The UC Irvine Anteaters will be at Robert A. Mott Gym to play the Cal Poly Mustangs in a Big West matchup. The game begins at 10:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
The Mustangs are hoping for a better outcome after their 66-52 loss to UC Davis on Saturday. David Nwaba was the team’s leading scorer with 15 points. The Anteaters, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 76-60 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. Luke Nelson led the team in scoring with 16 points.
UC Irvine is a slim two-point favorite over Cal Poly. The Mustangs enter the game with records of 8-12 Straight Up (SU) and 6-11 Against The Spread (ATS). Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Cal Poly, which ranks 24th at 1.45.
Over on the other bench, the Anteaters have 17-6 SU and 10-10-1 ATS records. Teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Anteaters, who are the seventh-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .379.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between these conference foes. Their previous game was an Anteaters victory, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over their most recent games (5-5). They are also even ATS in their most recent games (5-5). UC Irvine held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once in the last five game, while Cal Poly wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – UC-Irv, ATS Winner – UC-Irv
Notes
Cal Poly is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games.
Cal Poly is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games.
Cal Poly is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing UC Irvine.
Cal Poly is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against UC Irvine.
The UC Irvine Anteaters have a defensive rating of 96.6 (ranked 48th), while the Cal Poly Mustangs have an offensive rating of 108.3 (ranked 112th).
The Cal Poly Mustangs average a field goal percentage of 44.2% this season. The UC Irvine Anteaters have a poor record of 2-4 when opponents have a FG% of 44.2% or greater.
The Cal Poly Mustangs rank lower for their field goal percentage (162nd) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (154th), but the UC Irvine Anteaters have a better FG% ranking (140th) than eFG% ranking (186th).
Cal Poly ranks 84th in assists, registering 15.1 per game. UC Irvine performs worse at 127th with 14.2 assists per game.
UC Irvine, the 41st-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 5.0 per game. Cal Poly does worse, ranked 258th with 2.8.
On average, Cal Poly makes 5.3 steals per game. UC Irvine has a solid 9-4 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
