The UC Irvine Anteaters and the Cal State Fullerton Titans meet Thursday in college basketball action from Titan Gym. UC Irvine is currently 13-6 overall and fresh off a win over Hawaii last Thursday. As for CSU Fullerton, they’re sitting at 10-11 on the year. The Titans lost to CSU Northridge on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UC Irvine Anteaters
UC Irvine went 11-5 across their first 16 outings. The Anteaters lost to Pepperdine, San Diego State, Fresno State, Santa Clara and Harvard in that time. Since then UC Irvine is 2-1 with wins over CSU Northridge and Hawaii.
Matched up against Hawaii last Thursday, the Anteaters took a 35-27 edge into the break. UC Irvine kept the pace on a 41-41 second half for the 76-68 victory. Dawson Baker doubled up on 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Drew Davis scored 18 points.
Cal State Fullerton Titans
Over on the CSU Fullerton side, they lost to SDSU, Utah Tech, North Dakota, Seattle, USC, Southern Utah and UCSB in their first 16 outings. The Titans are 1-4 since then with losses to UC Irvine, UC Davis, Long Beach State and CSU Northridge.
In the Matadors game back on Saturday, the Titans scored 33 points in the first half, 28 in the second and five in overtime during a tough loss 69-66. Max Jones scored 18 points, and Jalen Harris added 17 points with three rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stay with UC Irvine. You could make a case either way here, though. The last time these teams met up, the Anteaters secured a 70-65 win at Bren Events Center. UC Irvine should be able to put up another solid points total in the rematch, as they’ve hit 70 or more points in six of their last seven outings. As for CSUF, they’re coming off a rough loss to a struggling Matadors team but they should be more comfortable at Titan Gym. Ultimately I think UC Irvine sticks the cover, however.