Portland (1-0) vs UC-Santa Barbara (1-0)
Game Info: Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 6:00 pm (Chiles Center)
The Line: Betting Odds: Portland +5.5 / UC-Santa Barbara -5.5 — Over/Under: 151
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the Portland Pilots meet Saturday in college basketball action from Chiles Center. Here’s a UC Santa Barbara vs Portland prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UC Santa Barbara vs Portland pick. We will examine:
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos’ recent form and player performance
The Portland Pilots’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Portland Pilots
Recent betting trends in games played between UC Santa Barbara and Portland
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the UC Santa Barbara vs Portland game
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Betting Preview
The Gauchos are coming off a 16-15 overall record in 2023-24 with a 9-11 run in Big West play. UC Santa Barbara finished ahead of only four teams in the standings. Their season ended with a loss to CSU Northridge in overtime during the opener of the Big West Tournament.
UC Santa Barbara took on San Francisco State in their opener. The Gauchos didn’t have too much trouble in that one, posting 40 points in the first half and 56 more from there in a 96-47 blowout win. Colin Smith and Zion Sensley led the team with 11 points each. Santa Barbara will meet Fresno State, San Jose, and UTEP following this one.
Portland Pilots Betting Preview
Over on the Portland side, they had a forgettable campaign last year with a 12-21 finish overall. The Pilots went 5-11 in WCC games, which put them ahead of only LMU, Pepperdine, and Pacific. Portland beat LMU in the WCC Tournament before a loss to San Francisco in game two.
Matched up against Lewis & Clark in their Wednesday opener, the Pilots were in trouble with a 38-35 halftime deficit. Portland stormed back with 48 second-half points and won 83-70. Max Mackinnon topped the team with 20 points with six boards and five assists in the comeback.
Why the Portland Pilots will win
- Portland has won five of its last six games against the Big West Conference at Earle A. & Virginia H. Chiles Center.
- UC Santa Barbara has lost three of its last four road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- UC Santa Barbara has lost the first half in three of its last four road games.
Why the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos will win
- UC Santa Barbara has won seven of its last eight-day games against non-conference opponents.
- Portland has lost the first half in each of its last three games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
UC Santa Barbara vs Portland Prediction
I’ll lean toward UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos are coming off a pretty routine opener win, shooting a nice 54 percent from the field with a 54-29 rebounding edge versus San Francisco State. UC Santa Barbara got just about everyone in on the action during the course of the game, resulting in 17 team assists.
As for Portland, they started slowly against Lewis & Clark but eventually found their groove with 53.3 percent shooting and 42 rebounds. The Pilots did commit 16 turnovers in a relatively sloppy game, though. Saturday should give us a better idea of where each team stands this year, and I like UCSB to shine cover-wise.