Getty Predictions and picks for the second round matchup between the Oregon Ducks, pictured, and UC Irvine Anteaters
With both teams pulling off the first round upset, we get a very rare 12-13 showdown in the round of 32 between the Oregon Ducks and the UC Irvine Anteaters. While UC Irvine was able to produce one of the most dominant seasons at the college level, Oregon has recently found their groove after slowed by injuries and are looking like one of the best teams in the nation.
.@OregonMBB showing off some elite concentration on this lob.
Now, lets take a look at the betting lines and get into some predictions and picks for the last game in the round of 32.
#12 Oregon Ducks vs #13 UC Irvine Anteaters Betting Line & Trends
(Betting Line, Total & Trends courtesy of Oddsshark.com)
Betting Line/Point Total
- Oregon Ducks vs UC Irvine
- Sunday, March 24th – 9:40 pm ET
- Point Spread: Oregon Ducks (-5)
- Point Total: 126
Trends
- UC Irvine is 10-1-1 ATS in its last 12 games
- Oregon is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Oregon’s last 15 games
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of UC Irvine’s last 6 games
Oregon vs UC Irvine March Madness Bracket Projection & Picks
Despite their rocky start, Oregon dominated down the stretch and put on a defensive clinic in the Pac-12 tournament. Despite losing star freshman Bol Bol early in the year, the Ducks have found the rhythm behind the stellar play of another star freshman in Louis King as well as the experienced play of Payton Pritchard.
Meanwhile, the Anteaters have been steadily dominant on the season and only dropped five games the entire season while going a blistering 15-1 in conference play. Like Oregon, UC Irvine hangs their hat on the defensive end and loves to slow the game down and control the time of possession. While they have been incredibly effective against lesser opponents in the Big West Conference, they struggled slightly in out of conference play and dropped four of their five games to teams that would not go on to make the tournament.
UC Irvine with its FIRST win in NCAA Tournament HISTORY.
At the end of the day, despite the dominant UC Irvine 2018-2019 season, Oregon comes into the matchup the hottest team in college basketball and provides a terrible matchup for the Anteaters. The Ducks are essentially a bigger, faster, and more skilled version of UC Irvine and thrive in low-scoring and ugly affairs. The Anteaters biggest advantage won’t be in play here and they will need to have a monster night from over the top of the Oregon defense from three-point range in order to have any shot here.
I don’t expect UC Irvine to shoot the cover off the ball as that just isn’t the way the team is built. Look for the hotter team (Oregon) to punch their way into the Sweet 16 on the back of another extremely strong defensive performance.
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