The Santa Barbara Gauchos will look to boost their win total and cover the spread when they tip off against the UC Irvine Anteaters at Thunderdome on Thursday in NCAA hoops play.

Santa Barbara will face the 7-7 Anteaters, who own a 6-6 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Gauchos are 4-3 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Anteaters are 1-5 favoring the OVER.



View UC Irvine vs Santa Barbara Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
If you were backing the visitors in this one, the Anteaters were listed as 3.5-point underdogs earlier in the day at Sportsbook.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game puts the Gauchos, most recently No. 133 in the Odds Shark power rankings, up against the Anteaters, who rate No. 8 in the latest survey. Meanwhile, math and computer-based handicapping simulations run on this game predict a potential 74-62 victory for the Anteaters.



How They Match Up:
When it comes to rebounds, the visiting Anteaters rank No. 5 in NCAA Division 1 with 43.6 per game. That compares with Santa Barbara’s No. 171 ranking in that category. The story is different when it comes to three-point shooting where Santa Barbara is college basketball's No. 15-ranked team at 8.8 per game, while the Anteaters rate No. 180 with 6.1 per game.

Defensively, UC Irvine features the nation's No. 125-rated defense on the road, allowing 67.6 points per game. Santa Barbara, meanwhile, comes in at No. 284 nationally in scoring at home.

UC Irvine was a 69-58 Sportsbook in their most recent outing at home against UC Davis. They covered the 8.5-point spread as favorites. The Anteaters grabbed a 69-58 win over the Aggies on Saturday, behind a 15-point effort from Daman Starring at Bren Events Center.

Santa Barbara lost its last outing, an 86-79 result against CS Fullerton on December 29. They covered in that game as an 8-point underdog. The Gauchos got a 22-point effort from Alan Williams, who added 16 rebounds, but CS Fullerton still managed to defeat Santa Barbaran 86-79 Saturday at Titan Gym.


UC Irvine Anteaters Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Cal Poly are 4-6
After playing UC Davis are 2-8
After a win are 3-7

Santa Barbara Gauchos Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Long Beach State are 9-1
After playing CS Fullerton are 6-4
After a loss are 5-5

A few Anteaters at Gauchos trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of UC Irvine's last 7 games when playing on the road against Santa Barbara
UC Irvine is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
UC Irvine is 3-12 SU in its last 15 games on the road
UC Irvine is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home
Santa Barbara is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing UC Irvine
Santa Barbara is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against UC Irvine
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Santa Barbara's last 12 games when playing UC Irvine


Next up:
UC Irvine at Cal Poly, Saturday, January 5
Santa Barbara home to Long Beach State, Saturday, January 5