California-San Diego Tritons vs UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Betting Pick & Prediction 1/4/24

The Tritons and Gauchos are set to face off at 10:00 ET on ESPN+. The Gauchos will host the game at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, CA. The odds for this Big West conference game currently have the Gauchos as the betting favorite with the over/under line sitting at 144.5 points.

CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO TRITONS VS UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS BETTING PICK

The Pick: UC Santa Barbara Gauchos -5.5

This game will be played at The Thunderdome at 10:00 ET on Thursday, January 4th.

WHY BET THE UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS:

  • We have this one finishing with a projected score of 90-58 in favor of the Gauchos.
  • Not only will UC Santa Barbara pick up the win, but look for them to cover at -5.5.
  • The over/under is currently sitting at 144.5 points, and we like the over with a projected 148 points.

Do the Tritons Stand a Chance on the Road?

The Tritons of California-San Diego are getting ready for their 14th game of the season, currently holding a 7-6 record. In road games, they have gone 1-4, while at home they are 4-2. Heading into today’s game, California-San Diego holds a 7-4 ATS record. Over their last five games, the team has gone 3-1 vs. the spread.

California-San Diego comes in with an over/under record of 3-7-1 through 13 games, with their games averaging a combined 139.8 points per game so far. Over the course of the last five games, the Tritons’ games have averaged 141 points per game, along with an over/under record of 1-3.

In their most recent game, the Tritons’ offense tallied 76 points, consistent with their ongoing season average of 76.5 points per game. In terms of offense, the Tritons have a season-long field goal percentage of 44%, putting them 225th in the NCAA. Regarding three-pointers, they are ranked 248th in percentage and 70th in three-pointers made.

So far, the Tritons’ defense is ranked 88th in the country at 67.8 points per contest. The California-San Diego defense is coming off a game in which they gave up a total of 64 points and allowed Bakersfield to connect on 6 threes.

Will the Gauchos Come Through as Home Favorites?

UC Santa Barbara comes into today’s game with a 7-5 record, having just lost to UC Riverside (79-77). So far this season, all of the Gauchos’ games have been on the road. UC Santa Barbara has a subpar ATS performance, sitting below .500 with a 3-6-1 ATS record. In their last five games, the team is 2-2 ATS.

Through 12 games, UC Santa Barbara has an over/under record of 5-5-0 with their games averaging a combined 149.5 points per game so far. When looking at the Gauchos’ last three games, their over/under record is 2-1, with their games averaging 155 points per game.

In their recent matchup, the UC Santa Barbara offense ended with 77 points against UC Riverside. They finished with an overall field goal percentage of 47.3% and made 3 threes. Ajay Mitchell is the current leading scorer for the team, with an average of 20.9 as they approach today’s matchup. In addition, Yohan Traore brings a PPG average of 16.2 into the game.

The Gauchos’ defense is presently ranked 217th nationally, allowing an average of 75.1 points per contest. On average, opposing teams are hitting 5.7 threes per game vs. California-San Diego. This has come on three-point shooting percentage of 29.2%.