It’s a pair of ranked Pac-12 teams getting together on Thursday in College Basketball. The Washington State Cougars are on the road at the Arizona Wildcats. Both teams come into the game at the top of the Pac-12 standings.
The Washington State Cougars, ranked 21st in the nation, are 20-6 on the season. The Cougars have won seven straight games, and nine out of their last 10. The Cougars are coming off a win at home over Stanford.
For Arizona, they are also red hot. The fourth ranked team in the nation sit at 20-5 overall. The Wildcats have won six straight games, and 8 out of their last 10. Arizona is coming off a 45 point thrashing over the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Cougars beat Arizona 73-70 back in January.
Arizona is -11.5 at home in this game.
Surprising Cougars
The last time Washington State lost a game, it was on the road at California. The Cougars fell 81-75 in that game. Since the loss, they have wins over Utah, Colorado, Washington, Oregon State, Oregon, California and Stanford. In their last four wins, they are allowing an average of less than 60 points per game.
On the offensive side, the Cougars are scoring 75.5 points per game. Myles Rice leads the team in scoring with 15.9 per game. Four players from Washington State are scoring double digits per game. Second on the squad is Isaac Jones, who had back to back double doubles in late January, and has scored double figures in each game since January 6th.
Washington State is at Arizona State on Saturday, and then will finish the final three games of the regular season at home. The Cougars will host USC on the 29th, UCLA on March 2nd and Washington on the 7th.
High Flying Wildcats
For Arizona, they have not lost a game since the January 25th defeat at Oregon State. During their six game winning streak, the Wildcats have scored 82 or more in each game, and four of them have been 91 or more. On the season, Arizona is scoring 90.7 per game, which is tied for best in the country
The Wildcats are led in scoring by Caleb Love. Love is scoring 18.8 points per game. The WIldcats have used the same starting five for all 25 of their games this season. They are all averaging double digits points per game. Second is Oumar Ballo and Pelle Larsson, both with 13 per game.
Next for Arizona is a home game against Washington on Saturday. A quick trip to Arizona State on the 28th will lead into a home game against Oregon on March 2nd. The final two games are on the road at UCLA and USC.
Wildcats Top Cougars
The Arizona Wildcats at home are a different animal. There is a reason they are one of the top scoring teams in all of College Basketball. It’s been a good season for Washington State, and will be a great season as they come down the stretch. But, this game is a little over their heads.
The Cougars struggle to keep up, and Arizona wins this game by double digits. The final bet for this game is the Arizona Wildcats -11.5 over the Washington State Cougars on Thursday.
