Who's Playing
Montana State Bobcats @ UC Riverside Highlanders
Current Records: Montana State 5-6, UC Riverside 7-4
How To Watch
- When: Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 10 p.m. ET
- Where: Student Recreation Center -- Riverside, California
- TV: ESPN Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
The Montana State Bobcats and the UC Riverside Highlanders will compete for holiday cheer at 10:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Student Recreation Center. The Bobcats are expected to lose this one by one point, so we'll see if that gives them a bit of motivation.
Montana State is headed into the match having just suffered their biggest defeat since January 6th on Sunday. They took a serious blow against USC, falling 89-63. The matchup marked the Bobcats' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Meanwhile, UC Riverside entered their tilt with St. Francis III on Sunday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Everything went their way against the Fighting Saints as they made off with a 78-55 victory. With the Highlanders ahead 46-18 at the half, the game was all but over already.
UC Riverside was working as a unit and finished the game with 23 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in November of 2023.
Montana State now has a losing record at 5-6. As for UC Riverside, their win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-4.
Keep an eye on the arc in Wednesday's match: Montana State has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 9.7 threes per game. However, it's not like UC Riverside struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.4. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Montana State won a matchup that couldn't have been any closer when the teams last played back in November of 2023, slipping by UC Riverside 69-68. The rematch might be a little tougher for Montana State since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Odds
UC Riverside is a slight 1-point favorite against Montana State, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 1-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 145.5 points.
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Series History
Montana State won the only game these two teams have played in the last year.
- Nov 22, 2023 - Montana State 69 vs. UC Riverside 68