. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 132 points for this matchup. While the Anteaters have a good Straight Up (SU) record (8-4), they’ve been poor Against The Spread (ATS) with a 4-6 record. Opponents have consistently had their shots rejected by the Anteaters, ranking 44th in the country in blocks per game with 5.2. UC Irvine will look to take advantage of the Bearkats and their propensity to foul. Sam Houston State ranks 323rd in the nation in fouls, averaging 22.7 per game.
As for their opponent, the Bearkats have started the season poorly ATS with a 0-1 record to go along with a 5-5 SU record. The Bearkats have controlled the offensive glass with an average of 14.0 offensive rebounds per game, 34th in the country. The Bearkats are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 35th in Division I at 1.43.
Predictions: SU Winner – SamHou, ATS Winner – SamHou, O/U – Over
Notes
The Sam Houston State Bearkats average 78.1 points per game, ranking 96th in the nation. The UC Irvine Anteaters rank 71st in points allowed with 65.8.
With 66.3 possessions and 1.052 points per possession, the UC Irvine Anteaters perform worse on both metrics than the Sam Houston State Bearkats. Sam Houston State averages 73.6 possessions and 1.061 points per possession.
UC Irvine has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.6%. Sam Houston State is a losing 1-4 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
UC Irvine ranks 64th in assists, recording 15.8 per game. Sam Houston State ranks 28th with 17.5 assists per game.
UC Irvine, the 44th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.2 per game. Sam Houston State does worse, ranked 323rd with 1.9.
The Sam Houston State Bearkats rank 34th in offensive rebounds. The UC Irvine Anteaters rank 139th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
UC Irvine has forced an average turnover percentage of 16.7% this season. Sam Houston State has a losing 1-4 record when its TO% is 16.7% or higher.
