Pacific vs Washington State Prediction 1/9/25 College Basketball Picks

The Pacific Tigers and the Washington State Cougars meet Thursday in college basketball action from Beasley Coliseum. Here’s a Pacific vs Washington State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Pacific vs Washington State pick. We will examine:

The Pacific Tigers’ recent form and player performance

The Washington State Cougars’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Pacific Tigers

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Washington State Cougars

Recent betting trends in games played between Pacific and Washington State

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Pacific vs Washington State game

Pacific Tigers Betting Preview

Pacific’s season opened up on a nice three-game win streak, but things have hit the skids in a major way since then. The Tigers beat Jessup University, San Jose State, and Life Pacific in that opening trio, then lost to Hawaii, Northern Arizona, Arkansas, and Missouri in the next quartet. Pacific would beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Cal State Fullerton in the ensuing pair, then hit a rough losing streak after that. The Tigers have fallen to Colorado, Illinois State, UNLV, Portland State, Idaho, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, and Pepperdine in the last nine outings, resulting in a 5-13 opening run through 18 games so far this season.

In the Pepperdine matchup on Saturday, the Tigers came out of halftime looking up at a 40-28 deficit on the scoreboard. Pacific kept the pace better from there on a 47-42 run but ended up losing pretty significantly 87-70. Leading team scorer Elijah Fisher logged 18 points with three rebounds and two steals. Elias Ralph added 16 points with six rebounds, and Petar Krivokapic put up 14 points with three rebounds and two assists to lead the bench scorers.

Washington State Cougars Betting Preview

Over on the Washington State side, they won their first three games this year over Portland State, Bradley, and Idaho before their first loss to Iowa. Another three-game win streak would come afterward over Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington, and Fresno State before another loss to SMU. yet another three-game win streak over Nevada, Boise State, and Missouri State came next, then a loss to Washington. The Cougars broke the cycle with wins in their next four games, though. Those victories were over Northern Iowa and Portland. Loyola Marymount and San Francisco for a 13-3 stretch through 16 games this year.

Matched up against San Francisco over the weekend, the Cougars held a 49-48 halftime deficit. Washington State woke up after the break however, hitting a 43-33 run the rest of the way for a comeback win 91-82 in the end. Leading the team in scoring with a double-double was LeJuan Watts with 24 points and 12 boards alongside five assists. All five starters finished with double-digit points, including Ethan Price with 20 points and five rebounds with three steals, and Dane Erikstrup with 18 points and nine rebounds in 34 minutes of work.

Why the Washington State Cougars will win

• Pacific has lost each of its last 22 games against Conference opponents.
• Washington State has won 12 of its last 13 games at Beasley Coliseum against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Washington State has won the first half in 10 of its last 11 night games.

Pacific vs Washington State Prediction

I’ll probably stay with Washington State here, even with the hefty line. The Cougars initially had a little trouble shaking off a pesky San Francisco team in their last game, but everything worked out well in the end. Washington State shot a nice 49 percent from the field with 82.9 percent (34-of-41) from the line and 40 rebounds but did cough up 13 turnovers for 17 Dons points. That makes 68 or more points in every game during this current 7-1 stretch, and 73 or more in seven of those eight.

As for Pacific, they gave up 57.4 percent shooting to Pepperdine in their last game and had 15 turnovers for 22 Waves points. The Tigers have some pretty good scoring totals during this current losing streak, but they’re also giving up a lot on the other side. Washington State shouldn’t have any issues scoring in this one.