The UC Riverside Highlanders and the UC Irvine Anteaters meet Thursday in college basketball action from Bren Events Center. Here’s a UC Irvine vs UC Riverside prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UC Irvine vs UC Riverside pick.
UC Riverside Highlanders Betting Preview
The Highlanders have had mixed results so far this year, leading to a .500 record overall. UC Riverside was able to win the first two games versus La Sierra and North Dakota, then lost three straight against New Mexico, North Dakota and Cal Baptist. The next pair were both wins, this time versus San Diego and Grambling. The Highlanders lost their latest outing versus Utah Tech though, leaving the team with a 4-4 overall record across the first eight games.
In the Utah Tech matchup on Saturday, the Highlanders came out of the break with a six-point deficit. UC Riverside didn’t end up getting any closer than that, and ended up with a 77-69 loss in the end. Osiris Grady finished with 17 points and four boards, while Andrew Henderson had 16 points in 38 minutes of work. Marqui Worthy added 10 points with four rebounds and three assists in the losing effort for UC Riverside.
UC Irvine Anteaters Betting Preview
Over on the Anteaters’ side, they kicked things off with a 3-1 run featuring a lone loss to Cal Baptist. UC Irvine otherwise took out Bethesda U, Lincoln University CA and Weber State in that time. The Anteaters would then hit an 0-3 run in the next trio with losses to Utah Valley, Northern Iowa and New Mexico State. Since then it’s been a pair of wins over South Dakota State and San Jose State, however. That gives the Anteaters a 5-4 record across nine games so far this season.
Matched up against the Spartans on Sunday, the Anteaters went into the break with a two-point edge. UC Irvine hit a 36-29 run the rest of the way in a 72-63 win. Tops in scoring during the victory was Derin Saran with 24 points, seven boards and three assists. Harrison Carrington was the only other team player to finish in double-digits, logging 17 points with six boards in 22 minutes of work on the way to the victory for the Anteaters.
UC Riverside Highlanders @ UC Irvine Anteaters Betting Trends: December 4, 2025
Why the UC Irvine Anteaters will win
- UC Irvine has won 22 of its last 23 night games against UC Riverside.
- UC Riverside has lost seven of its last eight away games when playing with a rest advantage.
- UC Irvine has won the first half in 15 of its last 16 Thursday games against Conference opponents.
Why the UC Riverside Highlanders will win
- UC Riverside has won seven of its last eight night games following a road loss.
- UC Irvine has lost three of its last four night games.
- UC Irvine has lost the first half in three of its last four night games.
UC Irvine vs UC Riverside Prediction
I’ll stick with the Anteaters. UC Irvine did a good job defensively against San Jose State in their last outing, giving up just 31.4 percent shooting from the floor. The Anteaters shot 49.2 percent on the other side and stayed pretty competitive on the boards. The 50-26 advantage on points in the paint helped immensely as well. The Anteaters’ 72 points were a welcome sight after finishing below 70 in three straight and with 109 combined in the previous pair.
As for UC Riverside, they didn’t play too badly versus Utah Tech, but the 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range and five of 17 missed free throws (70.6 percent) added up. The Trailblazers hit 6-of-15 (40 percent) from outside themselves along with 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) at the line. UC Riverside has a nice 69 or more points in three straight games, but they’ve also given up 71 or more points in each of those outings as well. The Anteaters should have plenty of offensive opportunities here—if they can take advantage.