Who's Playing

Pacific Tigers @ Wash. State Cougars

Current Records: Pacific 5-13, Wash. State 13-3

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What to Know

Tigers fans better hope the squad plays one heck of a game on Thursday as the odds are decidedly against them. They and the Wash. State Cougars will face off in a West Coast battle at 9:30 p.m. ET at Wallis Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. The Tigers are no doubt hoping to put an end to a 20-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.

The experts predicted Pacific would be headed in after a win, but Pepperdine made sure that didn't happen. The contest between Pacific and Pepperdine on Saturday wasn't a total blowout, but with Pacific falling 87-70 at home it was darn close to turning into one.

Despite their loss, Pacific saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Elijah Fisher, who posted 18 points in addition to two steals, was perhaps the best of all. Petar Krivokapic was another key player, posting 14 points.

Meanwhile, Wash. State came tearing into Saturday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They rang in the new year with a 91-82 victory over the Dons. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.

Wash. State's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but LeJuan Watts led the charge by dropping a double-double on 24 points and 12 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Watts a new career-high in offensive rebounds (six). Another player making a difference was Ethan Price, who went 5 for 6 en route to 20 points plus five rebounds and four steals.

Pacific's defeat dropped their record down to 5-13. As for Wash. State, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pacific has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 37.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Wash. State struggles in that department as they've been averaging 37.4. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

While only Pacific took care of their fans the last time they played, neither team managed to cover. Looking forward, Wash. State is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 16.5 points. They might be worth a quick bet since they're sitting on a six game streak of covering the spread when playing as the favorites at home.

Odds

Wash. State is a big 16.5-point favorite against Pacific, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 16.5-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is 153.5 points.

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