UC Davis vs UC-Santa Barbara Prediction Basketball Picks 12-28-23

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the UC Davis Aggies meet Thursday in college basketball action from the Pavilion. UC Santa Barbara sits at 7-3 this year so far after a win over Howard in their last outing. As for UC Davis, they’re coming off a win over UC Merced which brought the Aggies to 5-6 overall. Let’s get into our UC Santa Barbara vs. UC Davis prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

UCSB Gauchos

UC Santa Barbara lost their first two games this year to Portland State and UTEP, but quickly rebounded with wins over Le Moyne, Westmont, Fresno State and Northern Arizona. Following a blowout loss to New Mexico, the Gauchos took out Bethesda, Loyola Marymount and Howard in the next trio. 

In the Howard matchup last Wednesday, the Gauchos held an eight-point lead at the break 49-41. UC Santa Barbara scored another 45 points from there and took the victory 94-81. Yohan Traore was the team’s top scorer with 24 points, and Josh Pierre-Louis added 21 points and 11 boards. 

UC Davis Aggies 

Over on the Aggies’ side, they started out well on a 3-1 run with a loss to Montana as the only blemish. UC Davis has gone just 2-5 since then however, falling to Sacramento State, Oregon State, Nevada, Milwaukee and Montana with wins otherwise over only Pacific and UC Merced. 

Matched up against UC Merced last Thursday, the Aggies didn’t have too many issues. UC Davis took a 47-20 lead into the second half and won 80-57 despite getting outscored from there. Leading the way was Elijah Pepper with 21 points and four assists. 

ANDREW’S FREE UC SANTA BARBARA VS UC DAVIS PREDICTION

I’ll stick with UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos posted a nice all-around effort against a struggling Howard team in their last outing, shooting 55.9 percent from the field and 50 percent (9-of-18) from 3-point range with a 42-33 rebounding edge. The free throw shooting (63.3 percent) could have been better, though. Overall it’s been a good scoring run this year for UC Santa Barbara, with 68 or more points in all but one game so far. 

As for UC Davis, they’ve hit 68 or more points in four of the last five (a 2-3 run) but have also given up 80 or more points in four of the last five. The Gauchos should have plenty of scoring opportunities on the way to a cover/win here.