UC Irvine vs Santa Clara Basketball Prediction & Picks: Will the Broncos join the 10-win club?

There’s very little to sift through with tonight’s light college basketball slate, but there is an intriguing matchup late tonight as Santa Clara (9-3) hosts UC Irvine (7-3). Tonight’s action at the Leavey Center will tip off at 10 pm ET (7 pm local time).

The Broncos, coached by former NC State and Arizona State coach Herb Sendek, won 21 games last season and played in the NIT, and they are off to a solid start this season with West Coast Conference play looming. That includes a win over Rick Pitino’s Iona squad, which is 7-2 and is currently 57th at KenPom.

UC Irvine was picked sixth to finish in the Big West, but they are also off to a solid start this season. In their second game of the season, the Anteaters beat Oregon in Eugene, and they lost by just three at San Diego State a couple of weeks ago.

How will tonight’s game play out? Read on for our UC Irvine vs Santa Clara prediction, as well as our betting picks for the matchup between the Anteaters and Broncos.

UC Irvine Anteaters vs Santa Clara Broncos Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline as of Thursday, December 15, 2022, at 4:00 pm ET. Odds from our other recommended legal sports betting sites may also appear in this article.

Spread

• UC Irvine +2.5 (-110)
• Santa Clara -2.5 (-110)

Over/Under

• Over 145.5 (-114)
• Under 145.5 (-106)

Moneyline

• UC Irvine +118
• Santa Clara -142

Is the Over a Likely Outcome?

After finishing third behind Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s and ahead of NCAA Tournament participant San Francisco in the WCC last season, Santa Clara lost three of their top four scorers. That included leading scorer Jalen Williams, who was the 12th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and is having a solid rookie season for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sendek snagged Illinois transfer Brandin Podziewski, who has made an immediate impact across the board for the Broncos.

The sophomore leads the team in scoring (19.2 PPG), rebounding (9.0 RPG), assists (3.2 APG), and steals (2.4 SPG). He has hit the 20-point mark five times, which includes 30-point games against Georgia Southern (34 points) and Eastern Washington (30 points).

But Santa Clara is averaging only 72.8 PPG due to not shooting the ball particularly well. Entering tonight’s game against UC Irvine, they are shooting only 41.8% from the field and 32.9% from three.

Could the Broncos push for another top-four finish in the WCC this season? If Keshawn Justice can pick things up, it’s certainly possible.

Justice was a preseason all-WCC pick after averaging 13.0 PPG and 6.7 RPG last season, but he is averaging just 11.7 PPG and 3.9 RPG this season. And his shooting percentages have taken a major dive, going from 42.4% overall and 42.3% from three last season to 32.8% overall and 29.8% from three this season.

tAs for UC Irvine, Russell Turner’s Anteaters are only 141st in the country in tempo, but they are 49th in scoring at 80.1 PPG. However, that number drops to 73.6 PPG when you take away non-Division I wins over Chapman (96-50) and Life Pacific (116-54).

But they have scored 79+ points four times in eight games against Division I opposition, and 69 points against San Diego State is nothing to scoff at, even if the Aztecs haven’t as stingy defensively this season as they typically are.

What’s most notable about the Anteaters is how many players they play. They have 11 players averaging at least 11 minutes per game, with no one averaging more than 24.9 minutes per game.

But they shoot the ball well as a team, ranking seventh in the country in three-point percentage (41.2%) and shoot 47.4% overall. Leading scorer DJ Davis (16.1 PPG in 24.9 MPG) is one of the country’s leading three-point shooters, averaging three made threes per game and 45.5 percent from the perimeter.

UC Irvine vs Santa Clara Prediction and Picks

UC Irvine vs Santa Clara Prediction: Santa Clara to win

UC Irvine vs Santa Clara Picks: UC Irvine ML & UC Irvine/Santa Clara over

As light as today’s college hoops schedule is, I couldn’t resist completely staying away from the action because this matchup really interests me.

Will UC Irvine’s depth wear out Santa Clara? That depth is a reason why the Anteaters are sound defensively, as opponents are shooting just 38.8 percent from the field and 28.8 percent from three.

By comparison, Santa Clara is in the 230s in the country in three-point defense (34.3%) and just outside the top 150 in overall shooting defense (42.2%), so tonight could be a very, very good night from outside for Davis and UC Irvine. Can the Broncos keep up if the Anteaters get hot?

If Justice can find his form again, they certainly can. He shot well against New Mexico State (18 points, 6-12 FG, 4-9 3PT) and San Jose State (25 points, 9-16 FG, 5-10 3PT), but he regressed last time out against Portland State (eight points, 2-10 FG, 2-9 3PT).

Turner has beaten Sendek three times in three meetings at the Leavey Center, in 2016, 2018, and last year. All three meetings were low-scoring games, but I expect this one to pan out a bit differently. However, I still expect the same outcome.

For the best ML value, along with the best place to grab the over on UC Irvine’s team total, Bovada Sportsbook is the place to go among our recommended sportsbook, while BetOnline is the only one that has the game total still at 145.5.