The 4-seed Cal State Fullerton Titans (20-12) face the 2-seed UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (26-7) Saturday In the Big West Conference championship game with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. Tip from Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev., is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Santa Barbara odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
CS Fullerton topped top-seed UC Irvine 83-80 in the semifinals Friday after it nipped Hawaii 62-60 in overtime in the quarterfinals Thursday. The Titans cashed as the underdog in both outings, and have won 8 straight games while going 8-2-1 ATS in the past 11 games overall.
UCSB dropped UC Riverside 92-87 in a high-scoring semifinal Friday, coming on the heels of a 64-54 win over Cal Poly in the quarterfinals Thursday, pushing as a 10-point favorite at most shops.
The road team won each of the 2 regular-season meetings, with UCSB winning 66-58 at Fullerton as a 4.5-point favorite on Dec. 29 as the Under (127.5) cashed. The Titans returned the favor in Santa Barbara on Feb. 20, winning 74-60 as 7-point underdogs as the Over (128.5) connected.
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Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Santa Barbara odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:57 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Cal State Fullerton +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | UC Santa Barbara -140 (bet $140 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Cal State Fullerton +2.5 (-110) | UC Santa Barbara -2.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 129.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Santa Barbara picks and predictions
Prediction
UC Santa Barbara 69, Cal State Fullerton 66
Moneyline
UCSB (-140) is worth a play if you don’t want to fiddle around with the points in what should be a very close championship game. They’re not priced out of line.
UCSB is an efficient shooting team, hitting 49.5% from the field, which is 7th in the country. It shines defensively too, allowing just 65.4 points per game (49th).
Fullerton has been on quite the roll lately, and it is making bettors who took a chance at +500 to win the tournament prior to the start look very smart. However, the Gauchos are going to rain on that potential windfall.
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Against the spread
UCSB -2.5 (-110) is a strong play. The Gauchos are 18-7-1 ATS in the past 26 games overall and 3-0-1 ATS in their past 4 neutral-site outings. They’re also 4-0 ATS in the past 4 against winning teams.
The favorite is 13-6 ATS in the past 19 meetings between these programs and while Fullerton has had a nice ride, UCSB will dispatch it in the final.
Over/Under
OVER 129.5 (-110) is the lean, but it might come down to late free throws to get the total over the hump.
The Over is 5-1 in the past 6 games overall for the Titans and has cashed in 14 of the past 17 games for the Gauchos. The Over is 7-2 in the past 9 for UCSB after a cover, and 5-1 in its last 6 games against teams with a winning percentage over .600.
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