It will be a battle between Big West opponents when the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (7-10) welcome the Cal State Northridge Matadors (7-12) to Thunderdome. The game begins at 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 23.
The Gauchos are hoping for a better outcome after their 77-67 loss to Long Beach State on Wednesday. Michael Bryson was the team’s leading scorer with 23 points. The Matadors, meanwhile, are coming off a 76-74 win over Cal Poly on Thursday. Jerron Wilbut led the game in scoring with 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
UC Santa Barbara is a considerable 10-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 143 points. The Gauchos come into this game 7-10 Straight Up (SU) and 7-7 Against The Spread (ATS). Teams really have to fight for open three-pointers against the Gauchos, who have one of the best opponent three-point field goal percentages in the nation at .307.
As for their opponent, Cal State Northridge has a SU record of 7-12 and an ATS record of 7-9. The Matadors get to the line and convert their free throws at a high volume, ranking 42nd in the nation with 329 made (17.0 per game).
This is the first meeting of the season for these conference foes. The last time they played, UC Santa Barbara came out on top, bumping its SU record to 6-4 over Cal State Northridge in their most recent meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record. Neither team held the edge in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers in a single game during this span.
Predictions: SU Winner – UC-SB, ATS Winner – UC-SB, O/U – Over
Notes
Santa Barbara is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games at home.
Santa Barbara is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing CS Northridge.
Santa Barbara is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against CS Northridge.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos currently sit below 0.500 against the Big West Conference at 1-3 SU, while the Cal State Northridge Matadors have a 2-3 SU record.
The Cal State Northridge Matadors average 70.4 possessions per game and 1.008 points per possession. The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos earn fewer possessions with 68.5, but they score more points with 1.015.
UC Santa Barbara has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.4%. Cal State Northridge is an underachieving 2-8 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
UC Santa Barbara ranks 87th in assists, registering 15.1 per game. Cal State Northridge performs worse at 124th with 14.4 assists per game.
Cal State Northridge ranks 297th in offensive rebounds, while UC Santa Barbara ranks at 89th in defensive rebounds.
UC Santa Barbara has forced an average turnover percentage of 17.4% this season. Cal State Northridge has a subpar 4-7 record when its TO% is 17.4% or higher.
