UC Irvine vs Arizona St. CBB Picks
A 7-6 record is hardly an eye catcher but Irvine has been pretty good in the early part of their schedule. They already have 4 true road victories this season, including a resume building win up at Washington, also of the PAC12 in November. [ad-4468020]
UC Irvine Anteaters (7-6) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (10-2)
Saturday December 28
Wells Fargo Arena – Tempe, AZ
2:00PM
Moneyline: No moneyline listed at this time.
Spread: Arizona State -11
O/U: No total listed at this time.
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ATS Matchup Insight | CP Insider Gambling Preview
UC Irvine
In a league like the Big West, without a dominant team, a couple of unexpected road victories could mean a league championship for the Anteaters. This one is a another chance to build their profile for March.
UCI has been really spreading around the playing time in the early going with 9 players averaging double figure minutes and none playing more than 26mpg. Against Arizona State it is going to be key for hulking center Mamadou Ndiaye to have a solid game as the Sun Devils have their own mammoth center.
Point guard Alex Young will also be key as they need someone to stay in front of super quick Jahii Carson for ASU
The Anteaters have size and that is why they can be a tough out when playing major conference teams like Arizona State.
They are 4-3 ATS in true road games this season and I like their chances to keep this one nice and tight.
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They are a good shooting team and that will help as well, they just have to make sure the pace doesn’t get away from them.
Arizona State
The Sun Devils are looking to make a move in the PAC12 this season and so far they are off to a decent start. They have just a couple of losses but the loss to Miami was a bit of a head scratcher; losing to Creighton not so much.
They do have nice profile wins at UNLV and against Marquette. This is their last game before they start the PAC12 schedule in the New Year so it would be good to get a win.
In that loss to Miami Jahii Carson shot just 2-14. He is a player of the year candidate and can definitely shoot them in and out of any contest. I am excited to see ASU center Jordan Bachynski matchup against someone of his own size and stature in this one. He is making 63% of his shot while averaging nearly a double-double but if he can be handled one on one than the Sun Devils are much less dangerous.
Carson misses their last game but he is expected to be available for this one. Traditionally ASU plays games against the Big West this time of year and they are 6-0 ATS against that league of late.
The Anteaters are not going to waltz into Tempe and pull off an upset but they should keep this game below double digits.
Spread Pick: UC Irvine +11
O/U Pick: N/A
Score Prediction: Arizona State 74 – UC Irvine 67
