Halftime Report
UC Riverside and UCSB have shown up to the game, but their offenses sure haven’t. Sitting on a score of 28-23, UC Riverside has looked like the better team, but there’s still one more half to play.
If UC Riverside keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 11-7 in no time. On the other hand, UCSB will have to make due with an 11-6 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
UC Riverside Highlanders @ UCSB Gauchos
Current Records: UC Riverside 10-7, UCSB 11-5
How To Watch
What to Know
UC Riverside and UCSB are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. Both will face off in a Big West battle at 10:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at Thunderdome. Coming off a loss in a game the Highlanders were expected to win, they now face the more daunting task of proving themselves against unfavorable odds.
UC Riverside will head out to face UCSB after giving up their first home loss of the season on Thursday. UC Riverside fell 83-76 to Hawaii. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Highlanders in their matchups with the Warriors: they’ve now lost three in a row.
Meanwhile, UCSB came tearing into Saturday’s matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They skirted past the Mustangs 75-72. For those keeping track at home, that’s the closest victory the Gauchos have posted against the Mustangs since March 7, 2020.
UC Riverside’s defeat ended a seven-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 10-7. As for UCSB, their win bumped their record up to 11-5.
Keep an eye on the arc in Thursday’s game: UC Riverside has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 8.7 threes per game. However, it’s not like UCSB struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 9.8. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
UC Riverside strolled past UCSB in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 by a score of 81-64. Will UC Riverside repeat their success, or does UCSB have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
UCSB is a solid 5.5-point favorite against UC Riverside, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Gauchos as a 5-point favorite.
The over/under is 140 points.
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Series History
UCSB and UC Riverside both have 5 wins in their last 10 games.
- Mar 09, 2024 – UC Riverside 81 vs. UCSB 64
- Dec 30, 2023 – UC Riverside 79 vs. UCSB 77
- Mar 10, 2023 – UCSB 92 vs. UC Riverside 87
- Feb 18, 2023 – UC Riverside 74 vs. UCSB 63
- Jan 14, 2023 – UC Riverside 65 vs. UCSB 64
- Feb 26, 2022 – UCSB 97 vs. UC Riverside 90
- Feb 27, 2021 – UC Riverside 68 vs. UCSB 52
- Feb 26, 2021 – UCSB 72 vs. UC Riverside 68
- Feb 27, 2020 – UCSB 65 vs. UC Riverside 60
- Jan 25, 2020 – UCSB 65 vs. UC Riverside 63
