Basketball Game Preview: Irvine Vaqueros vs. Valencia Tigers

Vaqueros

Points

11/28/25 vs Tustin	54
11/26/25 vs Brea Olinda	51
11/24/25 @ Rancho Alamitos	55
11/22/25 vs El Dorado	35
11/21/25 vs San Juan Hills	58
+ 2 more games

Irvine and Valencia are an even 3-3 against one another since December of 2015, but not for long. The two teams will face off at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday without much rest, having both just played. Irvine is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.4 points per game this season.

Irvine saw some tournament action on Friday. They took down Tustin 54-37. The Vaqueros have beaten the Tillers the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Tillers has come to flipping the script.

Chase Brito produced another solid effort putting up ten points along with seven boards and three steals. Holden Stearns was another key player, going 6-for-10 en route to 13 points.

Meanwhile, Valencia came up short against Northwood on Friday and fell 79-69. The Tigers have struggled against the Timberwolves recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Valencia's loss dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Irvine, they now have a winning record of 4-3.

Irvine was able to grind out a solid win over Valencia in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, winning 57-47. Will the Vaqueros repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.