Stanford vs Washington State Pac-12 Basketball Betting Preview
Stanford vs Washington State Predictions and Odds
WagerTalk college basketball handicapper Tony Finn offers his Stanford vs Washington State Pac-12 basketball preview for Thursday, February 3. At the time of posting, the Cougars have climbed to a 3.5-point road favorite at Stanford, with the total sitting at 132 points.
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| Thursday, February 3 | Pac-12 Basketball Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Stanford Cardinal +3.5 vs Washington State Cougars |
| Total: | 132 Points |
| Game Time: | 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT |
| Arena: | Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, California |
| TV: | Pac-12 Network |
Stanford vs Washington State Analysis
The upstart and surprising Washington State Cougars (12-7, 5-3 Pac 12) are in the Bay Area to square off against conference rival Stanford. The Cardinals (13-7, 6-4 Pac 12) host this Thursday night conference tilt with a scheduled tipoff at 9:00pm ET inside Maples Pavilion.
Washington State sports a solid three-game winning streak and oppose a Cardinal squad that doesn’t lose on home grass. Stanford is 9-1 in their last ten home games. The teams will play their second of two regular-season contests tonight. The Cardinal won the previous face-off by a 62-57 final on January 13.
The Cougars have earned consecutive wins over California, Utah, and Colorado. Stanford’s victory over the Cougars in mid-January presents the opportunity for the Cougars to execute a season sweep over Washington State. Stanford was defensively elite in their last matchup. Stanford earned a 57-50 home win over California this past Tuesday.
As a road favorite, the Washington State Cougars are a perfect 5-0 against the spread across their last five games. As a home underdog, the Stanford Cardinals are 5-1 ATS in their previous six games. The Under the Total has cashed at a 12-1 clip in the Cougars’ last 13 games as a favorite, while Stanford has earned against the spread winners in each of the program’s previous five games as a dog, sporting a perfect 5-0 mark.
Circa Race and Sportsbook in downtown Las Vegas positioned the visiting Washington State Cougars as 2-point road chalk on the Wednesday night college basketball overnight line with a total of 131.5. This matchup has garnered as much attention as any of the Pac 12 matchups currently lined. The Cougars have captured respected money for a couple of sharp groups and appear poised to oppose the Cardinal tonight as the road chalk.
In recent years, Stanford has dominated the Cougars, winning 15 of 17 overall and seven straight at home. The last time the Cougars won on Stanford soil was 61-58 in January of 2011.
Cougars Can Shoot
Washington State got off to a 5-0 start this season. However, the Cougars have since suffered through some nagging injuries, COVID, and some in-game hurdles that we’re unable to clear.
After earning victories in the opening five games of the regular season, it wasn’t until mid-January until the Cougars could manage to put back-to-back wins together. The Pullman squad has neither a signature nor quality win this season.
WSU boasts seven capable guards, led by senior Michael Flowers and junior Noah Williams. The versatility of the Cougars in terms of scheme and the defensive savvy of this roster makes them a tough out regardless of what the numbers on the stat sheet suggest.
This Thursday night event in the Bay Area will say a lot about where this Cougars troupe will be going.
“This weekend will say a lot about us moving forward, just how we come out and play,” WSU coach Kyle Smith told the media in his Tuesday presser. “If we come out and compete hard, then let the chips fall where they may. We’ll see if we can get one or two of these on the road. That’d be a big boost going into the last stretch of the league (play),” coach Smith added.
Defense is the Cougars’calling card and the reason for their recent success, their three-game winning streak. They held Cal, Utah, and Colorado to an average of 51.3 points, 57, 54, and 43 points allowed, respectively. Those games followed the 62 they surrendered in the loss to Stanford.
Cards Feel Disrespected
Stanford has faced the home dog role on three occasions this season, and when all has been said and done, Stanford owns a 2-1 ATS mark in those events. The book’s three contests that positioned the Cardinal as home dogs was a mid-November event against Oregon, which Stanford won straight up as one-point home pups. The Cardinal were underdogs against the USC Trojans on January 11. The Cards were getting six-plus points in the matchup. Stanford defeated the Trojan by six points as six-and-a-half point chalk.
Stanford defeated Cal despite shooting just 42.0 percent for the game. Jaiden Delaire, who connected for 12 points, spoke about teammates and the selflessness of his teammates. This student-athlete group is motivated and poised to be a competitive group against the visiting Cougars.
Stanford got off to a 10-4 start this season, with three of those losses coming against ranked programs.
The Cardinal lost three of five games when faced with a handful of tough matchups that included Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, USC, and UCLA.
Stanford has the experience, the basketball savvy, and is battle-tested. The icing on this Pac 12 cake is that they are at home and getting points tonight.
Stanford vs Washington State Forecast
Stanford has a handful of quality wins, including a sweep of conference rival USC. However, this Stanford squad led by Jerod Haase, a former Jayhawk shooting guard, has an opportunity to execute a second league sweep tonight in their contest against the Cougars of Washington State.
KenPom ranks the Cougars as the 35th best team in Division I, and in a game where a coin flip could well be the best way to forecast a winner, the Real College Capper would argue with you on that point. However, the honest take in this Thursday night matchup is taking the home team getting points.
WagerTalk pick to click is a play on the Stanford Cardinal plus the points.
College Basketball Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his College Basketball Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Thursday’s sheet, with notes on this Stanford vs Washington State contest.
Happy Hour Tip-Off Show
Get your daily fix of college hoops betting information with Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of handicapping guests. The Happy Hour Tip-Off Show will broadcast Monday through Friday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT. Pull up a barstool and join us as we break down tonight’s college basketball card, including this Stanford vs Washington State clash, from a sports betting perspective.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the college basketball point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Thursday’s NCAAB games, including this Stanford vs Washington State showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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