The Cal Poly Mustangs will look to boost their win total and cover the spread when they tip off against the UC Riverside Highlanders at Honda Center on Thursday in NCAAB play.

It's a game in the Big West Tournament, which will decide the conference title, not to mention deciding which teams make the Field of 68. Honda Center is the location for this game, which makes it a neutral-site matchup.

The Highlanders will try to spoil to the party on Thursday; they are 13-7 ATS against the number this season, while the Mustangs are 15-7-1 ATS. UC Riverside is 7-12-1 on the totals; Cal Poly is 6-17.



View UC Riverside vs Cal Poly Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
College basketball odds makers opened the Mustangs as 6.5-point favorites in this matchupl.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Power Rankings at Odds Shark show No. 256-rated UC Riverside taking on the No. 137-rated Mustangs in this contest. The scores prediction computer here indicates a possible 64-59 win for the Mustangs on Thursday.



How They Match Up:
Rating these schools in several key categories is important for handicappers and Cal Poly has the nation's No. 340-rated offensive output, at 59.1 PPG. The visiting Highlanders defense ranks No. 233 allowing on average 69.8 PPG. The Mustangs FG% has averaged 38.8% so far, less than the Highlanders marksmen have achieved on the year, 42.4% per game.

Defensively, UC Riverside features the nation's No. 219-rated defense on the road, allowing 72.1 points per game. Cal Poly, meanwhile, comes in at No. 345 nationally in scoring at home.

Last time out for UC Riverside, they were a 75-66 Sportsbook as they battled UC Irvine at home. They covered in the match as a 2.5-point favorite. UC Riverside earned a 75-66 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday, getting 21 points from Phil Martin at Student Center.

Cal Poly lost its last outing, a 49-43 result against Santa Barbara on March 5. They earned a push in that game as a 6-point underdog. Cal Poly got 12 points from David Hanson but lost anyway, 49-43, to Santa Barbara on Saturday at Thunderdome.


UC Riverside Highlanders Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 1-9
After playing UC Irvine are 5-5
After a win are 2-8

Cal Poly Mustangs Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
After playing Santa Barbara are 5-5
After a loss are 5-5

A few Highlanders at Mustangs trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cal Poly's last 6 games
Cal Poly is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing UC Riverside
Cal Poly is 7-1-1 ATS in its last 9 games
Cal Poly is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games