It will be a battle between Big West opponents when the UC Riverside Highlanders (13-11) welcome the Cal State Northridge Matadors (7-14) to Student Recreation Center. The game gets underway at 10:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 3 and will air on ES3.
The Highlanders come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, defeating Cal State Fullerton 81-71 on Saturday. Taylor Johns was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting. The Matadors are coming off a 73-63 loss against UC Irvine on Wednesday. Tre Hale-Edmerson had a good game for Cal State Northridge, registering 11 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Johns has been playing at a high level over the last five games for the Highlanders. During that stretch, he has averaged 18.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.0 block.
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Highlanders winning the first matchup 75-72. Hale-Edmerson was a top player in the game with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, one steal, three blocks, and three three-pointers.
UC Riverside is a six-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Highlanders come into this game 13-11 Straight Up (SU) and 8-8 Against The Spread (ATS). The Highlanders are one of the best in Division I in terms of three-point field goals, making 7.0 shots per game from beyond the arc.
On the other side, the Matadors have records of 7-11 ATS and 7-14 SU.
With the Highlanders’ last win against Cal State Northridge, their SU record against Cal State Northridge moves to 6-4 over their most recent meetings. The Highlanders also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge each held the edge in all three of these categories once in the last five meetings.
Predictions: SU Winner – CalRv, ATS Winner – CalRv
Notes
UC Riverside is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
UC Riverside is 18-6 SU in its last 24 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of UC Riverside’s last 5 games when playing CS Northridge.
UC Riverside is 7-16 SU in its last 23 games when playing CS Northridge.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of UC Riverside’s last 10 games when playing at home against CS Northridge.
The UC Riverside Highlanders hold a split 4-4 SU record against Big West Conference teams, but the Cal State Northridge Matadors have a subpar 2-5 SU record in such matchups.
The UC Riverside Highlanders average a field goal percentage of 43.8% this season. The Cal State Northridge Matadors have a subpar record of 2-9 when opponents have a FG% of 43.8% or greater.
The UC Riverside Highlanders rank lower for their field goal percentage (193rd) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (150th), but the Cal State Northridge Matadors have a better FG% ranking (152nd) than eFG% ranking (262nd).
UC Riverside ranks 233rd in offensive rebounds, while Cal State Northridge ranks 100th in defensive rebounds.
UC Riverside has forced an average turnover percentage of 18.1% this season. Cal State Northridge has a losing 4-9 record when its TO% is 18.1% or higher.
