UC Santa Barbara vs Pepperdine Prediction, Odds and Best Bets
UC Santa Barbara is on the road playing Pepperdine at the Firestone Fieldhouse stadium on Saturday, 12/10/2022 @ 8:00pm EST. Pepperdine -1 was the opening favorite and line
Game outlook
UC Santa Barbara is on the road playing Pepperdine at the Firestone Fieldhouse stadium on Saturday, 12/10/2022 @ 8:00pm EST. Pepperdine -1 was the opening favorite and line hasn't moved.
On Saturday, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (5-2, 0-0 Big West) will play the Pepperdine Waves (5-3, 0-0 WCC) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California. Ajare Sanni scored 22 points to lead UC Santa Barbara to an 82-71 victory over the Pacific Tigers last Saturday. For the second time in three games, Pepperdine lost to Nevada 85-77 on Tuesday. Pepperdine's Mike Mitchell Jr. scored 18 points. The injury reports for UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine do not list any players.
Defense is the strength of UC Santa Barbara
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are holding opponents to an average of 65.1 points per game, while allowing a field goal shooting percentage of 43.5% and a three-point shooting percentage of 35.5%. The Gauchos average 37.0 rebounds per game while opponents average 24.9 boards per game. Andre Kelly leads the team in rebounding with 9.0 boards per game and in blocked shots with 21.3 blocks per game. With an average of 1.7 steals per game, Ajay Mitchell leads the league.
Santa Barbara averages 71.6 points per game. UC Santa Barbara's field goal shooting percentage is 48.4% and its 3-point shooting percentage is 35.5%. Mitchell scores 15.0 points per game for UC Santa Barbara. Mitchell shoots 46.5% overall and 30.4% from beyond the arc. Miles Norris averages 12.6 points per game for UC Santa Barbara, which is second-best in the conference. With an average of 4.9 assists per game, Mitchell leads the league in assists. The Gauchos average 13.6 turnovers per game.