UC-Santa Barbara vs UC Irvine 2/3/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
UC Irvine Anteaters (8-7) vs. UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos (8-8)
February 3, 2022 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos -1 ; Over/Under: 128
(Get latest betting odds)
The UC Irvine Anteaters and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos meet Thursday in college basketball action from UCSB Events Center. UC Irvine is 8-7 so far this year. The Anteaters beat Cal Poly in their last game. As for UC Santa Barbara, they’re 8-8 on the season and lost to Hawaii in their most recent outing. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UC Irvine went 5-4 to start the year, then were only able to play one game from December 19 through January 13 due to postponements. After losses to Hawaii, CSUF and Long Beach State, the Anteaters have taken out CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly.
Matched up against Cal Poly on Saturday, the Anteaters scored 31 points in the first half and 41 more in the second during a 72-48 blowout win. Tops in scoring was Justin Hohn with 13 points, three rebounds and one assist.
Over on the UC Santa Barbara side, they hit a 7-5 run to start the year. The Gauchos played just two games from December 30 to January 25 (both losses). After a win over CSU Northridge, UCSB fell to Hawaii in their last game.
In the Saturday matchup versus Hawaii, the Gauchos had a 30-19 edge by halftime. UC Santa Barbara was outscored 32-46 from there in a 65-62 loss. Ajay Mitchell scored 16 points and Amadou Sow doubled up on 13 points and 13 rebounds in the defeat.
The Gauchos are 1-8 ATS in their last nine overall and 0-4 ATS in their last four Thursday games. UCSB is 1-4 ATS in their last five after a straight-up loss.
Meanwhile, the Anteaters are 1-6 ATS in their last seven after an ATS win and 1-4 ATS in their last five overall. UC Irvine is 0-4 ATS in their last four Thursday games.
PICK: I’m going to stay with UC Irvine here. There’s not much to like about this one record-wise, but it should be a competitive matchup. In any case, the Anteaters haven’t scored all that well lately but they’ve been decent on defense. UC Irvine has held opponents to 65 points or fewer in three of the last four. UCSB has been fairly inconsistent on the scoreboard themselves, but they’ve hit 72 or more in two of the last three. This one’s kind of a coin flip, but UC Irvine seems the better cover/win option to me.
