Arizona Wildcats vs Washington State Cougars Prediction, 1/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Arizona Wildcats vs Washington State Cougars

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021

Location: Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, WA

TV: PAC12

Odds/Point Spread: Arizona (-8)

The Arizona Wildcats (7-1) are headed to Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum on Saturday where they'll meet the Washington State Cougars (8-0). Arizona opens this contest as 8-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 135.5.

Arizona will enter this contest with a record of 7-1 on the campaign. They are turning it over 12.8 times per contest and as a team they are committing 19.6 fouls per contest. As a unit, Arizona is collecting 39.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 126 assists on the season, which ranks 85th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Wildcats are hitting 38.6% on shots from beyond the arc (59 of 153) and 69.2% from the free throw line. They average 78.4 pts per game (86th in college hoops) while connecting on 46.6% from the floor. On defense, the Wildcats have forced 14.9 turnovers every game while drawing 22.0 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 172nd in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 92 relinquished this season. The Wildcats defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 40.4% (176 of 436) and they surrender 29.4 boards per contest as a group. They relinquish 32.3% on 3-point attempts and they are 58th in college basketball in points per game allowed (64.0).

The Arizona Wildcats played the Colorado Buffaloes and earned the victory with a final of 88-74 in their last contest. Arizona finished the game having earned a 52.6% field goal percentage (30 of 57) and made 8 out of their 17 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats buried 20 of 27 attempts for a percentage of 74.1%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they earned 29 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 20 dimes for the game while having 4 steals and 2 blocks. When it comes to defending, Arizona allowed their opponent to shoot 52.6% from the field on 30 out of 57 shooting. Colorado totaled 14 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. Additionally, the Buffaloes grabbed 28 rebounds (8 offensive, 20 defensive) and added 2 blocked shots. Colorado finished the contest at 82.4% from the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of their 17 shots. They converted 12 out of their 26 tries from beyond the arc.

James Akinjo is one guy who was a contributor in this matchup. He ended up with 22 points on 5 of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes and also pulled down 2 rebounds. Akinjo shot 45.5% from the field and distributed 8 assists. Someone else that was a contributor in the matchup for the Wildcats was Jemarl Baker. He collected 2 boards and collected 3 assists. He walked away from this one shooting 36.4% from the field for the game by going 4-of-11 (14 points). In all, Baker was on the hardwood for 30 min.

Washington State has a record of 8-0 this season. As an offense, the Cougars are hitting on 40.2% from the floor, which is 310th in the nation. Washington State has tallied 550 points for the year (68.8 per contest) and they collect 43.3 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 11.6 times per contest (272nd in college basketball) and they cough up possession 14.5 times per contest. The Cougars commit 16.5 fouls per contest and they shoot 68.9% from the charity stripe. The Cougars are ranked 12th in college basketball in points given up per game with 57.6. They give up 10.8 assists and 36.8 rebounds per game, which is ranked 59th and 231st in those categories on the defensive end. The Washington State defense allows 26.9% on shots from beyond the arc (50 of 186) and their opposition makes 69.9% of their free throw shots. They have forced 14.0 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 33.7% from the floor (1st in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the Washington State Cougars took home the win by a final score of 62-52 when they faced the Northwestern State Demons. The Cougars were able to snag 36 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 49 for the game. They also turned away 6 attempts while recording 5 steals in this contest. The Demons earned 23 personal fouls for the game which got the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 35 tries. They were able to make 23 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 65.7%. With respect to 3-point attempts, Washington State converted 3 out of 23 tries (13.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Cougars ended up shooting 18 for 55 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 32.7%. The Cougars permitted the Demons to convert 20 out of 67 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 29.9% for this game. They shot 32.0% from three-point range by going 8 of 25 and finished the contest at 4 of 7 from the free throw line (57.1%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Washington State allowed Northwestern State to grab 35 overall (9 on the offensive glass).

Efe Abogidi ended up being important for the Cougars in this game. He converted 5 out of 10 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, which gave him 15 points. Abogidi grabbed 12 boards in his 30 mins and had 2 dimes for the contest. Someone else that was important for Washington State was Isaac Bonton. He totaled 13 points in 33 minutes played via 3 of 13 shooting in this contest. Bonton ended the game having shot 23.1% from the floor while also earning 2 assists and 6 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Arizona (-8)

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