Pepperdine vs UC Santa Barbara Odds & Picks (Dec. 3)

• Pepperdine Waves ride a five-game SU losing streak into Friday night’s date with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
• Pepperdine is coming off a 79-66 loss in Nevada, while the Gauchos saw a 19-game home win streak snapped by Monday’s 70-62 loss to UT-Arlington
• Read on for the Pepperdine vs UC Santa Barbara odds and trends ahead of Friday’s clash at The Thunderdome

The Pepperdine Waves will be looking to snap a five-game straight up losing streak when they visit the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos on Friday as 9.5-point road underdogs. Tip off is set for 10:00pm ET on Friday night on the Gauchos’ home hardwood at The Thunderdome.

Pepperdine Waves vs UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Odds

Odds as of December 3rd, 2021 at FanDuel

Waves vs Gauchos Betting Trends

Friday night’s matchup marks the second meeting between these two teams in as many seasons. The Gauchos tallied a 75-63 win as 3.5-point underdogs in their most recent clash last December, and have now earned the SU win in each of their past five head-to-head clashes since December 2004. UCSB has also regularly paid out at the sportsbooks when facing Pepperdine, covering the spread in nine of 11 matchups since November 1998, including a 4-1 ATS run as the home team. The total has reached 138 or higher in three of the past four meetings between these clubs, but has gone well under 130 in each of the past four hosted by UCSB.

Pepperdine Waves Outlook

The Waves’ recent offensive woes continued in Tuesday’s 79-66 road loss to Nevada. Overall, Pepperdine has now averaged just 59.4 points per game during their current 0-5 SU run, which marks a major step back after Waves shooters racked up a respectable 68.5 points per game during a 2-2 SU start to their schedule. That trend has done nothing to boost the Waves already distant position in the Kenpom ratings, where they are pegged at No. 227 overall, and No. 231 in adjusted offence.

Pepperdine trailed by as many as 25 and dropped its matchup with Nevada 79-66.

Waves shot 33 percent from the field. Freshmen Houston Mallette (10) and Mike Mitchell, Jr. (12) were the only players in double figures.

Rough start continues, now 2-7 after their 5th straight loss.

— Zack Farmer (@postsbyzack) December 1, 2021

But while the Waves have mustered a field goal percentage of 35.1 or less in each of their past three defeats, there are some positives to watch for in this lineup. Houston Mallette has had an immediate impact in his collegiate debut. The freshman guard has continued to produce during the Waves current slide, posting double-digit point totals in each of his past three outings, and a team-high 12.3 points per game so far this season.

Took a very intriguing dive into Pepperdine's leading scorer, 6-5 FR G Houston Mallette. 21.8 PP per 100 possessions on 45 – 37 – 81 shooting splits & 1.286 PPP as a spot up scorer through nine.

The former @wceua star is a prolific movement shooter with a fluid, balanced stroke. pic.twitter.com/AwBO0saSHe

— Max Feldman (@MaxFeldman6) December 2, 2021

Another freshman has also been making his mark. Mike Mitchell Jr. drained a team-high 12 points in Monday’s loss to the Wolf Pack, and has averaged 4.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists during that stretch.

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Outlook

The Gauchos return to action after seeing a two-game SU win streak halted with Monday’s stunning 70-62 loss to UT-Arlington as heavy 12-point home chalk. In addition to dropping the team’s SU record on the season to 3-2, Monday’s loss also put the brakes on UCSB’s epic 19-game SU win streak on home hardwood. Despite that impressive record of success at home, the gauchos have struggled at times to reward loyal sports bettors when pegged as home favorites by nine or more points, going 7-13 ATS since January 2019.

UC Santa Barbara falls at home to UT Arlington 70-62. Gauchos are now 3-2 on the season.

UCSB Gauchos
Monster Game 🚨
Josh Pierre-Louis (Roselle Catholic) 7 Pts, 11 Rebs, 4 Asts & 2 Stls #GoGauchos #UCSB #NJHoopers https://t.co/DvT9KCGIrK

— NJ Hoopers (@Sean_Murphy_NJ) November 30, 2021

The flip side to that trend is the steady run for the UNDER, which has paid out in six of the Gauchos’ past eight as big home chalk. But despite failing to dominate at times on offence, UC Santa Barbara maintains a respectable rating at Kenpom, listed at No. 99 in adjusted offence.

Congratulations to Amadou Sow on being selected to both the PreseasonAll-Big West Coaches’ and Media Teams!#GoGauchos | @amadou_sow23 pic.twitter.com/kTr6TSX9si

— UC Santa Barbara Basketball (@UCSBbasketball) November 3, 2021

Amadou Sow deserves considerable credit for driving the Gauchos offence. The senior big man continued to impress in this week’s loss to the Wolf Pack, racking up 23 points and seven rebounds, and has now accounted for 25.7% of the total points scored by the Gauchos through their first five games of the season. In addition to leading the team in scoring, Sow has also recorded a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game, but recorded an uneven nine points and 12 rebounds when these two teams last met a year ago.

The Pick: Gauchos -9.5 (-105); OVER 137.5 (-115)