Cal Irvine vs UNLV Prediction 3/17/26 College Basketball Picks Today

The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels and the UC Irvine Anteaters meet Tuesday in NIT college basketball action from Bren Events Center in Irvine. Here’s a UC Irvine vs. UNLV prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UC Irvine vs. UNLV pick.

UNLV Rebels Betting Preview

The Rebels got off to a 10-8 start this year and then lost four straight versus San Diego State, New Mexico, Nevada and Fresno State. A 4-2 run came next with wins over Grand Canyon, San Diego State, Boise State and Air Force. After closing out the regular season on a 2-1 stretch with wins over Nevada and Utah State, the Rebels beat Wyoming in the conference tournament. UNLV lost their next game versus Utah State, though, for a 17-16 record.

In the Utah State matchup on Thursday, the Rebels were sitting in the locker room at the break looking up at a sizable deficit of 37-23. UNLV didn’t end up getting any closer than that on a 43-37 second half and limped to the loss 80-60 in the end. Dra Gibbs-Lawson led the team with 17 points and both Walter Brown and Kimani Hamilton each had 11 points in the losing effort for the Rebels.

UC Irvine Anteaters Betting Preview

Over on the UC Irvine side, they were 16-7 overall back on February 5 and coming off a four-game winning streak. The next five were a rocky 2-3 stretch with losses to UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly and UC San Diego, however. UC Irvine picked it up with wins over CSU Northridge, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, UC Davis and Cal State Northridge from there but lost in conference tournament action versus Hawaii in game two.

In the Saturday matchup versus the Rainbow Warriors, the Anteaters left the floor after the first half with a one-point deficit, 31-30. UC Irvine was outscored 40-34 the rest of the way and ended up falling 71-64 in the end. Topping the team in scoring was Jurian Dixon with 17 points and four boards. Derian Saran (five rebounds) and Kyle Evans (10 rebounds) each had 13 points in the loss as well.

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels @ UC Irvine Anteaters Betting Trends: March 17, 2026

Why the UC Irvine Anteaters will win

• UC Irvine has won seven of its last eight games at Bren Events Center.
• UNLV has lost four of its last five games against non-Conference opponents.
• UC Irvine has won the first half in six of its last seven night games at Bren Events Center.

Why the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels will win

• UNLV has won each of its last nine games against the Big West Conference.
• UC Irvine has lost each of its last six night games against the Mountain West Conference.
• UNLV has won the first half in each of its last four night games against the Big West Conference.

Total Points Facts

• Each of UNLV’s last 12 games against the Big West Conference Conference have produced a total of 151 or fewer points.
• Each of UC Irvine’s last 11 games against the Mountain West Conference Conference have produced a total of 148 or fewer points.

Matchup/League Facts

• UC Irvine ranks 3rd among Division 1 teams for opponent field goal percentage this season (38.1%).
• UC Irvine ranks 3rd among Division 1 teams for defensive rating this season (94.8).
• UNLV ranks 359th among Division 1 teams for opponent free throw attempts per game this season (26.2).
• UNLV ranks 358th among Division 1 teams for opponent free throws made per game this season (19.1).

UC Irvine vs UNLV Prediction

I’ll lean toward UC Irvine but you could call this one either way. It’ll be a fun matchup. The Anteaters had a pretty rocky shooting day versus Hawaii over the weekend, hitting just 36.1 percent from the field. UC Irvine added 13 turnovers and a 34-24 deficit on points in the paint but did well from 3-point range (45.5 percent on 5-of-11) and the line (88.2 percent on 15-of-17) in the loss. The Anteaters are 7-2 in their last nine games, scoring 68 or more points in seven of those.

As for UNLV, they had their own tepid shooting outing (40.7 percent) in the Utah State loss, adding just 53.3 percent (8 of 15) from the line and a whopping 18 turnovers. The Rebels were also outscored in the paint 40-26 along the way. UNLV is 3-2 in their last five games with 73 or more points in four of those (and 85 or more in three of them). These teams should match up well together and it’ll be a good one to watch.