The UC Irvine Anteaters take on the Utah State Aggies. Check out our college basketball odds series for our UC Irvine Utah State prediction and pick. Find how to watch UC Irvine Utah State.

The UC Irvine Anteaters are coached by Russell Turner, one of the better mid-major coaches in the country. Turner gets mentioned as a possible candidate for Pac-12 and Mountain West jobs when one such job comes open, but he has stayed at Irvine and built a consistent program. Irvine already has a high-quality win this season. The Anteaters won at USC. It's true that USC was without Boogie Ellis and Kobe Johnson in that game, but Irvine still went off as a 12.5-point underdog at tipoff time. The Anteaters still had to deal with USC freshman point guard Isaiah Collier. Irvine was able to contain him and take advantage of USC's limitations. That game was and is an indication of how good this team can be.

Utah State is off to a solid start at 6-1 through seven games. USU's only loss was an overtime loss to the Bradley Braves, a team which won the Missouri Valley Conference championship last season. The Aggies are coming off a really good road win at Saint Louis. The Billikens are expected to contend for the Atlantic 10 championship. Utah State needs to continue to build a good resume so that when it enters Mountain West Conference play, it will have at least some margin for error instead of zero.

Here are the UC Irvine-Utah State College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: UC Irvine-Utah State Odds

UC Irvine Anteaters: +5.5 (-112)

Utah State Aggies: -5.5 (-108)

Over: 137.5 (-114)

Under: 137.5 (-106)

How To Watch UC Irvine vs Utah State

Time: 9:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT

TV: Local/regional cable / FuboTV

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why UC Irvine Could Cover the Spread

The Anteaters showed what they are capable of when they went to Los Angeles and beat USC by 10 points. They didn't just beat USC; they were markedly better and won with a solid working margin. Winning on the road against a good team will help Irvine to not be intimidated when it goes to Logan, Utah, and The Spectrum, one of the tougher places for a visiting team to play in college basketball. It is true that Irvine is coming off a road loss at Duquesne. That might be seen as a reason to pick against the Anteaters and not for them, but a loss on the road against a decent opponent could give Irvine's roster some motivation and added urgency for this game, not to mention a better understanding of how to improve and evolve over the course of the full season.

Why Utah State Could Cover the Spread

UC Irvine recently lost to Duquesne. Utah State is probably a better team than Duquesne, given that the Aggies won on the road at Saint Louis, a team expected to contend with Duquesne and others in the Atlantic 10. Having already beaten an A-10 contender on the road, Utah State has done something Irvine recently failed to do. That would certainly suggest that Irvine faces a real uphill battle on USU's home floor. The game lines up well for the Aggies.

Final UC Irvine-Utah State Prediction & Pick

This is a game you should stay away from. Irvine, coming off a loss, figures to be tough, but Utah State is a beast at home.

Final UC Irvine-Utah State Prediction & Pick: Utah State -5.5