UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs New Mexico Lobos Prediction, 12/6/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs New Mexico Lobos

Date: Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Location: The Pit in Albuquerque, NM

TV: ESPN+

The Pit is the site where the New Mexico Lobos (7-1) will take on the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (4-2) on Wednesday.

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos faced Northern Arizona and walked away with a win by a score of 70-59 in their last game. UC Santa Barbara finished the contest having earned a 47.2% field goal percentage (25 out of 53) and buried 5 of 15 shots from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, the Gauchos buried 15 of 21 tries for a percentage of 71.4%. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 36 with 8 of them being offensive. They also dished out 11 assists for this contest while forcing 9 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing defending, UC Santa Barbara allowed the other team to shoot 38.6% from the field on 22 out of 57 shooting. Northern Arizona earned 11 dimes and had 6 steals for the matchup. In addition, Northern Arizona had 23 boards (4 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Northern Arizona walked away from this one shooting 72.7% from the charity stripe by knocking down 8 of their 11 tries. They buried 7 out of their 26 shots from long range. When it comes to personal fouls, the Gauchos left the arena with 12 and Northern Arizona accumulated 17 personal fouls.

Ajay Mitchell is someone who was a contributor for the game. He scored 30 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 35 mins played and totaled 4 boards. He finished 60.0% from the floor and earned 5 dimes.

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UC Santa Barbara comes into this game with a win-loss mark of 4-2 for the season. They turn the ball over 15.2 times per contest and as a squad they commit 15.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, UC Santa Barbara is snagging 39.0 rebounds per game and has tallied 94 assists on the campaign, which is 247th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Gauchos are shooting 37.2% from downtown (35 of 94) and 73.8% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 79.7 points per game (89th in the country) while connecting on 53.2% from the field.

On defense, the Gauchos are able to force 8.8 turnovers per game while drawing 18.7 personal fouls. They give up 30.7% on three-point shots and they are ranked 250th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (74.3). Gauchos defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.1% (169 of 383) and they relinquish 28.7 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 42nd in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 71 relinquished on the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the New Mexico Lobos got the win with a final of 106-62 against New Mexico State. The Lobos were able to snag 19 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 26 in the game. They gave up possession of the ball 6 times, while getting 10 steals in the matchup. New Mexico State committed 29 fouls for the matchup which got the Lobos to the charity stripe for a total of 41 attempts. They were able to convert 28 of the free throws for a rate of 68.3%. When it comes to shooting from 3-point land, New Mexico converted 14 of their 25 tries (56.0%). In all, the Lobos finished the game shooting 32 out of 53 from the field which had them shooting 60.4%. The Lobos allowed New Mexico State to bury 19 out of their 48 attempts from the field which had them shooting 39.6% in the game. They shot 16.7% from distance via 3 of 18 and ended up going 21 out of 28 at the free throw line (75.0%). When it comes to team rebounding, New Mexico permitted New Mexico State to collect 26 in total (8 on the offensive side).

Jaelen House pitched in for the Lobos for this game. He racked up 28 points in his 26 minutes of playing time and had 4 dimes in this contest. He buried 9 of 11 in the matchup giving him a rate of 81.8%, and had 3 rebounds.

New Mexico has a mark of 7-1 on the campaign. The Lobos commit 18.6 personal fouls every game while shooting 70.0% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 16.9 times per game (36th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 9.9 times per game. New Mexico has scored 684 pts so far this year (85.5 per game) and they average 41.1 boards per contest. As an offense, the Lobos are shooting 47.3% from the field, which is ranked 71st in the country.

The Lobos on the defensive side of the court are 125th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 68.1. They are forcing their opponents into 14.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 39.9% from the floor (65th in Division 1). The New Mexico defense surrenders 31.6% on 3-pointers (54 of 171) and their opponents are knocking down 70.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 11.8 dimes and 35.3 boards per contest, which ranks them 129th and 185th in D-1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New Mexico

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