Thursday presents an action-packed college basketball slate, and the final matchup of the night sees a pair of Big West foes duke it out on the hardwood. The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and UC Irvine Anteaters’ rivalry is renewed.
The late-night bout (11:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU) has perhaps the conference’s best teams clashing. With both sides having just squared off on January 11, there’s plenty of familiarity entering the rematch.
Below, we’ll break down our Hawaii vs. UC Irvine prediction and picks for Thursday’s game. Make your college basketball picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
{{nba_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}
Hawaii vs. UC Irvine Prediction, Preview
In the blink of an eye, it’s Eran Ganot’s sixth full-time season as Hawaii’s head men’s basketball coach. After winning 15 games all of last season, the Rainbow Warriors have already matched that total coming into Thursday’s game.
Longtime head coach Russ Turner has his Anteaters crew firing on all cylinders as well. While this 14-7 start is behind last season’s 32-7 pace, UC Irvine is 7-2 in conference play and sits in a tie with Hawaii, meaning this game carries a ton of importance.
Thursday marks the 31st all-time meeting between these teams. UC Irvine owns a commanding 21-9 series lead, although Hawaii won the most recent showdown at Stan Sheriff Center by a final score of 67-66.
Hawaii vs. UC Irvine Game Winner Payouts
Hawaii enters Thursday’s game as road underdogs, returning a 2.04x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright.
UC Irvine is a home favorite with a 1.66x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
Hawaii vs. UC Irvine Injury Report
Let’s dive into the full Hawaii vs. UC Irvine injury report for Thursday, via Matt Gajewski.
- Hawaii G Aaron Hunkin-Claytor: Missed last two games
- UC Irvine C Elijah Chol: Missed last game
Hawaii vs. UC Irvine Prediction on Game Winner
Here are some stats to know to help you make your Hawaii vs. UC Irvine prediction on Thursday, January 29.
- Hawaii’s 100th-ranked scoring offense (78.9 PPG) is nothing to write home about. Their defense certainly is, however, sitting 13th in points allowed (65.4 PPG).
- The Rainbow Warriors allow the fewest assists (8.7) and second-fewest 3-point makes (5.1) per game, suffocating opponents in the halfcourt.
- UC Irvine’s 36th-ranked defense (67.9 PPG) is solid, but their 250th offense (71.6 PPG) neutralizes plenty of that.
- The Anteaters surrender the lowest 2-point percentage in the nation (41.4), which could be their saving grace. Hawaii is 56th on offense at 56.2% inside the arc.
- Entering Thursday’s play, Hawaii ranks 91st in KenPom to UC Irvine’s No. 118 slot.
Hawaii vs. UC Irvine Picks for PrizePicks Today: Thursday, January 29
Here are three top Hawaii vs. UC Irvine picks to target for Thursday, January 29 on PrizePicks. Player stat projections via PrizePicks are headlined by G Quandre “Dre” Bullock, G Jurian Dixon, and F Kyle Evans.
Hawaii G Dre Bullock vs. UC Irvine Projection: 12.5 Points
- Bullock averages 12.3 points per game in his senior campaign.
- In January 11’s meeting against UC Irvine, Bullock produced a season-low 4 points on a dreadful 2-of-11 shooting night.
- The South Dakota transfer’s true shooting percentage is just 53.8, his lowest mark since 2023 with Louisiana Tech (51.3).
- UC Irvine’s defense cedes the fourth-lowest overall shooting clip (38.6%) in the country.
{{nba_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}
UC Irvine G Jurian Dixon vs. Hawaii Projection: 15.5 Points
- Twenty-one games into his sophomore year, Dixon is pouring in 15.6 points a night.
- Like Bullock, the California native had a bad showing in January 11’s game (season-low 6 points). In his last 10 games, though, he averaged 15.9 PPG.
- Just 10.2% of Dixon’s possessions end in a turnover, a very healthy mark for such a young player.
- Dixon shoots a scorching 41.1% from deep; it’s worth monitoring whether Hawaii (11th-fewest 3-point attempts faced per game) can slow him down.
UC Irvine F Kyle Evans vs. Hawaii Projection: 21.5 Pts + Rebs + Asts
- Evans brings home 21 combined points, rebounds, and assists per game. That’s up from just 8.1 as a junior in his first year with the Anteaters.
- The senior thrived in his last game against Hawaii, combining for 22 PRA and going 6-for-10 shooting.
- Among all players logging at least the same minutes share as Evans (67.9%), he ranks 31st in offensive rating (129.2) and 24th in defensive rebounding clip (22.7%).
- Per Bart Torvik, the Rainbow Warriors allowed a 43.9% offensive rebounding rate. That could be a matchup for Evans to exploit again.
Make Hawaii vs. UC Irvine Picks on PrizePicks
Hawaii vs. UC Irvine picks are just one of many ways hoops fans can get in on the daily college basketball action.
You can make your picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. With Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 30 states.
Stick around with the Playbook for continued CBB predictions, picks, and news.
