Cal Irvine vs UC Santa Barbara Prediction 2/7/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The UC Irvine Anteaters and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos meet Saturday in college basketball action from UCSB Events Center. Here’s a UC Irvine vs UC Santa Barbara prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UC Irvine vs UC Santa Barbara pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

UC Irvine Anteaters Betting Preview

UC Irvine didn’t open things up so well at 3-4, but then the team found their stride on a 9-1 stretch. Those wins came courtesy of South Dakota State, San Jose State, UC Riverside, CSU Northridge, North Dakota State, Norfolk State, CSU Bakersfield, CSU Fullerton and Long Beach State. After that came a couple of losses to Hawaii and UC Davis, then wins over UC Riverside, UC San Diego and Hawaii.

In the Cal State Bakersfield matchup on Thursday the Anteaters were in great shape at halftime sporting a 39-29 lead. UC Irvine kept it up in the second half on a 39-33 run and ended up taking a dominant win on their home court 78-62. Kyle Evans led the way on 16 points with seven rebounds and Tama Isaac doubled up on 14 points with 13 assists and six rebounds in the win.

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Betting Preview

Over on the Gauchos’ side, they started things off pretty well, going 8-2 over their first 10 games. UC Santa Barbara lost five of the next six with a lone win over Portland, though. After that came a winning streak over Cal State Bakersfield, Hawaii, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, UC San Diego and CSU Fullerton in the next six. That would make for a 15-7 record in the first 22 outings.

Matched up against UC Davis on Thursday the Gauchos went into the locker room at the break with a 40-32 deficit. UC Santa Barbara fell further behind in the second half on a 45-43 run and took the loss in the end on the road 85-75. CJ Shaw put up 18 points with two rebounds and Colin Smith had 16 points with four assists and three rebounds in 38 minutes of work.

UC Irvine Anteaters @ UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Betting Trends: February 7, 2026

Why the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos will win

• UC Santa Barbara has won seven of its last eight games at The Thunderdome against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the UC Irvine Anteaters will win

• UC Irvine has won seven of its last eight night games against the Big West Conference.

UC Irvine vs UC Santa Barbara Prediction

I’ll stick with UC Irvine but you could easily make a case either way. The Anteaters are coming off a solid home win over CSU Bakersfield this week, despite a tepid shooting outing on 41.4 percent from the field, 13.3 percent (2-of-15) from outside and 58.1 percent (18-of-31) at the line. UC Irvine benefitted from 19 Roadrunners turnovers and had a 44-24 edge in the paint. The Anteaters have won four straight games, but they’ve got to get those shooting percentages up here or that streak will come to an end.

As for UC Santa Barbara, they hit a nice 49.1 percent from the field with a 29-20 rebounding edge and a 40-30 advantage in the paint in their loss to UC Davis, but also gave up 52 percent shooting on defense. UCSB had won six straight games prior to that, scoring 74 or more points in five of those.

Andrew Jett's Pick: UC Irvine Anteaters +1.5