UC Irvine Anteaters vs New Mexico Lobos Prediction, 12/20/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Irvine Anteaters vs New Mexico Lobos

Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Location: The Pit in Albuquerque, NM

TV: ESPN+

The UC Irvine Anteaters (7-4) are en route to The Pit on Wednesday where they will try to beat the New Mexico Lobos (10-1).

The UC Irvine Anteaters faced South Dakota and took home the win by a score of 121-78 in their last game. UC Irvine walked away from the game having earned a 57.6% field goal percentage (49 of 85) and converted 9 out of their 23 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Anteaters converted 14 of their 17 shots for a rate of 82.4%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they earned 41 with 18 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 27 assists in this contest while forcing 18 turnovers and having 9 steals. When discussing defense, UC Irvine let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the field on 27 of 54 shooting. South Dakota doled out 20 dimes and had 1 steal for the matchup. In addition, South Dakota collected 21 boards (2 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. South Dakota finished 68.4% from the free throw line by making 13 of 19 tries. They also made 11 out of their 23 attempts from beyond the perimeter. In relation to personal fouls, the Anteaters walked away with 17 while South Dakota had 16 personal fouls.

Dean Keeler is a player who was a factor for this contest. He ended up walking away with 22 points on 9 of 11 shooting. He played for 14 mins and also collected 8 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 81.8% from the floor but had no assists at the end of the game.

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UC Irvine enters this game with a record of 7-4 on the season. They currently have an average of 80.5 points per outing (68th in the nation) while hitting 49.3% from the floor. The Anteaters are hitting 37.1% on shots from downtown (73 of 197) and 70.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, UC Irvine is pulling in 37.7 rebounds per game and has earned 190 assists this year, which ranks 32nd in the nation in terms of passing. They turn it over 12.0 times per game and as a team they commit 18.5 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Anteaters are able to force 13.4 turnovers every game and they draw 17.4 fouls. They are conceding 34.2% on 3-pointers and they are 100th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (67.5). The Anteaters defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.9% (260 of 621) and they surrender 30.8 boards per contest as a group. They currently rank 190th in Division 1 in allowing assists with 138 conceded this year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the New Mexico Lobos took home the win by a final score of 73-72 when they played New Mexico State. In the matter of attacking the glass, New Mexico allowed New Mexico State to collect 30 in total (9 on the offensive glass). They went 45.0% from beyond the arc by connecting on 9 of 20 and finished the contest at 13 out of 19 from the free throw line (68.4%). The Lobos permitted New Mexico State to convert 25 out of 51 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 49.0% in this matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Lobos shot 28 for 64 from the field which had them at 43.8%. In the matter of three-point shots, New Mexico made 6 out of their 14 attempts (42.9%). They were able to knock down 11 of the free throw tries for a rate of 50.0%. New Mexico State had 19 fouls in the matchup which got the Lobos to the free throw line for a total of 22 tries. They also coughed it up 16 times, while recording 14 steals for the game. The Lobos snagged 21 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive boards totaling 37 in this game.

JT Toppin ended up having an impact for the Lobos for the matchup. He earned 18 points in his 30 minutes of playing time, but didn't get an assist. He buried 8 of 14 in this contest for a field goal rate of 57.1%, and had 11 rebounds.

New Mexico has a mark of 10-1 so far this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Lobos are hitting on 47.8% from the field, which has them ranked 63rd in the country. New Mexico has accounted for 934 pts so far this year (84.9 per contest) and they average 40.4 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 16.5 times per contest (49th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 11.2 times per game. The Lobos are committing 18.9 fouls per contest and they hit 68.3% from the charity stripe.

The Lobos on the defensive end are ranked 127th in college basketball in PPG given up with 68.5. They have forced 16.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.5% from the floor (73rd in college basketball). The New Mexico defense concedes 32.0% on shots from 3-point land (72 of 225) and their opponents are knocking down 73.5% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 11.9 assists and 34.2 boards per game, ranking them 122nd and 150th in those categories on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UC Irvine

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