UC-Santa Barbara vs North Alabama 11/23/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The North Alabama Lions and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos meet Wednesday in college basketball action from UCSB Events Center. North Alabama is coming off a Tuesday game versus Hampton. In that one the Lions eked out a close victory. As for UC Santa Barbara, they’re 3-1 so far and coming off a win over Hampton on Monday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

North Alabama’s season began with a nice 3-0 run. The Lions took a 108-51 blowout win over Oakwood in their opener, then beat Alabama A&M 74-76. Game three was another blowout win 100-60 over Blue Mountain. North Alabama lost game four to MS Valley 76-68. 

In the Tuesday game versus Hampton, North Alabama jumped out to a 39-30 lead by halftime. The Lions had to hold on but eventually got the win 75-74. Daniel Ortiz led the team with 23 points and three rebounds. 

Over on the UC Santa Barbara side, they won their first two games 75-59 over San Francisco State and 61-54 against Fresno State. The Gauchos took their first loss in game three, falling 63-54 to Northern Arizona. 

UC Santa Barbara was able to get back into the win column on Monday versus Hampton. The Gauchos jumped out to a 42-23 lead and cruised from there to a 79-66 win. Ajay Mitchell led the team on 17 points and eight assists. 

PICK: I’m going to try UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos have had a couple of scoring duds so far this year but overall they’re hitting shots pretty well. UCSB is coming off 50 percent shooting from the field with a 47-25 rebounding edge in the win over Hampton. As for North Alabama, they posted a gutsy win over Hampton on Tuesday despite getting outperformed on the boards 44-36. The Lions shot 42.2 percent from the field in the win. This one could be a higher-scoring affair if the shots start falling early.