UCSB meets UC Riverside in Big West quarters

No. 6 seed UC Riverside (17-15, 7-9) vs. No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara (21-10, 10-6)

Big West Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Honda Center, Anaheim, California; Thursday, 4:30 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: A spot in the Big West semifinals is up for grabs as UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara prepare to do battle. UC Santa Barbara swept the two-game regular season series. The teams last played on Feb. 27, when the Gauchos shot 36.7 percent from the field and went 7 for 16 from 3-point territory en route to the five-point victory.

TEAM LEADERSHIP: The Highlanders are led by Arinze Chidom and Callum McRae. Chidom is averaging 10.8 points and six rebounds while McRae is putting up 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The Gauchos have been led by Amadou Sow and JaQuori McLaughlin, who are averaging 14.1 and 13.4 points, respectively.

CREATING OFFENSE: McLaughlin has either made or assisted on 48 percent of all UC Santa Barbara field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has nine field goals and 20 assists in those games.

UNBEATEN WHEN: The Gauchos are 13-0 when holding opponents to 42.4 percent or worse from the field, and 8-10 when opponents shoot better than that. The Highlanders are 6-0 when at least four of their players score in double-figures and 11-15 on the year otherwise.

ASSIST RATIOS: The Gauchos have recently gotten buckets via assists more often than the Highlanders. UC Santa Barbara has 43 assists on 60 field goals (71.7 percent) across its past three matchups while UC Riverside has assists on 30 of 62 field goals (48.4 percent) during its past three games.

STIFLING DEFENSE: UC Riverside has held opposing teams to 60.6 points per game this year, the ninth-lowest figure among all Division I teams.