Washington State travels to Washington on Thursday night in a battle of in-state foes.
Neither team is going to make an NCAA Tournament appearance unless they go on a run and win the PAC-12 Tournament next week, but will like to claim some bragging rights over their respective rivals. Washington State won the first meeting, 56-51, back on February 11th at home, can they complete the season sweep?
Washington State vs. Washington odds, spread and total
Washington State Cougars @ Washington Huskies | Odds by DraftKings
Washington State vs. Washington prediction and pick
Quietly, Washington has been shutting down PAC-12 offenses for a month. Since February 1st, the Huskies have the eighth best defense in the country according to Bart Torvik.
The team is 13th in effective field goal percentage allowed and forcing turnovers at a top 75 rate. They will be facing a Washington State offense that isn’t blowing anyone away on offense, and is particularly struggling on the interior (338th in two-point field goal percentage), and it won’t get any easier on the road, where the team has the third worst away from home rating in the country, per Haslametrics.
Now, Washington’s offense isn’t on fire anyway, but they play at a fast tempo, top 50 over the last month, which is problematic for a Wazzu defense that is 223rd in effective field goal percentage allowed in transition at a national average rate.
Simply put, I can’t trust this Cougars team to show up on the road and handle the ball pressure from the Huskies in a rivalry setting. Give me the small home dog to win outright.
WASH
+105
moneyline
Washington State Cougars @ Washington Huskies
03/02 10:00 PM
NCAAB • 2022-23 Week of Feb 27
If the Washington Huskies win, a $10 bet on them will win you $10.50, for a total payout of $20.50.
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