Washington State (12-3) vs San Francisco (13-3)
January 4, 2025 at 07:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Washington State -2.5 / San Francisco +2.5 — Over/Under: 151.5
The San Francisco Dons and the Washington State Cougars meet Saturday in college basketball action from Beasley Coliseum. Here’s a San Francisco vs Washington State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best San Francisco vs Washington State pick. We will examine:
The San Francisco Dons’ recent form and player performance
The Washington State Cougars’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the San Francisco Dons
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Washington State Cougars
Recent betting trends in games played between San Francisco and Washington State
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the San Francisco vs Washington State game
San Francisco Dons Betting Preview
San Francisco has looked pretty good so far this year, and they started out with four straight wins over Cal Poly, Boise State, Long Beach State, and Chicago State. The Dons would then lose consecutive games versus Memphis and Clemson but then took out Fordham, Mercyhurst, Saint Louis, Stanislaus State, and Loyola Chicago in the next five. A loss to Bradley came next, but it’s been four straight wins since then. San Francisco has dispatched Montana, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, and Pacific in that quartet for a 13-3 overall record so far.
In the Pacific game on Thursday, San Francisco was down 35-34 by halftime. The Dons found their groove in the second half however, taking a 55-46 run from there on the way to a comeback win 89-81. Leading the team in scoring was Malik Thomas with 24 points and four rebounds. Marcus Williams wasn’t far behind with his 22 points, seven assists, and three steals. Both Carlton Linguard (six rebounds) and Tyrone Riley (five rebounds; four assists) each scored 13 points. Topping the bench players was Robby Beasley with his six points and one assist.
Washington State Cougars Betting Preview
Over on the Washington State side, they managed a 6-1 run out of the gate this year. The lone loss in that span came versus Iowa. Otherwise, it was wins over Portland State, Bradley, Idaho, Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington, and Fresno State. Washington State took their second loss versus SMU on November 27, but they’ve hit another 6-1 run since then. The loss at that time was against Washington. Otherwise, it’s been a string of victories over Nevada, Boise State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Portland, and Loyola Marymount for a 12-3 record.
Matched up against Loyola Marymount on Monday, the Cougars held a tight 36-34 edge by the break. Washington State found their groove in the second half and scored 37 more points on the way to a 73-59 win, though. Nate Calmese was the team’s top contributor with 20 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Tomas Thrastarson put up 17 points with six boards, and Dane Erikstrup added 14 points with five rebounds, two steals, and two assists.
Why the Washington State Cougars will win
- Washington State has won each of its last 11 day games at Beasley Coliseum against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- San Francisco has lost the first half in three of its last four games against Conference opponents.
Why the San Francisco Dons will win
- San Francisco has won nine of its last 10 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
San Francisco vs Washington State Prediction
I’ll take a stab at San Francisco in this one. You could make an argument either way, though; it’ll be a fun matchup. The Dons had a little trouble with a pesky 5-12 Pacific team in their last outing, giving up 51.9 percent shooting from the field and getting out-rebounded 29-28. San Francisco hit 50.9 percent from the floor themselves though, with 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) from 3-point range in the comeback win. That makes 70 or more points in four straight games (all wins) for San Francisco.
As for Washington State, they started a bit slowly versus LMU in their last outing but everything worked out well after a big second half. The Cougars shot 49.1 percent from the field and had a big 38-29 rebounding advantage but also coughed up 18 turnovers for 17 LMU points. Washington State has 68 or more options in seven straight games (a 6-1 run), so San Francisco is really going to have to push on offense here. I think the Dons can do it if they have a good shooting outing, however. It’ll be a fun one to watch.