Long Beach State Beach vs UC Irvine Anteaters Betting Pick & Prediction 3/2/24

Making on a bet on this NCAA game featuring the Beach versus the Anteaters? Tip off is at at 10:00 ET, and you can watch it all unfold on ESPN2. The game will be played at Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA. The over/under line for this matchup is currently at 155 points, and UC Irvine is favored by -8.5 to win at home against Long Beach State.

LONG BEACH STATE BEACH VS UC IRVINE ANTEATERS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Long Beach State Beach +8.5

This game will be played at Bren Events Center at 10:00 ET on Saturday, March 2nd.

WHY BET THE LONG BEACH STATE BEACH:

• We have this one finishing with a projected score of 75-69 in favor of the Anteaters.
• Even though we have UC Irvine winning straight-up, we like Long Beach State at +8.5.
• The over/under is currently sitting at 155 points, and we like the under with a projected 144 points.

Will the Beach Pull Through as the Away Underdog?

Long Beach State will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak when they take on UC Irvine. So far this season, they have an 18-11 record, including a 10-7 mark in Big West Conference games. On the road, the Beach are 10-8, and their average scoring margin is +0.1 points per game.

Coming into this game, Long Beach State has been the underdog in 10 games, and they have a 5-5 record in those contests. In their last game, they lost to Cal State Fullerton by a score of 76-71. Over their last 10 road games, they have gone 6-4.

Long Beach State has an overall ATS record of 13-14 this season, including a road ATS mark of 9-9. As the underdog, the Beach have gone 6-4 vs. the spread this year and they are 2-1 ATS in their last three road games. Over their last 10 games as the underdog, Long Beach State is 6-4 vs. the spread.

This season, the over/under record for Long Beach State games is 16-11 and today’s over/under line of 155 is higher than the average over/under line in their games (152.1). Over their last three games, the average scoring total is 142 points and their OU record in their last 10 games is 4-6.

Compared to their season average of 78.1 points per game, Long Beach State struggled in their previous game. Against Cal State Fullerton, the Beach scored 71 points while finishing with a field goal percentage of 38.7%. Jadon Jones led the scoring for the Beach, contributing 23 points. Additionally, AJ George chipped in with 15 points.

Looking at the Long Beach State defense, they will be looking for a better performance considering they are currently conceding 75.5 points per game (260th). So far, the Long Beach State defense is giving up an average of 9.3 offensive rebounds per game and are turning teams over 12.8 times per game (660th).

Do the Anteaters Have a Shot at a Home Win?

UC Irvine is coming off a 89-64 win over CSUN, and the Anteaters have won three straight games. They are 21-8 overall and 14-2 in Big West play.

At home, UC Irvine is a perfect 13-0 this season, and they have won their last 13 games at home. For the year, they have a scoring margin of +13.4 points per game.

UC Irvine has an ATS record of 17-10 this season and they are 8-5 vs. the spread at home. Over their last 10 games as the favorite, the Anteaters have gone 6-4 ATS.

UC Irvine’s over/under record for the season is 13-12-2 and the average over/under line in their games is 141.8. Today’s line of 155 is higher than the average scoring total in their games this season of 142.7. In their last three games, the over/under record is 3-0 with an average scoring total of 161 points.

Coming off a good offensive performance, UC Irvine’s offense scored 89 points against CSUN. Their field goal percentage for the game was 48.4%, and they went 22/28 from the free-throw line. The top scorer for the Anteaters was Bent Leuchten with 16 points, while Devin Tillis also added 11 to the scoreboard.

So far this season, the UC Irvine defense has been performing well, ranking 59th in the country at 67.4 points allowed per contest. Against CSUN in their most recent game, the UC Irvine defense gave up a total of 64 points while allowing CSUN to hit 35% of their shots.