by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Feb 20, 2023
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Venue: University Credit Union Center, Davis, CA
Where to watch: ESPN+
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: UC Davis -8.5
FanDuel: UC Davis -8.5
BetMGM: UC Davis -8.5
Caesars: UC Davis -8.5
Season record
UC San Diego: 9-18 (4-11 Big West)
UC Davis: 15-12 (8-7 Big West)
February is here and the college basketball season is taking full shape. Conference races still to be determined, the top 25 completely in shambles for what seems like every week, and there's bound to be an upset what seems like every single week. But as the season continues to progress with what seems like exciting action every week, you know our champion handicappers continue to put the work in each and every week to not only make money for them, but to ensure you get money in your pocket. All you need to do is look at the last 30 days. Scott Rickenbach has reeled in a net profit of $14,000 with a 24-9-0 run on the college hardwood. Team Del Genio has killed it with a 13-1-0 run at +$11,900. Will Rogers (28-15-0) and Matt Fargo (40-27-0) have also seen five figures over the last 30 days with college basketball. Surely, you want to get on this winning as well. All you need to do is go to bigal.com, check out our Best Bets page and make sure you are following along on the action. March will be here before you know it! Take advantage of our best plays and find out what our champion handicappers are doing at bigal.com!
UC San Diego - UC Davis preview, prediction and analysis
The UC Davis Aggies will continue their last-ditch effort of getting a better seeding in the Big West Tournament when they host the UC San Diego Tritons on Monday.
The Aggies are currently 8-7 in conference play and are four games back of first place of UC Irvine. They’re likely not getting there, but they’re still in striking distance of getting into main competitor territory. They’re a half game of Long Beach State and 1.5 games back of Cal State Fullerton.
UC Davis, however, has lost three of its last four games with the latest being a 78-76 loss at UC Irvine in which they shot just 36% from the floor. Leading scorer Elijah Pepper finished with 32 points and was the only valuable scoring option in this game. Christian Anigwe finished with 17 points but went 5 of 15 from the floor to get there.
There’s only a handful of games remaining in the regular season, so there’s not a lot of time for ground to be made up unless these teams ahead of them keep falling down the pecking order but that doesn’t seem to be the case right now. Never underestimate those middle-pack teams that could make a run. UC Davis could be one of those.
UC San Diego doesn’t seem likely to make a run because they’re at the bottom of the Big West standings. Only two teams are worst than the Tritons’ run at 4-11 in conference play, and their nine wins this year are nowhere good enough to consider them as threats of any kind.
UC San Diego is coming off a 75-62 win, however, over Cal State Northridge on Saturday. That ended a five-game losing streak, so party hardy in San Diego was likely. Not sure entirely, but it’s great if they did.
Bryce Pope led the way with 24 points on an efficient 10 of 14 shooting, and if you can do that in a lower conference, clearly you have others that aren’t holding up the end of the bargain. To the surprise of no one, that’s what’s happening for UC San Diego.
Prediction
This time of year, you take the better team in this situation because you can’t trust the upset in a Big West game this time of year. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, as you’ve heard, from the college basketball folks. UC Davis 76, UC San Diego 70
Betting trends
UC Davis is 1-4 ATS in its last five home games.
UC San Diego is 4-0 ATS in its last four road games.
UC Davis is 17-20 ATS as a favorite the last 3 seasons.
Projected starting lineup
UC San Diego:
PG: Roddie Anderson III
SG: Bryce Pope
SF: Jace Roquemore
PF: Jake Kosakowski
C: Francis Nwaokorie
UC Davis:
PG: Ty Johnson
SG: Elijah Pepper
SF: Ade Adebayo
PF: Kane Milling
C: Christian Anigwe
Statistical leaders
UC San Diego:
Points: Bryce Pope -- 18.4
Rebounds: Francis Nwaokorie -- 7.0
Assists: Roddie Anderson III -- 3.6
UC Davis:
Points: Elijah Pepper -- 22.1
Rebounds: Elijah Pepper -- 5.9
Assists: Elijah Pepper -- 3.5
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this UC San Diego - UC Davis prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college basketball projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
