It will be a battle between Big West opponents when the UC Riverside Highlanders (13-14) welcome the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (11-12) to Student Recreation Center. The game gets underway at 11:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 18.
The Highlanders were beaten by Cal Poly 86-78 the last time they played. Despite the loss, Taylor Johns earned his fifth double-double this season with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The Gauchos, meanwhile, are coming off a 72-66 win against UC Davis in their last game. Michael Bryson had a big game, accumulating 16 points and 10 rebounds to claim his fourth double-double of the season.
Johns has taken his game to another level over the last five games for the Highlanders. During that stretch, he has averaged 19.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 0.6 three-pointers. Bryson has been on fire for the Gauchos. In the same five-game span, he is averaging 20.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 2.2 three-pointers.
The Highlanders have gone 13-14 Straight Up (SU) and 8-11 Against The Spread (ATS).
As for their opponent, UC Santa Barbara has a SU record of 11-12 and an ATS record of 12-9.
These conference foes meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. UC Riverside won the last game in the matchup, but the win was not enough to overtake UC Santa Barbara in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 3-7 SU over the last few meetings. The Highlanders lead the matchup ATS with a record of 8-1-1. Neither team was able to hold the edge in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers over the course of their latest five contests.
Predictions: SU Winner – CalRv, ATS Winner – CalRv
Notes
UC Santa Barbara scores an average of just 70.3 points per game (ranked 189th). UC Riverside ranks 90th in points allowed, giving up 68.8 points per game.
UC Santa Barbara scores just 71.5 points per away game (ranked 112th). UC Riverside ranks 97th in points allowed at home, giving up 66.7 points.
UC Riverside has an average field goal percentage of 43.9%. UC Santa Barbara is an abysmal 1-6 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The UC Riverside Highlanders rank lower for their field goal percentage (190th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (154th), but the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos have a better FG% ranking (198th) than eFG% ranking (202nd).
UC Santa Barbara ranks 58th in assists, recording 15.5 per game. UC Riverside performs worse at 227th with 12.7 assists per game.
UC Riverside ranks 251st in offensive rebounds, while UC Santa Barbara ranks 83rd in defensive rebounds.
UC Riverside has forced an average turnover percentage of 18.0% this season. UC Santa Barbara has a losing 4-8 record when its TO% is 18.0% or higher.
