The No.4-seeded UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (17-12) and No.5-seeded UC Davis Aggies (11-18) meet in the first round of the BigWst tournament at Honda Center. The game starts at 3:00 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 10.
The Gauchos enter this game hoping for similar success after blowing out Cal Poly 69-50 the last time they played. With 14 points and 10 rebounds, John Green recorded his second double-double of the season. The Aggies, meanwhile, are coming off an 87-83 win against Cal State Northridge in their last outing. Neal Monson claimed his fourth double-double of the season with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
Baskets could be hard to come by as UC Santa Barbara ranks 18th in the nation, allowing just 98.8 points per 100 possessions, while UC Davis is eighth (95.5).
The Gauchos have won both matchups against the Aggies this season, including a decisive 62-55 victory in their last matchup. Josh Fox had a standout performance with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal in the loss.
The Gauchos enter the game with records of 17-12 Straight Up (SU) and 17-10 Against The Spread (ATS). They have an ATS record of 7-3 in their last 10 games, but are just 3-7 SU. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Gauchos, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the country at .396.
In the other locker room, the Aggies have a record of 13-13 ATS and 11-18 SU. UC Davis has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 8-2. UC Davis’s defense is one of the top in the nation, with opponents shooting only .409 from the field.
The Gauchos’ win over UC Davis in their last game brought their SU record to 8-2 over UC Davis in their most recent games. The Gauchos also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-3-1. UC Santa Barbara held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice in the last five matchups. On the other side of the court, UC Davis never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – UC-SB, ATS Winner – UC-SB
Notes
UC Santa Barbara won its last game by a 19-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, UC Davis is 2-1. UC Santa Barbara is 5-2 in blowouts this season.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos have a defensive rating of 98.8 (ranked 18th), while the UC Davis Aggies have an offensive rating of 94.5 (ranked 328th).
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos average a field goal percentage of 44.1% this season. The UC Davis Aggies have an abysmal record of 2-8 when opponents have a FG% of 44.1% or greater.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos rank lower for their field goal percentage (181st) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (163rd), but the UC Davis Aggies have a better FG% ranking (211th) than eFG% ranking (254th).
UC Santa Barbara ranks 57th in assists, registering 15.3 per game. UC Davis performs worse at 306th with 11.3 assists per game.
UC Santa Barbara, the 97th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 37.7 rebounds per game. UC Davis does worse, ranked 259th with 34.7.
On average, UC Santa Barbara makes 6.0 steals per game. UC Davis is a subpar 9-16 when it gives up at least 5 steals.
