Northern Colorado Bears vs UC Irvine Anteaters Prediction, 3/19/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Colorado Bears vs UC Irvine Anteaters

Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Location: Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Northern Colorado (+7)

The Northern Colorado Bears (25-9) are on their way to Bren Events Center on Wednesday where they will take on the UC Irvine Anteaters (28-6) in the 1st round of the NIT. Northern Colorado opens this game as 7-point dogs from oddsmakers. The over/under is set at 150.

The Northern Colorado Bears took the court against Montana and ended up losing by a score of 91-83 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Bears ended up finishing with 21 and Montana accounted for 19 fouls. They also made 7 of 11 attempts from 3-point range. Montana finished 85.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 24 of their 28 tries. Furthermore, Montana pulled down 22 rebounds (5 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Montana earned 8 assists and had 4 steals in the matchup. In the matter of defending, Northern Colorado allowed the other team to go 65.2% from the field on 30 of 46 shooting. They also dished out 10 dimes in the matchup while creating 10 turnovers and getting 4 steals. In reference to rebounding, they collected 14 with 2 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Bears knocked down 17 of 20 shots for a rate of 85.0%. Northern Colorado ended the contest with a 58.8% FG percentage (30 out of 51) and converted 6 out of their 14 three-point attempts.

Jaron Rillie is a guy who was a major contributor for this game. He shot 66.7% from the field and totaled 6 assists. He played for 40 minutes and pulled down 4 boards. He accounted for 24 points on 10 out of 15 shooting.

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Northern Colorado heads into this contest with a record of 25-9 this season. They average 80.9 pts per contest (30th in college hoops) while hitting 51.1% from the floor. The Bears are hitting 37.6% on shots from beyond the arc (285 of 757) and 72.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Northern Colorado is snagging 34.2 rebounds per game and is sitting with 539 assists for the year, which ranks 34th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 10.9 times per game and as a team are committing 17.4 personal fouls every game.

On defense, the Bears are able to force 11.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.2 personal fouls. They concede 34.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 202nd in college in PPG from their opponents (72.4). The Bears defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.3% (875 of 1,933) and they surrender 29.9 rebounds per game as a group. They are currently ranked 16th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 331 conceded so far this year.

For their last game, the UC Irvine Anteaters took a loss by a final score of 75-61 when they faced UC-San Diego. The Anteaters pulled down 21 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 25 in this game. They coughed up the ball 12 times, while earning 9 steals for the matchup. UC-San Diego committed 13 fouls for the game which took the Anteaters to the charity stripe for a total of 13 attempts. They were able to make 13 of them for a rate of 100.0%. With respect to shots from beyond the arc, UC Irvine buried 8 of their 29 attempts (27.6%). When the final whistle was blown, the Anteaters went 20 out of 57 from the field which gave them a rate of 35.1%. The Anteaters allowed UC-San Diego to bury 27 out of their 55 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 49.1% for the game. They shot 41.4% from distance by connecting on 12 of 29 and finished the contest at 9 of 13 from the free throw line (69.2%). When discussing cleaning up the glass, UC Irvine allowed UC-San Diego to snag 32 in total (5 on the offensive side).

Justin Hohn was important for the Anteaters for this game. He scored 18 points in his 35 minutes on the court and accumulated 1 assist for this game. He made 5 of 15 for this contest giving him a rate of 33.3%, and earned 5 rebounds.

UC Irvine has a win-loss mark of 28-6 on the year. As an offense, the Anteaters are connecting on 45.5% from the floor, which has them ranked 131st in college. UC Irvine has scored 2,580 pts on the season (75.9 per game) and they collect 38.1 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 15.9 times per contest (47th in college) and they turn it over 12.8 times per game. The Anteaters have committed 15.4 fouls per game and they go 80.6% from the free throw line.

The Anteaters defensively are ranked 37th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 66.2. They have forced 12.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 39.6% from the field (13th in college). The UC Irvine defense allows 33.9% on shots from distance (268 of 791) and opponents are making 72.3% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 13.6 dimes and 33.7 boards per game, which is 216th and 136th in the country.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UC Irvine (-7)

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