The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (21-11) and UC Irvine Anteaters (27-9) square off in the fourth round of the CIT tournament at HTC Center. Action starts at 9:00 pm ET on Sunday, Mar. 27 and will air on CCS.
The Chanticleers come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, barely hanging on to beat Grand Canyon 60-58 in the 3. Marcus Freeman played a key role with 10 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks. The Anteaters, meanwhile, are coming off a 67-66 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in the 3. Jonathan Galloway played well for UC Irvine, posting eight points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks.
Baskets could be hard to come by as Coastal Carolina ranks seventh in the nation, allowing just 98.6 points per 100 possessions, while UC Irvine is fifth (98.5). Also, the Anteaters commit the 12th-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 18.2%), while the gambling defense of the Chanticleers causes the 17th-most (opponents’ TO% of 16.1%).
The Chanticleers have gone 21-11 Straight Up (SU) and 4-4 Against The Spread (ATS). The Chanticleers have a distinct advantage on the boards in this matchup. They are the 36th-ranked rebounding team in Division I, averaging 38.3 per game, while the Anteaters rank 119th in the nation with 37.1 per game. Turning to the defensive side, teams really have to fight for three-pointers against the Chanticleers, who have allowed only 7.0 three-pointers to opponents per game.
On the other side, the Anteaters have 27-9 SU and 17-16-1 ATS records. The UC Irvine defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only .386 shooting from the field to its opponents.
Coastal Carolina and UC Irvine have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – UC-Irv, ATS Winner – UC-Irv
Notes
The UC Irvine Anteaters have a defensive rating of 98.5 (ranked fifth), while the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers have an offensive rating of 108.7 (ranked 102nd).
The UC Irvine Anteaters average 67.2 possessions per game and 1.063 points per possession. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers earn fewer possessions with 65.9, but they score more points with 1.087.
Coastal Carolina has an average effective field goal percentage of 51.8%. UC Irvine is a poor 3-6 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers average 20.0 three point attempts per game, and the UC Irvine Anteaters attempt 16.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; Coastal Carolina is 15-6 and UC Irvine is 5-2.
UC Irvine ranks 78th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.23. Coastal Carolina is ranked lower at 223rd with an A/TO of .98.
Coastal Carolina, the 36th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 38.3 rebounds per game. UC Irvine does worse, ranked 119th with 37.1.
UC Irvine ranks 250th in offensive rebounds, while Coastal Carolina ranks at 25th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Coastal Carolina forces a turnover rate of 16.1%, ranked 17th in the nation. When UC Irvine turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 16-7 record.
