NCAA Tournament: Baylor vs. UC Santa Barbara Odds & Prediction

3rd seeded Baylor takes on 14th seeded UCSB as Baylor looks to win their second national title in three years. 

Baylor had a strong regular season, finishing with a 22-10 record, but they didn’t perform as well as expected in conference play, going 11-8. Nonetheless, they are still +2500 to win the national title. The team lost their first game of the Big 12 conference tournament to Iowa State, 78-72. However, Baylor has an impressive list of quality wins this year, including victories against Texas, Kansas, UCLA, and Gonzaga.

Keyonte George, a 5-star recruit from high school, has been a standout player for the Bears. As a freshman guard, he leads the team with 15.8 points per game and makes an average of 2.5 three-pointers per game.

UCSB had an outstanding regular season, finishing with a 27-7 overall record, and an 18-5 conference record. They clinched the Big West tournament title with a score of 72-62 against CSU Fullerton, securing their seventh appearance in the tournament.

However, the Gauchos face a challenge in the tournament due to their relatively weak strength of schedule, having not played any Power Five teams this season. This could pose a problem for them when facing stronger competition such as Baylor. Ajay Mitchell has been a standout player for UCSB, leading the team in scoring with an average of 16.4 points per game and shooting at an impressive 50.9% clip.

Baylor is going to hit UCSB with haymakers early and often and run away with this one, easily covering the 10.5 point spread 

​​Score Prediction: 81-64, Baylor