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It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Hawaii-Santa Barbara prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Hawaii-Santa Barbara.
These two teams met roughly five weeks ago. We wrote about the game that “Both teams struggle to score against good opposition. Hawaii got absolutely smothered by Nebraska in its Christmas tournament, and wasn't that much better against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, needing overtime to inch past 70 points in that particular game. UCSB failed to score 60 points in recent losses to Missouri State and Loyola Marymount. The team which can solve its problems at the offensive end of the floor is the team most likely to win this game.”
The final score of that early-January meeting between these teams in Hawaii? UCSB won, 64-61. The Gauchos cashed a +114 moneyline ticket. They went off as a 2.5-point underdog and covered. The over-under total was 135.5, so the under covered fairly easily. Bettors will want to keep all of that background information in mind entering this rematch in Santa Barbara.
Since the first game played between these two teams in 2025, neither team has been especially strong, though UCSB has moved to 7-5 in the Big West Conference and has a decent chance to finish in the upper half of the league. Hawaii is 5-7 and has not shown as much staying power in the conference. These are two teams in search of consistency in the middle of the conference season. Will one of them be able to get hot over the next month and become the dangerous team no one will want to face at the Big West Tournament? Let's find out.
Here are the Hawaii-Santa Barbara College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Hawaii-Santa Barbara Odds
Hawaii: +5.5 (-114)
Moneyline: +180
Santa Barbara: -5.5 (-106)
Moneyline: -220
Over: 136.5 (-110)
Under: 136.5 (-110)
How to Watch Hawaii vs Santa Barbara
Time: 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN Plus
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Hawaii Will Cover The Spread/Win
Santa Barbara has lost three of its last six games. The Gauchos have their good moments, but they have not lasted an especially long time. This team might play well for a week and a half but ultimately does regress before too long. A 7-5 conference record is not terrible, but it is not especially impressive. UCSB is more a middle-of-the-pack team in the Big West than one of the foremost contenders for the conference championship. Hawaii is getting almost six full points on the spread and has a very reasonable chance of being able to keep this game very close. Santa Barbara's most recent game was a six-point win over Cal State Bakersfield, a team which is four games under .500 in both the Big West Conference and overall. If UCSB struggled to beat Bakersfield, Hawaii — a slightly better team than Bakersfield — should be able to get under that 5.5-point spread.
Why Santa Barbara Will Cover The Spread/Win
In the win over Hawaii one month ago, Stephan Swenson had 21 points and seven assists for the Gauchos. That was a road game at Hawaii. Here at home in the rematch, Swenson should be able to do at least as well as he did last time, if not better. That's one reason to think Santa Barbara — which won by three on the road at Hawaii — can win by at least six points here. If you believe in the general rule of sports comparisons that home court is worth three points relative to a neutral floor, and six points relative to a road game, you should back UCSB here. The Gauchos won by three in Hawaii. They might be six points better than Hawaii on a neutral floor. They should be nine points better at home. That would cover the 5.5-point spread.
Hawaii has lost four of its last five, scoring fewer than 67 points in the four losses. The Rainbow Warriors' offense really got stuck on Thursday. They fell apart down the stretch and faded late in a loss to Cal Poly, which has a losing record this season. UCSB really should be able to extend its margin as the second half unfolds.
Final Hawaii-Santa Barbara Prediction & Pick
Hawaii looked tired late in the Cal Poly loss. The Rainbow Warriors are on a road trip in the middle of the season. They might be hitting a wall. The spread is not that large. Take Santa Barbara.
Final Hawaii-Santa Barbara Prediction & Pick: Santa Barbara -5.5
