Northridge Matadors vs Santa Barbara Gauchos Expert Tips: January 18 Preview, Betting Odds and NCAAB Picks

As we have come to expect from our resident college hoops expert, Ej is picking out a game from the Big West Conference for his late Thursday night pick. Cal-State Northridge and Santa Barbara square off in the City of Angels, but our prayers expect points to hit the scoreboard in Los Angeles as we splash the pot on the total for this contest.

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• Selection: Game Total Over 155 Points
• Best Odds: 1.91
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stakes: 4/10

Odds are available as of January 18. Odds may now differ.

• Northridge Matadors vs Santa Barbara Gauchos Tip
• Northridge Matadors vs Santa Barbara Gauchos Game Info
• Northridge Matadors vs Santa Barbara Gauchos Betting Lines
• Northridge Matadors vs Santa Barbara Gauchos Trends
• Northridge Matadors vs Santa Barbara Gauchos Stats & Form
• Northridge Matadors vs Santa Barbara Gauchos Where to Watch
• Safer Gambling

NORTHRIDGE MATADORS VS SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS PICKS AND PREDICTION

Once again, I found myself picking on a game out West, and when I saw this total set at only 155, I knew we were betting on points to come in LA tonight.

Let’s start with the Northridge side of the ball, and one thing I can’t help but notice is the production that the Matadors put up at home this year. Outside of that complete debacle against the Le Moyne Dolphins on November 21, which I still can’t believe happened, no other team has held the Matadors to less than 76 at home.

A loss to Le Moyne!! I know that one still makes me shake my head, as they were 14-point favorites and just blew it! Anyway, I tend to keep my eyes on experiences like those to see how a team reacts, and the Matadors are 10 – 2 since that defeat. That tells me that it opened up their eyes to take any opponent lightly, and they have not been doing that lately. That loss to a Big Sky program also concerns me though, so that’s what talked me out of taking a side for this game and just turning to the total.

The Matadors are a deep squad that will see Head Coach Andy Newman go 10 men in the rotation now that Gianni Hunt is back and healthy. Hunt has only played in 6 games, and he is one of four double-digit scorers for Northridge averaging 10.5 PPG in his fifth year as a collegiate. His experience and leadership will surely help a team that is already 14 – 3 and eyeing a shot at a post-season tournament of any nature.

De’Sean Allen-Eikens is also a fifth-year player, and he leads the Matadors scoring 18.6 PPG. Imagine if the dude could make his free throws. He would be averaging 23-25 points a game if he had even a decent FT% but he just doesn’t. Considering how often he gets to the line, teams would rather see him there than give him an open shot, because he is only converting 50% of his free chances from the charity stripe over the last 10 games.

The Gauchos are 7 – 7 with their totals this season, so whatever happens tonight will push them either over or under by one game. Long Beach State is a team that likes to get into high-scoring games, and the Gauchos just handed the 49ers an 85- 76 beatdown in their last game.

The Gauchos play any style of game, and considering that the Matadors will want to run up and down all night too, I expect this to be an 86 – 82 game with just under 170 points scored. Take that 155 and smash it!

• Selection: Game Total Over 155 Points
• Best Odds: 1.91
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stakes: 4/10

NORTHRIDGE MATADORS VS SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS GAME INFO

• Friday, January 19th
• Time: 03:00 UK Time
• Venue: Premier America Credit Union Arena, Los Angeles, CA

NORTHRIDGE MATADORS VS SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS BETTING LINES

Odds are available as of January 18, 2023. Odds may now differ.

NORTHRIDGE MATADORS VS SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS TRENDS

• UC Santa Barbara has hit the 1H Game Total Over in 26 of their last 32 games.
• UC Santa Barbara has hit the Game Total Over in 20 of their last 32 games.
• Cal State Northridge has hit the 1H Game Total Over in 21 of their last 29 games.
• Cal State Northridge has hit the Team Total Over in 10 of their last 13 games at home.

NORTHRIDGE MATADORS VS SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS STATS AND FORM

Santa Barbara has won their last three games entering this contest, and this is their third streak of the season of at least 3 wins.

The Gauchos hold a 2 – 4 away record this year, and only one of those four losses was a close game.

The Gauchos offense ranks 4th in the country making 50.3 of their shots from the floor this year. In opposition to that, Santa Barbara only ranks 340th in the nation in field goal attempts, so they do try to wait for the best shots to take with a good inside presence helping out,

Northridge has won 8 of their last 9 games coming into this road game, and none of those opponents were able to hold them to less than 75 points.

The Matadors’ totals have also been a coin-flip this season, as 7 of their 15 games have hit the game total Over.

NORTHRIDGE MATADORS VS SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS WHERE TO WATCH

This game can be seen on ESPN+ for Subscribers at 7 PM Pacific Time (US).

SAFER GAMBLING

At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.