Hawaii vs UC Irvine College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 1/30/21

The UC Irvine Anteaters and the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors meet Thursday evening in college basketball action from Stan Sheriff Center. 

UC Irvine enters this one at 8-4 so far. The Anteaters have won six straight games and are coming off a win over Cal Poly. As for Hawaii, they’re 4-4 this year. The Rainbow Warriors snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Cal State Fullerton in their last game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

UC Irvine began their year at 2-4, falling to USC and LMU in consecutive games. Since then it’s been a six-game win streak for the Anteaters. They’ve taken out San Diego, UC Santa Barbara (twice), UC San Diego and Cal Poly (twice) in their last half-dozen outings. 

In the Saturday win over Cal Poly, UC Irvine’s Collin Welp led the way on 18 points with two rebounds and one assist. JC Butler added 15 points with one rebound, and Brad Greene put up 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes of play. 

Over on the Hawaii side, they kicked off the year with wins over Hawaii Pacific, Hawaii-Hilo and UC Riverside but then lost their next four games to UC Riverside, Cal State Bakersfield and Call State Fullerton. The Warriors got a win over the Titans in their last outing, however. 

In the 76-53 Saturday win over Cal State Fullerton, Hawaii’s Junior Madut posted 14 points with five boards and one assist. James Jean-Marie added 13 points and two rebounds, and both Casdon Jardine and Justin Webster finished on 12 points and seven rebounds apiece. 

The Warriors are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games after a straight-up win and 1-7 ATS in their last eight home gmaes. The under is 5-1 in Hawaii’s last six home games and 10-4 in their last 14 games overall. 

Meanwhile, the Anteaters are 6-0 ATS in their last six games after an ATS win and 5-0 ATS in their last five after a straight-up win. UC Irvine is 7-0 ATS in their last seven games overall and the over is 6-1 in their last seven road games. 

PICK: I like UC Irvine here. The Anteaters have had a close game or two during this win streak, but for the most part they’re playing pretty well and doing a good job on defense. UC Irvine has notched 67 or more points in each of their last six, and held opponents to 69 points or fewer in that time. If Hawaii doesn’t get some buckets falling early here, I think UC Irvine should be good on a cover.