College Basketball Odds - UC Irvine Anteaters vs UC Davis Aggies Game Preview

The UC Irvine Anteaters have used a tenacious defense to get within one win of the NCAA Tournament. They need to pick up the final victory next time out in a clash with the UC Davis Aggies in the Big West conference championship game.

UC Davis is coming off a close overtime win over Cal State Fullerton and will have a quick turnaround in this contest. This game is being played on a neutral court but is much closer in proximity to Irvine, which could help give it an edge in crowd support.

The Anteaters had the better record in conference play and have looked good lately, which should be enough to make them the favorites to advance to the Big Dance out of the Big West.

At 11:30 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, March 11, 2017, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

We'll have NCAA basketball odds available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.

College Basketball Odds

UC Irvine is 20-13 straight up and 17-13 against the spread on the season. The Anteaters have played in six neutral site games on the season, covering in three of them. Irvine has been the favorite in 23 contests this year, covering in 10 of those.

UC Davis is 20-12 straight up and also 17-13 against the spread. The Aggies have played in six games on neutral courts and has also covered half of them. UC Davis has been in 17 games as the underdog this year and has covered in eight of them.

Previous Meetings

These teams have faced off twice on the year. UC Davis had the home court advantage in the first one and defended its turf, capturing a 74-65 victory. Chima Moneke had 18 points in that one and the Aggies outscored Irvine by 15 points in the second half for a come-from-behind victory.

The win gave UC Davis the lead in the conference at that point but Irvine would grab it back, helped by a late-season win in the rematch. The teams faced off six days ago and the Anteaters cruised to the 79-49 win, locking down defensively.

UC Davis shot just 31.3 percent from the field and 20 percent from three-point range, failing to score more than 26 points in either half. Irvine has held its past four opponents to under 68 points each.

Player to Watch

Luke Nelson -- UC Irvine’s senior guard overcame a hamstring injury which sidelined him for the first 15 games of the season to become a serious playmaker for the Anteaters. He is averaging 17.3 points per game currently, shooting 47 percent from the field.

Nelson scored 29 points against UC Davis in the latest meeting between the Big West foes, shooting 10-of-17 from the field including 7-of-11 from three-point range. The big game tied Nelson’s season high for points per game; he also had 29 against Hawai’i back on December 12th.

The senior has continued to play a large role in the Big West Conference tournament so far as well. He had 19 points in UC Irvine’s win over UC Riverside on Thursday and finished with 14 points against Long Beach State in the semifinals.

Free College Basketball ATS Picks

While these teams have very similar records and split the regular season matchup, Irvine looks to be the better team. The presence of Nelson is important, as he could be the difference-maker.

Choose the Anteaters to get the rubber match between these teams this year, which will be critical as they move on to the NCAA Tournament. UC Davis was blown out the last time these teams met, and while this one will be closer, Irvine should have it in hand by the buzzer.

College Basketball Odds: UC Irvine 68, UC Davis 60

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