UC Davis vs UC-Santa Barbara 2/24/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the UC Davis Aggies meet Thursday in college basketball action from the Pavilion. UC Santa Barbara is 12-10 so far this year. The Gauchos beat Long Beach State in their last game. As for UC Davis, they’re currently 11-7 and fresh off a win over CSU Bakersfield. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

UC Santa Barbara has had a pretty choppy year so far as they fight to stay above .500 in the record column. The good news is that the Gauchos have won four of their last five. Those wins have come over UC San Diego, CSU Bakersfield, Cal Poly and Long Beach State. 

In the Saturday matchup versus Long Beach State, the Gauchos had a slim one-point lead by halftime. UC Santa Barbara hit a 45-33 run in the second for an 84-71 win. Ajay Mitchell led the way on his 20 points with nine assists and three steals.

Over on the UC Davis side, their year started out at 6-4 overall. The Aggies were only able to play seven games from December 22 to February 19, however. UC Davis managed a win over CSU Bakersfield in their last appearance over the weekend. 

On Saturday in the CSU Bakersfield game, the Aggies trailed by one point going into the second half. UC Davis posted a 43-40 run from there in an 81-79 victory. Elijah Pepper topped the team with his 24 points and two boards. 

The Aggies are 5-2 ATS in their last seven Thursday games and 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 after an ATS loss. UC Davis is 1-3-1 ATS in their last five overall.
Meanwhile, the Gauchos are 2-5 ATS in their last seven Thursday games and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 road games. The over is 7-3 in UC Santa Barbara’s last 10 road games. 

PICK: I’m going to stay with UC Santa Barbara here. The Gauchos have done pretty well lately over this 4-1 stretch; they’ve hit 69 or more points in each of the four wins and should be able to put up a good total here. 

As for UC Davis, they’ve been pummeled by cancellations this year and haven’t been able to find a consistent rhythm due to all the breaks. The Aggies have won three straight, but each was decided by five points or fewer. I like UC Davis to keep the pace here for a while before the Gauchos power out the cover.