Hawaii Rainbow Warriors vs UC Irvine Anteaters Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 03/14/26

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The Big West championship comes down to a battle between the top 2 teams all season long, as the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors face the UC Irvine Anteaters. Hawaii is playing in its final season in the Big West, and it took out Fullerton last night after most of the nation went to bed. Irvine also rolled easily last night, seeking their first tournament bid since 2019. These teams split the regular season meetings, each winning at home; Hawaii won by 1, while Irvine won in overtime. Expect a battle, but I’ll take the Anteaters at -2.

Hawaii won comfortably last night despite going just 3-for-22 from behind the arc. The Warriors did it by dominating inside. They won the rebounding battle by +26, and they outscored the Titans in the paint by 20. The problem tonight, however, is that they are unlikely to repeat that dominance inside. In the last meeting, Irvine had a +14 rebounding edge and won the battle in the paint by 34 points. That’s a lot. And that game saw Hawaii hit more 3s than normal just to stay in it. The earlier matchup saw some similar discrepancies inside. I don’t think the Bows can overcome that — and they just aren’t strong enough shooters from deep to live outside. I’ll take the Anteaters to punch their ticket.

Hawaii vs UC Irvine prediction: UC Irvine -2 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -3.5.