Cal State-Fullerton at UC-Santa Barbara, 10:00 PM Eastern, bigwest.tv
The Under the Radar Game of the Day heads west tonight to Santa Barbara, California and Big West action as the UCSB Gauchos play host to the Cal State-Fullerton Titans. Despite UCSB entering tonight’s game with some of the best metrics in the conference, including the league’s top KenPom rating, the Gauchos are only 1-2 in league play after a loss this past weekend at Hawai’i. All five starters did score in double figures for UCSB in the loss, though the team only got 6 points from the bench. If they cannot develop some more depth, it will be difficult to see this team holding up through the 15 remaining games of the conference slate.
The team that surprisingly is sitting in first place in the Big West, at 4-0 in conference play, is Cal State-Fullerton. The Titans’ wins include a victory at Cal Poly, a place that UCSB could not win. Jackson Rowe had a huge game in the Cal Poly win, scoring 24 points while pulling down a dozen rebounds. If he and his teammates can step up again tonight, Fullerton has a chance to move three games ahead of UCSB in the early league standings and solidify themselves as the team to beat this season.