Santa Barbara vs Hawaii prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball

It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Santa Barbara-Hawaii prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Santa Barbara-Hawaii.

Thursday night, if you follow college basketball closely every year, is a night for West Coast hoops. Thursday nights offer plenty of West Coast Conference basketball with Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. Thursdays bring Oregon and Washington-based schools onto the schedule. Thursdays also involve Big West Conference basketball, and that leads us into this late-night fight between the Santa Barbara Gauchos and the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

Both teams in this matchup are struggling. UCSB is 8-5, Hawaii 8-4. Neither team has won a conference game so far this season. UCSB is 0-2, Hawaii 0-1. The urgency of this moment is readily apparent for both sides. If either team wants to make a run at the conference championship and remain a factor in the conference standings, it simply can’t lose this game. Santa Barbara cannot fall into an 0-3 hole. Hawaii’s margin for error is not much greater, if at all.

Four teams in the Big West are 2-0 in league play. A fifth team — UC Irvine, which has been one of the better programs in the conference over the past several seasons under head coach Russell Turner — is 1-0 in the conference. UCSB and Hawaii aren’t battling one or two teams for the conference lead. They are battling five teams. It’s already a big uphill climb, so a loss here makes life that much more difficult. For January 2, this is a pretty big basketball game.

Rust is something to watch for in this game. Hawaii hasn’t played in a full week. It did not play this past weekend. UCSB has not played a game against a Division I opponent since December 22 against Missouri State. The Gauchos had a glorified scrimmage versus a non-Division I opponent this past weekend. It remains to be seen how sharp either of these teams are going to be after the holidays.

Both teams struggle to score against good opposition. Hawaii got absolutely smothered by Nebraska in its Christmas tournament, and wasn’t that much better against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, needing overtime to inch past 70 points in that particular game. UCSB failed to score 60 points in recent losses to Missouri State and Loyola Marymount. The team which can solve its problems at the offensive end of the floor is the team most likely to win this game.

Here are the Santa Barbara-Hawaii College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel 

College Basketball Odds: Santa Barbara-Hawaii Odds

Santa Barbara: +2.5 (-115)

Moneyline: +114

Hawaii: -2.5 (-105)

Moneyline: -137

Over: 135.5 (-110)

Under: 135.5 (-110)

How to Watch Santa Barbara vs Hawaii

Time: 11:59 p.m. ET/8:59 p.m. PT

TV: ESPN Plus

*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*

Why Santa Barbara Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Gauchos are getting — not giving — points in a game which feels like a toss-up. That alone is reason to think the Gauchos will cover the spread in a battle of evenly-matched teams.

Why Hawaii Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Rainbow Warriors really tested themselves in their holiday tournament. They did lose to Nebraska, but playing Big Ten competition should toughen up this team and make it more prepared to handle stressful situations and adverse moments in conference play. Santa Barbara, meanwhile, played a low-end cupcake game. Hawaii’s tougher schedule should become a factor here, and the ‘Bows are at home, too.

Final Santa Barbara-Hawaii Prediction & Pick

Our lean is to Hawaii, but we advise that you stay away from this game. Pass.

Final Santa Barbara-Hawaii Prediction & Pick: Hawaii -2.5