Buffalo vs UC Irvine 12/21/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The UC Irvine Anteaters and the Buffalo Bulls meet Tuesday in college basketball action from UB Alumni Arena. UC Irvine is 5-4 on the season so far. The Anteaters lost to Duquesne in their last game. As for Buffalo, they’re 6-4 this year and lost to Canisius in their most recent outing. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

UC Irvine went on a 5-1 run to start the year, taking out Boise State, La Verne, Pepperdine, Santa Clara and Bethesda along the way. Since then it’s been three straight losses to Fresno State, USC and Duquesne. 

In the Duquesne game, the Anteaters posted just 23 points in the first half and limped to a 76-54 blowout loss. Leading scorer Emmanuel Tshimanga put up 14 points with four rebounds, and Collin Welp added 12 points. 

Over on the Bulls’ side, they went 4-2 over their first six games this year with losses to Michigan and Stephen F. Austin. Over the last four games Buffalo is 2-2 with wins over Western Kentucky and St. John Fisher alongside losses to St. Bonaventure and Canisius. 

In the Canisius matchup back on Saturday, the Bulls fell behind 37-25 at halftime. Buffalo made a run in the second half but couldn’t overcome the deficit in a 65-64 loss. Jeenathan Williams led the team on 13 points and 14 rebounds. 

Buffalo is 5-2 ATS in their last seven Tuesday games and 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 overall. The Bulls are 7-0-1 ATS in their last eight after an ATS loss. 

Meanwhile, the Anteaters are 1-4 ATS in their last five Tuesday games and 4-1 ATS in their last five after a straight-up loss. The under is 5-2 in UC Irvine’s last seven overall.

PICK: I’m going with Buffalo. In their last outing, the Bulls had a limp first half against a Canisius team they probably should have beaten. Things got better after the break but it was certainly a missed opportunity for a W. That said, Buffalo has scored pretty well otherwise this season and the team has generally been competitive. 

As for the Anteaters, they’ve been offensively flat over their last three games with 61 or fewer points in each. I’m not sure UC Irvine will be able to keep up for long here.