The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the Washington State Cougars meet Monday in college basketball action from Beasley Coliseum. UC Santa Barbara managed a win in their opener last week, beating San Francisco State. As for the Cougars, they’re rolling along at 2-0 so far following wins versus Alcorn State and Seattle. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UC Santa Barbara had a good year in 2020-21, finishing 22-5 overall and going 13-3 in Big West play. The Gauchos finished atop the standings and rolled through the conference tournament for a championship. UCSB lost in the First Round of the national tourney to Creighton, though.
In their first game of the 2021-22 year, the Gauchos didn’t have much trouble versus San Francisco State. UCSB scored 60 points in the first half and 50 more from there in a dominant 119-65 win. Josh Pierre-louis and Amadou Sow each scored 25 points to lead the team.
Over on the Washington State side, they matched up against Alcorn State in their first game this year. The Cougars allowed just 25 first-half points on the way to an 85-67 victory. Tyrell Roberts led the team on his 16 points and two assists.
In their second game, the Cougars faced Seattle. That one turned into another victory for Washington State as they triumphed 79-61. The Cougars’ leading scorer was Roberts again with 17 points, and both Noah Williams and Dishon Jackson chipped in 13 points apiece.
The Cougars are 1-3-1 ATS in their last five after an ATS win and the over is 5-1 in their last six Monday games. The over is 8-3-1 in Washington State’s last 12 overall.
Meanwhile, the Gauchos are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six Monday games and 4-1 ATS in the last five road games. UC Santa Barbara is 12-5 ATS in the last 17 after a straight-up win.
PICK: I’m going to stick with Washington State. The Cougars have looked solid over most facets of the game in their first two outings so far. In the Seattle win, Washington State shot 48.1 percent from the field with 39 rebounds but were tepid from the line at 57.6 percent (19-of-33).
As for UCSB, they’ll have a much stouter challenge here than in their opener. If Washington State comes out firing, the Gauchos are going to need plenty of offensive gas to keep up.