It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a UC Riverside-Hawaii prediction and pick. Find out how to watch UC Riverside-Hawaii.
UC Riverside and Hawaii meet for the second time this season. The teams are in very different positions compared to the first time they met in early January. In that early January game, which we looked at in our ClutchPoints betting preview, we thought UC Riverside was going to cover the spread (which was -2.5), but Hawaii won outright by seven, 83-76. Hawaii was in a better place back then.
It is different now, several weeks later. Hawaii is 6-10 in the Big West, 14-13 overall. The Rainbow Warriors have struggled to gain traction and find any kind of meaningful consistency in the month of February. Hawaii is disadvantaged by the reality of having to commute to the mainland to play the various other schools in this conference, whereas the mainland (California) schools have to travel to Hawaii only once. To a certain extent, the travel dynamic parallels what we are seeing in the Big Ten and ACC. The West Coast schools have to make several trips to the Midwest or East, while the Midwestern and Eastern schools travel to the West Coast no more than twice, and sometimes only once, during the season. Hawaii is facing an uphill battle as the season grinds toward March and the Big West Conference Tournament.
Here are the UC Riverside-Hawaii College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: UC Riverside-Hawaii Odds
UC Riverside: -1.5 (-104)
Moneyline: -114
Hawaii: +1.5 (-118)
Moneyline: -105
Over: 141.5 (-110)
Under: 141.5 (-110)
How to Watch UC Riverside vs Hawaii
Time: 11:59 p.m. ET/8:59 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN Plus
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why UC Riverside Will Cover The Spread/Win
The betting focus for this game is connected to the Big West Tournament. A tournament-centric context would show that this game is important for Riverside. The Highlanders are 11-6 in the Big West, one game ahead of UC Santa Barbara (10-7) for fourth place in the conference. In the Big West, fourth place really matters, because the Big West Tournament does not have the 8 seed play the 1 seed and 2 play 7. No, the Big West has seeds 5-8 play each other (5 versus 8, 6 versus 7) in the preliminary round. The third and fourth seeds play the 5-8 and 6-7 winners in the next round, and then the winners of those two games play the top two seeds in the semifinals. It really matters to Riverside to get the No. 4 seed and fend off Santa Barbara for that extra bye in the Big West Tournament. This should help Riverside play well and ultimately win.
Why Hawaii Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Rainbow Warriors already have defeated UC Riverside this season, and they did so on the road. They controlled that game. It was not a case of a game being nip and tuck the whole way; no, Hawaii was in control for the vast majority of 40 minutes played. Now Hawaii gets Riverside on its own home court. This is a tough late-season travel assignment for Riverside. Hawaii will be sitting at home, waiting to spring the ambush and get the outright win. This sets up well for Hawaii.
Final UC Riverside-Hawaii Prediction & Pick
Our lean is to Riverside, but we were wrong to pick Riverside in the first meeting in early January. We think you should pass on this game.
Final UC Riverside-Hawaii Prediction & Pick: UC Riverside -1.5
The post UC Riverside vs Hawaii prediction, pick, college basketball odds appeared first on ClutchPoints.
