UC Santa Barbara (16-3, 12-2) vs. UC Riverside (10-6, 7-4)
Student Recreation Center, Riverside, California; Friday, 11 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UC Santa Barbara looks for its 13th straight conference win against UC Riverside. UC Santa Barbara’s last Big West loss came against the UC Irvine Anteaters 73-69 on Dec. 28, 2020. UC Riverside lost 83-82 in overtime at UC San Diego in its most recent game.
SAVVY VETERANS: Each of these teams has relied heavily on their seniors this year. Zyon Pullin, Arinze Chidom, Jock Perry and Dominick Pickett have combined to account for 62 percent of UC Riverside’s scoring this season. For UC Santa Barbara, JaQuori McLaughlin, Amadou Sow, Miles Norris and Devearl Ramsey have collectively accounted for 57 percent of all UC Santa Barbara scoring, including 70 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.
FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: McLaughlin has either made or assisted on 44 percent of all UC Santa Barbara field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 12 field goals and 20 assists in those games.
STREAK SCORING: UC Santa Barbara has won its last six road games, scoring 81 points, while allowing 64.2 per game.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Gauchos have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Highlanders. UC Riverside has 45 assists on 87 field goals (51.7 percent) across its past three games while UC Santa Barbara has assists on 50 of 73 field goals (68.5 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: UC Riverside has made 9.9 3-pointers per game this season, which is second-best among Big West teams. The Highlanders have averaged 11.8 3-pointers per game over their last five games.
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