Picks, prediction for Baylor vs. UC Santa Barbara in First Round of 2023 NCAA Tournament

The No. 3 Baylor Bears (22-10, 11-7 Big 12) will take the floor for a matchup with the No. 14 seed UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (27-7, 15-5 Big West) on Friday afternoon. The game will get started at 1:30 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, and can be seen on TNT.

Let’s take a look at the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook and make some picks.

No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 UC Santa Barbara picks

Spread: Baylor -10.5
Over/Under: 154
Moneyline: Baylor -610, UC Santa Barbara +460

Baylor finished in a tie for third place in the Big 12 standings with a loss in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. The Bears have been without Langston Love since late February with an eye injury, and his status for Friday is unclear. UC Santa Barbara earned a share of the Big West regular season title and won the tournament to claim the conference’s automatic bid.

The Bears will bring one of the best offenses in the country into the NCAA Tournament as they rate second in KenPom adjusted efficiency on that end of the floor, but their defense is outside the top 100. On the other side, the Gauchos are nearly 100 KenPom spots better offensively than defensively, so both defenses are likely to get stops in this contest.

Pick: Over 154