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The Santa Barbara Gauchos (19-4) and the UC Irvine Anteaters (16-8) have been the clear-cut best teams in the Big West during the 2020-21 college basketball season and on Saturday they'll go head-to-head for the 2021 Big West Tournament championship game. The Gauchos lost twice to the Anteaters in late December, but went 14-1 in conference play the rest of the way to claim the No. 1 seed and the regular-season crown. Meanwhile, UC Irvine is riding a six-game winning streak into Saturday's showdown at 11:30 p.m. ET in Michelob Ultra Arena on the Las Vegas strip with a spot in the 2021 NCAA Tournament on the line.

The Anteaters have won and covered in each of the last three head-to-head matchups between these two California institutions. However, the Gauchos are still three-point favorites with the over-under for total points at 127 in the latest Santa Barbara vs. UC Irvine odds from William Hill Sportsbook. Before entering any UC Irvine vs. Santa Barbara picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of over $2,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. It has also returned over $400 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Santa Barbara vs. UC Irvine. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for UC Irvine vs. Santa Barbara:

  • Santa Barbara vs. UC Irvine spread: Santa Barbara -3
  • Santa Barbara vs. UC Irvine over-under: 127 points
  • Santa Barbara vs. UC Irvine money line: Santa Barbara -150, UC Irvine +130
  • UCSB: The Gauchos rank 21st in the nation in scoring defense (62.8)
  • UCI: The Anteaters ranked third nationally in field-goal percentage allowed (38.2)

What you need to know about Santa Barbara

After winning a 95-87 shootout over Long Beach State in their first 2021 Big West Tournament game, Santa Barbara got back to its core principles in a 71-55 win over UC Davis on Friday. The Gauchos limited the Aggies to just 5-of-19 from the 3-point line Santa Barbara forced its way to the free-throw line 34 times (28-of-34) en route to the win.

Amadou Sow had 23 points and seven rebounds in the win after putting up 20 points and nine boards in the opening-round win over Long Beach State. Sow is averaging 13.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season while Oregon State transfer Jaquori McLaughlin is leading the team in scoring (15.9 ppg) on the season.

What you need to know about UC Irvine

The Anteaters enter Saturday's contest having allowed just two of their last 16 opponents to shoot better than 40 percent from the floor. On Friday, UC Irvine limited UC Riverside to just 34.4 percent shooting in a 78-61 romping to earn its way into the Big West title game.

Collin Welp and Dawson Baker combined to lead all scorers with 17 points each, while DJ Davis kicked in 14 points off the bench. Welp is averaging 14.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game to lead the Anteaters in both categories and combined for 27 points and 17 rebounds in the two wins over Santa Barbara earlier this season.

How to make Santa Barbara vs. UC Irvine picks

The model is leaning over on the total, projecting the teams to combine for 136 points. It also says one side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Santa Barbara vs. UC Irvine? And which side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college basketball picks.