UCSD Tritons (7-6, 1-0 Big West) at UCSB Gauchos (7-5, 0-2 Big West)
Santa Barbara, California; Thursday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UCSB hosts the UCSD Tritons after Ajay Mitchell scored 39 points in UCSB’s 79-77 loss to the UC Riverside Highlanders.
The Gauchos are 5-1 on their home court. UCSB is 1-0 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 13.1 turnovers per game.
The Tritons are 1-0 against Big West opponents. UCSD ranks sixth in the Big West with 35.2 rebounds per game led by Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones averaging 5.8.
UCSB makes 51.2% of its shots from the field this season, which is 9.6 percentage points higher than UCSD has allowed to its opponents (41.6%). UCSD averages 76.5 points per game, 1.4 more than the 75.1 UCSB allows.
The Gauchos and Tritons match up Thursday for the first time in Big West play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cole Anderson is shooting 40.5% from beyond the arc with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Gauchos, while averaging 10.8 points. Mitchell is averaging 20.9 points and 3.7 assists over the past 10 games for UCSB.
Hayden Gray is averaging 10.3 points, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals for the Tritons. Bryce Pope is averaging 16.8 points over the last 10 games for UCSD.
LAST 10 GAMES: Gauchos: 7-3, averaging 81.4 points, 39.4 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 3.9 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 51.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.0 points per game.
Tritons: 4-6, averaging 71.4 points, 34.6 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 6.2 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 41.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.5 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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