UC Riverside vs UC Davis Prediction 2/13/25 College Basketball Picks

The UC Riverside Highlanders and the UC Davis Aggies meet Thursday in college basketball action from the Pavilion. Here’s a UC Riverside vs UC Davis prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UC Riverside vs UC Davis pick. We will examine: 

The UC Riverside Highlanders’ recent form and player performance

The UC Davis Aggies’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the UC Riverside Highlanders

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the UC Davis Aggies

Recent betting trends in games played between UC Riverside and UC Davis

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the UC Riverside vs UC Davis game

UC Riverside Highlanders Betting Preview

The Highlanders posted a pretty choppy run to start the year, but they’ve been on a nice stretch since mid-January or so. UC Riverside did win eight of their first 12 games, taking out Cal Baptist, La Sierra, Colorado State, Alcorn State, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton, St. Francis IL, and Montana State. A 2-4 run came after that featuring losses to UNLV, UC Irvine, Hawaii, and UC Santa Barbara among wins over St. Thomas MN, and Long Beach State. It’s been a 6-1 stretch in the last seven games though. The Highlanders have a lone loss to UC San Diego in that time among wins over UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Cal State Bakersfield, UC Davis, Cal Poly, and Cal State Bakersfield again. In total that gives the Highlanders a 16-9 overall run through the first 25 games of the 2024-25 season. 

In the Cal State Bakersfield matchup on Saturday, the Highlanders opened up the game with a 41-36 deficit. UC Riverside got better in the second half on a 33-23 advantage though, taking the win 69-64 in the end. Barrington Hargress led the team with 19 points, three assists, three steals, and two rebounds. Niyi Olabode led the bench scoring with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, and three steals in 27 minutes of work on the floor. 

UC Davis Aggies Betting Preview

Over on the Aggies’ side, they’ve been a pretty mixed bag in the record column so far this season. UC Davis opened on an 8-7 run across their first 15 games. The wins in that time came courtesy of Idaho, Menlo, Grand Canyon, Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara, Sac State, Idaho, and Cal Maritime. Next came a 4-1 stretch with a lone loss to Long Beach State among wins over Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara, and Hawaii. Following losses to UC Riverside and UC Irvine, the Aggies took wins over Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton in the next pair. UC Davis is currently sporting a 14-10 overall run through 24 games this year. 

Matched up against Cal State Fullerton on the road Saturday, the Aggies were up 34-23 in the locker room. UC Davis kept it up on a 31-26 run from there and took the win in the end 65-49. Tops in scoring was TY Johnson with his 20 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Leo DeBruhl added a double-double on 11 points, 10 assists, six steals, and six rebounds in 31 minutes during a nice performance. 

Why the UC Davis Aggies will win

• UC Davis has won seven of its last eight night games against the Big West Conference at University Credit Union Center.
• UC Riverside has lost three of its last four road games against the Big West Conference.
• UC Davis has won the first half in six of its last seven games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the UC Riverside Highlanders will win

• UC Riverside has won each of its last four games at University Credit Union Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.

UC Riverside vs UC Davis Prediction 

I’ll just stay with UC Riverside. This should be a good matchup though, especially considering that UC Davis will be returning home after six road games in their last seven outings. In any case, UC Riverside started slow in their latest win over CSU Bakersfield but everything worked out well. The big stat in that victory was a 36-27 rebounding advantage, not to mention a nice 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) from the line. The Highlanders have scored 69 or more points in six of their last seven games, a 6-1 run. 

UC Riverside eked out a 60-58 home win the last time these teams met on January 30. The Aggies will put up a good fight again here, but I like the Highlanders to power one out.