Who's Playing
UCSB Gauchos @ LMU Lions
Current Records: UCSB 7-3, LMU 5-4
How To Watch
- When: Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 10 p.m. ET
- Where: Gersten Pavilion -- Los Angeles, California
- TV: ESPN Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $2.02
What to Know
The UCSB Gauchos and the LMU Lions will compete for holiday cheer at 10:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Gersten Pavilion. The Gauchos are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 78.8 points per game this season.
UCSB took a loss when they played away from home last Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They took down Green Bay 83-66.
Meanwhile, LMU's game on Saturday was all tied up 32-32 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They skirted by Prairie View 76-75 on a last-minute layup from Will Johnston with but a second left in the second quarter. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Lions.
Among those leading the charge was Johnston, who went 6 for 10 en route to 23 points. What's more, he also posted a 60% field goal percentage, which is the highest he's posted since back in January. Another player making a difference was Aaron McBride, who went 6 for 8 en route to 12 points plus five rebounds and two blocks.
UCSB's win bumped their record up to 7-3. As for LMU, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a massive bump to their 5-4 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Wednesday's contest: UCSB has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 10.5 threes per game. However, it's not like LMU struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.7. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
UCSB is hoping to beat the odds on Wednesday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. This will be their first time playing as the underdogs on the road this season.
Odds
LMU is a slight 2.5-point favorite against UCSB, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Lions as a 1.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 141 points.
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Series History
UCSB has won 2 out of their last 3 games against LMU.
- Dec 16, 2023 - UCSB 68 vs. LMU 59
- Dec 12, 2020 - LMU 81 vs. UCSB 76
- Dec 07, 2020 - UCSB 69 vs. LMU 58