Santa Clara vs. Washington State Odds
| Santa Clara Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5.5 -110 | 147.5 -110o / -110u | +200 |
| Washington State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5.5 -110 | 147.5 -110o / -110u | -250 |
A pair of West Coast NCAA tournament hopefuls will meet in Phoenix for the Jerry Colangelo Classic. The 8-1 Washington State Cougars from the Pac-12 and 7-4 Santa Clara Broncos from the WCC meet.
Santa Clara Broncos
The Broncos have fared well against Pac-12 opponents, beating Oregon and Stanford and losing to California. It’s not surprising for Santa Clara to compete against high-major programs because Herb Sendek has build a strong talent base from the transfer portal.
Santa Clara won the battle of the paint against Utah State’s Great Osobor on Wednesday, so 7-footers Christoph Tilly and Francisco Caffaro should fare well against Isaac Jones and Oscar Cluff.
In its last three games against D-I opponents, Santa Clara has allowed 84+ points. That’s not good enough to beat good teams.
Santa Clara just needs to stay disciplined, focus less on gambling for steals and stay focused on team defense. From a talent perspective, the Broncos possess ideal length and individual defensive ability — it just comes down to execution.
Carlos Marshall Jr. and Adama Bal give Santa Clara the backcourt matchup advantage. Both average 14 points, and Bal has a pair of 20+ point outings against Pac-12 schools already. He’s the best scorer in this game on either team.
At 6-foot-6, Bal’s mixture of athleticism and shooting is difficult to contain.
Washington State Cougars
Kyle Smith remarkably has Washington State sitting 8-1 with a top-50 KenPom rating after losing all five starters. Myles Rice and Jones each average 15+ points, making this a dangerous inside-outside duo.
Rice came back after missing last season with a cancer diagnosis, and he’s morphed into an elite scoring guard. He’s scored 18+ points on four different occasions. Rice will need another strong performance against a stout Broncos team.
While Washington State is unbeaten, its non-conference schedule was crafted to beat bad teams. KenPom ranks the Cougars' non-conference schedule 343rd nationally — Mississippi State is the lone opponent in KenPom’s top-100.
Washington State’s ideal offensive philosophy is slowing the game down and driving the ball inside. Three of the Cougs' starters are non-shooters, and two bigs play together nearly the entire game.
In contrast, Wazzu is shooting 58% from the 2-point range, which ranks 15th nationally. Even if the inside shots don’t fall, playing double-bigs will allow for offensive rebounding opportunities.
Santa Clara vs. Washington State
Betting Pick & Prediction
I’m a metrics guy at heart, but the metrics favor Washington State too much. When you schedule a bunch of 150-to-250 ranked KenPom teams, it’s expected you win by double digits.
The Cougars face their second-toughest test of the season against a school plenty capable of beating teams in its conference.
I’ll take the points with Santa Clara for my official pick. I also think Santa Clara has enough talent to beat the Cougs outright — if you so choose to take the plus-money bet.
Pick: Santa Clara +6
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