Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (23-8, 15-6 Big West) vs. UC Irvine Anteaters (23-10, 16-5 Big West)
Henderson, Nevada; Saturday, 10 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Anteaters -2.5; over/under is 138.5
BOTTOM LINE: UC Irvine and Hawaii play for the Big West Championship.
The Anteaters are 16-5 against Big West opponents and 7-5 in non-conference play. UC Irvine leads the Big West in rebounding, averaging 37.3 boards. Kyle Evans leads the Anteaters with 8.5 rebounds.
The Rainbow Warriors’ record in Big West play is 15-6. Hawaii is 7-3 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 13.0 turnovers per game.
UC Irvine’s average of 5.8 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.2 fewer made shots on average than the 6.0 per game Hawaii gives up. Hawaii has shot at a 46.1% rate from the field this season, 7.7 percentage points above the 38.4% shooting opponents of UC Irvine have averaged.
The teams meet for the third time this season. UC Irvine won 87-76 in the last matchup on Jan. 30. Evans led UC Irvine with 19 points, and Isaac Johnson led Hawaii with 17 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jurian Dixon is shooting 43.5% and averaging 16.0 points for the Anteaters. Andre Henry is averaging 13.2 points over the last 10 games.
Johnson is shooting 50.0% and averaging 13.8 points for the Rainbow Warriors. Quandre Bullock is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Anteaters: 7-3, averaging 78.7 points, 35.6 rebounds, 16.8 assists, 8.4 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 48.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.6 points per game.
Rainbow Warriors: 7-3, averaging 78.4 points, 35.0 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 6.6 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.5 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
