UC Irvine vs. Oregon prediction and odds for NIT first round

The Oregon Ducks won their first game of the Pac 12 tournament, a 75-70 victory over Washington State, but that wasn’t enough to get into the big dance.

Instead the Ducks are a No.1 seed in the NIT and have drawn the UC Irvine Anteaters in the first round after a 75-56 beating from UCLA ended their conference tournament run.

UC Irvine was the No.1 seed in the Big West tournament, but was upset in the semifinals by Cal State Fullerton. It has a chance to cap off a 20+ win season with a run in the NIT if it pulls off an upset of its own tonight.

UC Irvine vs. Oregon odds, spread and total

UC Irvine vs. Oregon prediction and pick

This actually won’t be the first time that these teams have played this year. All the way back in November, the Anteaters beat the Ducks 69-56. They did it by shooting 12-for-28 from 3 while Oregon only made 4-of-21 shots from deep.

That’s not Oregon’s gameplan, the Ducks want to pound the ball inside to their many centers, N’faly Dante, Nate Bittle, Kel’el Ware, and even Quincy Guerrier who is an oversized power forward.

UC Irvine is a bad matchup for the Ducks. The Anteaters shoot the ball well from outside, 37.2%, but also protect the rim really well on the other end. UC Irvine’s opponents are only shooting 44.4% from two-point range which is seventh best in the country.

They don’t have anyone averaging over a block per game, but contest well and have a 7-footer, Bent Leuchten inside.

I’ve recently been added to a list on Twitter called DuckDoubters for betting against Oregon in the Pac-12 semifinal

It’s a twelve member list that I’m honored to be a part of. It features the likes of Skip Bayless and Bruce Feldman and even my FanSided colleague, John Buhler. I guess I’m a Duck doubter now, so I think I have to stick to my brand.

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

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