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The UC Irvine Anteaters take on the Santa Clara Broncos. Check out our college basketball odds series for our UC Irvine Santa Clara prediction and pick.
The Santa Clara Broncos are 9-3, but their losses are not encouraging. They fell to Utah State, UCF, and — most recently — San Jose State. Santa Clara has not been especially convincing in recent weeks, enduring that San Jose State loss while barely squeaking by Portland State and New Mexico State. This team needs to get stronger and receive more contributions from more members of its lineup. The Broncos were part of a very deep, very tough West Coast Conference last season. This season, the WCC seems to be weaker and — more precisely — more volatile. There isn't a clearly established pecking order in the conference behind Gonzaga, the obvious heavyweight. BYU is way down, having suffered multiple bad losses at home this season. The Saint Mary's Gaels — the likely challenger to Gonzaga — have endured a number of concerning losses. There is a real chance for a team to emerge from the middle of the pack and become the second or third-best team in the conference. Santa Clara could be that team, but the Broncos have to elevate their level of play in order to achieve that goal.
UC Irvine coach Russell Turner is widely regarded as a good coach. He needs to win this game to feel that his team's season is fundamentally on track.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the UC Irvine-Santa Clara College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: UC Irvine-Santa Clara Odds
UC Irvine Anteaters: +2.5 (-110)
Santa Clara Broncos: -2.5 (-110)
Over: 145.5 (-114)
Under: 145.5 (-106)
Why UC Irvine Could Cover the Spread
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UC Irvine has shown what it is capable of doing this season, but it has also stepped into a pothole and endured a brutally bad day at the office when nothing went right. The good side of the season for Irvine, which is 7-3 through 10 games, is that it won by 13 points at Oregon. The Anteaters won by 13 points on the road. They dominated the Ducks in Eugene. That is the performance the Anteaters will continue to look to as an example of what happens when they put all the pieces together.
The other big note about this game is that Santa Clara guard Carlos Marshall, a transfer who gives this team extra scoring punch, will probably not play due to an injury. His status might change just before tip-off, but the inclination right now is that he probably won't be ready for game time. That should help Irvine.
Why Santa Clara Could Cover the Spread
UC Irvine might have won at Oregon, but there is also a clunker on Irvine's portfolio, a nine-point defeat against a team the Anteaters should have beaten. The Anteaters suffered a bad loss to Pepperdine in which they scored just 55 points. Losses to San Diego State and Fresno State are not bad losses, but that Pepperdine result stands out. Had Irvine not endured that loss, it might have entered this Santa Clara game as a favorite, not a slight underdog. Irvine has a lot of variance between its best and worst versions. Santa Clara has enough even without Marshall to win this game.
Santa Clara also owns victories over Iona and Wyoming, two impressive displays which show what the Broncos are capable of.
Final UC Irvine-Santa Clara Prediction & Pick
Stay away from this game, given that both teams have shown that they can play really well or really poorly on a given night. Neither team fels like a lock. If you insist on a pick, go to Irvine.
Final UC Irvine-Santa Clara Prediction & Pick: UC Irvine +2.5
