CSU Bakersfield vs UC Santa Barbara Prediction 1/9/25 College Basketball Picks

The Cal State Bakersfield and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos meet Thursday in college basketball action from the Gersten Pavilion. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Cal State Bakersfield vs. UC Santa Barbara prediction.

Cal State Bakersfield Recap

The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners come into this one looking to build on an 80-65 win over Long Beach State last time out to improve to 8-8 on the year. After this game, Cal State Bakersfield will head home for a game against Cal State Northridge.

Roadrunners Win Back-To-Back Games

Jemel Jones leads the Roadrunners in scoring with 16.4 PPG along with 3.3 RPG while Corey Stephenson has 12.8 PPG with a team-high 6.5 RPG to lead the Roadrunners on the glass. Marvin McGhee III has 12 PPG with 4.3 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for CSU-Bakersfield up to this point in the year. CJ Hardy also has 8.5 PPG with a team-high 2.2 APG to lead CSU-Bakersfield in assists. As a team, CSU-Bakersfield is averaging 74.4 PPG on 44.9% shooting from the field, 38.9% from three and 75.4% from the foul line this season.

Why the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners will win

• UC Santa Barbara has lost five of its last six night games against the Big West Conference at The Thunderdome

UC Santa Barbara Recap

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos come into this game looking to build on a 64-61 win over Hawaii last time out to improve to 9-5 on the year. After this game, UC-Santa Barbara will head on the road again for a game against Cal Poly.

Gauchos Win Back-to-Back Games

Kenny Pohto leads the Gauchos in scoring and rebounding with 12.4 PPG and 7.6 RPG along with 2.2 APG while Deuce Turner has 12.1 PPG and Stephan Swenson has 11.9 PPG with 3.4 RPG with a team-high 4.2 APG to lead the Gauchos in the assist department up to this point in the year. Jason Fontenet II has 11.6 PPG with 6.4 RPG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for UCSB so far this season. As a team UC-Santa Barbara is averaging 75.4 PPG on 48% shooting from the field, 37.3% from three and 73.5% from the foul line this season.

Why the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos will win

• UC Santa Barbara has won each of its last nine games against Cal State Bakersfield.
• Cal State Bakersfield has lost 10 of its last 11 Thursday night road games against the Big West Conference.

Total Points Facts

• Each of UC Santa Barbara’s last nine games against Conference opponents at The Thunderdome have produced a total of 137+ points.
• Eight of Cal State Bakersfield’s last nine games have produced a total of 138+ points.

Cal State Bakersfield vs. UC-Santa Barbara Prediction

I’m on the Gauchos here. UC-Santa Barbara has been really solid on both sides of the ball all season long, and I’m just not in a position where I feel like taking a chance on the Roadrunners here. Far more often than not this season, the Roadrunners have been crushed on the road, as each of their true road games to this point have resulted in double-digit losses outside of the one win over a bad Portland team. Granted, the Roadrunners have looked good early on in 2025, but we saw the Roadrunners against some of the top-end teams in the Big West on the road in UC-Irvine and UC-San Diego, and the Roadrunners lost by 16 and 21 points. I just can’t trust Bakersfield on the road. The Gauchos have started to pick it up and I think they get the win at home and cover here. Give me UC-Santa Barbara.