Halftime Report

UC Irvine is on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have jumped out to a quick 23-16 lead against Kent State.

UC Irvine entered the matchup having won six straight and they're just one half away from another. Will they make it seven, or will Kent State step up and spoil it? We'll know soon.

Who's Playing

Kent State Golden Flashes @ UC Irvine Anteaters

Current Records: Kent State 5-1, UC Irvine 6-0

How To Watch

What to Know

The UC Irvine Anteaters and the Kent State Golden Flashes will face off at 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday at ENMAX Centre without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as the Anteaters come in on six and the Golden Flashes on three.

On Thursday, UC Irvine strolled past Kennesaw State with points to spare, taking the game 76-59.

UC Irvine's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jurian Dixon, who went 7 for 8 en route to 15 points plus two steals. Dixon had some trouble finding his footing against Pepperdine two weeks ago, so this was a nice turnaround. The team also got some help courtesy of Andre Henry, who went 5 for 9 en route to 13 points plus three steals.

UC Irvine was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in December of 2023.

Meanwhile, Kent State beat Towson 65-54 on Thursday.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Kent State to victory, but perhaps none more so than VonCameron Davis, who went 8 for 13 en route to 18 points. The dominant performance also gave Davis a new career-high in field goal percentage (61.5%). Another player making a difference was Anthony Morales, who scored 11 points.

UC Irvine's win bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Kent State, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1.

UC Irvine is hoping to beat the odds on Friday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, keep UC Irvine in mind: they have a solid 4-1 record against the spread this season.

UC Irvine and Kent State pleased both fans and bettors in their last contests by winning and covering the spread. Looking forward, Kent State is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 6.5 points. For those looking to play the spread, keep Kent State's opponent in mind: they have a subpar 0-1 record against the spread vs UC Irvine over their last one matchups.

Odds

Kent State is a solid 6.5-point favorite against UC Irvine, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Golden Flashes as a 5.5-point favorite.


The over/under is 137.5 points.

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Series History

UC Irvine won the only game these two teams have played in the last 5 years.

  • Dec 16, 2019 - UC Irvine 74 vs. Kent State 68