UC Irvine vs Duquesne Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/21/24

The UC-Irvine Anteaters and the Duquesne Dukes meet Saturday in college basketball action from the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a UC-Irvine vs. Duquesne prediction.

UC-Irvine Recap

The UC-Irvine Anteaters come into this game looking to build on a 92-84 win over Belmont last time out. After this game, UC-Irvine will head on the road for a matchup with Cal Baptist.

Anteaters Looking For Another W

Going into the game against Belmont, Bent Leuchten leads the Anteaters in scoring and rebounding with 14.4 PPG along with 8.3 RPG while Justin Hohn has 11.5 PPG with 4.2 RPG and a team-high 4 APG and 1.4 SPG. Devin Tillis has 13.5 PPG with 7.7 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for UC-Irvine so far this season. As a team, UC-Irvine is averaging 73.2 PPG on 45.4% shooting from the field, 33.9% from three and 82% from the foul line this season.

Why the UC Irvine Anteaters will win

• UC Irvine has won 10 of its last 11 games.
• Duquesne has lost four of its last five games at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

Duquesne Recap

The Duquesne Dukes come into this game looking to build on their 65-47 win over Towson last time out. After this game, Duquesne will head home for a matchup with subdivision Cleary.

Dukes Looking For Consistency

Heading into the matchup with Towson, Tre Dinkins leads the Dukes in scoring with 11.4 PPG while Jake DiMichele has 10.9 PPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Duquesne so far this season. Halil Barre has 7.2 PPG with 5.8 RPG in 6 games so far this season while Jahsean Corbett has 8.7 PPG with 5.2 RPG and Kareem Rozier has 8.4 PPG with a team-high 3.1 APG up to this point on the year. As a team, Duquesne is averaging 65.3 PPG on 40.1% shooting from the field, 31.4% from three and 61.8% from the foul line this season.

Why the Duquesne Dukes will win

• Duquesne has won 16 of its last 18 day games against non-Conference opponents at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
• UC Irvine has lost four of its last five day games.

UC-Irvine vs. Duquesne Prediction

I’m on UC-Irvine here. The Anteaters are one of the best mid-major teams in the country and a consistent threat to represent the Big West at the NCAA tournament year after year. This is not the same Duquesne team that made the NCAA tournament last year, and while the Dukes have nabbed wins here and there, the Anteaters are the far better team in this matchup and I think Irvine’s defense locks up the Dukes here even at home. Give me UC-Irvine.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: UC-Irvine -6.5