UC-Santa Barbara vs Long Beach State Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 2/23/23

The Long Beach State Beach and the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos meet in college basketball action from the Thunderdome on Thursday night. Let’s dive into the odds, injuries, matchup history and make a prediction for this game.

Odds

UC-Santa Barbara is listed as a 5.5-point home favorite with a total set at 145.5 points.

Injuries

For Long Beach State, Joel Murray is out for the season with a wrist injury, while UC-Santa Barbara comes in with a clean injury report.

Matchup History

UC-Santa Barbara’s 75-72 win back on February 9^th, 2023, made it five straight head-to-head meetings without back-to-back winners.

Trends

Long Beach State is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following an ATS loss and 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games overall. UC-Santa Barbara is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a loss while the over is 5-0 in their last 5 games following an ATS loss.

Pick

I’m leaning towards Long Beach State and the points. I get why the Gauchos are favored at home, but these are two of the perennial contenders in the Big West and could easily see another tight game here. The last two meetings between these two teams were each decided by three points and I think there’s value with the Beach and the points here.