The third-seeded Baylor Bears will look to start another deep NCAA Tournament run when they take on the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in a South Region first-round matchup in Denver on Friday. The Bears (22-10, 11-7), who have struggled of late, dropping four of their last six games, won the NCAA Tournament in 2021, but bowed out in the second round last year with a 93-86 overtime loss to North Carolina. The Gauchos (27-7, 15-5 Big West), who won their second Big West title in the past three years, are making their seventh NCAA Tournament trip. UC Santa Barbara is 1-6 in the tournament, posting a 70-66 win over Houston in 1990.

The game at Ball Arena will tip off at 1:30 p.m. ET. The Bears are favored by 10.5 points in the latest UC Santa Barbara vs. Baylor odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 141.5. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

Before making any UC Santa Barbara vs. Baylor picks, or NCAA Tournament selections, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters the 2023 NCAA Tournament 79-53 on all-top rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,300 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed the model has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows the Bears are led by freshman guard Keyonte George, who has reached double-digit scoring 23 times on the year. He has scored 20 or more points 11 times, and more than 30 once. He scored 32 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out two assists in an 83-78 win at West Virginia on Jan. 11. In 31 games, all starts, George averages 15.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.9 minutes of action.

But the model also knows Gauchos sophomore guard Ajay Mitchell went on a tear during the Big West Conference Tournament. He scored 20 or more points in all three games, including 28 in a 92-87 semifinal win over UC Riverside last Friday. He scored 20 points and added four assists and four rebounds in a 72-62 win over Cal State Fullerton in the title game on Saturday. In 34 games, all starts, Mitchell is averaging 16.4 points, 5.1 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals. He is connecting on 50.9% of his field goals and 81.5% of his free throws.

Now, the model has set its sights on UC Santa Barbara vs. Baylor. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in over 50% of simulations! You ABSOLUTELY need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins UC Santa Barbara vs. Baylor? And which side of the spread covers over 50% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the UC Santa Barbara vs. Baylor spread you should be all over Friday, all from the model on a roll on college basketball picks!