Barry Recks
The No. 3 Baylor Bears will be in for a fight against the champs of the Big West tournament in the form of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Will Baylor avoid an upset? Or will UC Santa Barbara pull off a massive victory?
Read on for more about this Baylor vs UC Santa Barbara matchup in the 2022-23 college basketball season, including the latest odds, pick, and prediction to win this showdown, as brought to you by JefeBet. Also, don’t forget to check out the other NCAAB game previews here to help you make the best betting decisions.
Picks and Predictions for the Baylor Bears vs UC Santa Barbara Gauchos NCAA Basketball Championship Round 1 Game on March 17, 2023
- Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
- When: Friday, March 17, 2023, 1:30 PM ET
- March Madness Betting Odds: View NCAAB Odds
Betting on the Baylor Bears
- Regular Season Record: 22-10
Baylor, which is 6-4 ATS in its last 10 games, enters the NCAA tournament a little bit wobbly. The Bears have lost both their last two outings, finishing the regular season with a 73-58 loss in Waco to the Iowa State Cyclones and then to the same Cyclones team in the Big 12 tournament.
That being said, seeing a different opponent from a much weaker conference than the Big 12 will be a very much welcome sight for Baylor, which owns one of the best offenses in the nation. The Bears are second overall with 121.9 points per 100 possessions adjusted and 36th with 77.2 points per game. Baylor’s defense is suspect, but that should be a bigger issue for the team against a more elite competition than UC Santa Barbara.
Betting on the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
- Regular Season Record: 27-7
UC Santa Barbara has every intention of pulling off a shocker in the first round. Beating Baylor is going to be a tall order for the Gauchos, but UC Santa Barbara can target the weakness of the Bears, particularly on defense. As good as Baylor is when it’s got the ball, the Bears simply are atrocious defensively. Baylor is allowing 70.3 points per game and is only 231st in the nation in defensive effective field goal percentage (51.4%).
The Bears are also so bad at protecting the rim, which is why teams are shooting a very high 53.3 percent from inside the arc versus Baylor. That sounds so encouraging for the Gauchos, who are 24th in the nation in terms of 2-point shooting percentage with a 54.8 percent success rate on those shots. UC Santa Barbara is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games.
JefeBet Prediction
We are calling it: Baylor falls prey to the Gauchos, who takes full advantage of the Bears’ vulnerable defense.
Prediction: UC Santa Barbara wins, 77-75.
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