Oregon and Washington Schools Square Off Wednesday
Conference play is just starting to heat up in the NCAA men’s hoops season and today there are a couple games out west between Pac-12 rivals that should whet bettors’ appetites for this weekend’s slate of significant hardwood battles. The No. 16 Oregon Ducks will look to stay unbeaten in conference play against the Washington State Cougars, while the Oregon State Beavers will seek their first conference win against the Washington Huskies. It’s the battle of the Northwest border today, as Oregon and Washington schools clash. It should be interesting, so be sure to check out and bet these lines.
Washington State Cougars +11 at Oregon Ducks -11
The Ducks have already proven they can not only hang with, but defeat the big boys after chalking up victories over Arizona and UCLA this season. Meanwhile, the Cougars are just 1-4 in Pac-12 play and will have a big challenge on their plates as they enter Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.
Although the Ducks are coming into today’s contest with their highest ranking since 2007 and are on the verge of their best start in the conference in nearly 80 years, the biggest thing they have going for them is they are not satisfied. Instead, the Ducks are hungry for more.
“Those things (at this point in the season) don’t mean much,” Ducks coach Dana Altman said via ESPN.com. “I think our program, our team, has a lot further to go. All it means is people get a little bit more excited to play us. Hopefully our players remember that.”
The Ducks rank second in the conference in scoring, while the Cougars rank second to last in shooting percentage. With the home court advantage, a hot streak and a seemingly huge edge on paper, I wouldn’t be afraid to take the Ducks to cover the 11-point spread today.
Washington Huskies +1 at Oregon State Beavers 0
Look for OSU to get off the snide today
The Huskies, coming off a loss to Utah over the weekend, are still 4-1 in Pac-12 play coming into today’s road battle with the Beavers, who are winless in the conference so far this season. It’s been a tough go for Craig Robinson’s team thus far, but surprisingly, they are a small favorite today at home.
However, all of OSU’s losses other than the one to the Ducks have come be fewer than 10 points, including a 84-78 defeat against the Kansas Jayhawks. Considering the Beavers also have a better field goal percentage and score more points per game than the Huskies, they probably are actually the favorite today.
Looking at the records and the spread, most folks will easily take Washington to cover +1 here, but now you know better. Take Oregon State to pick up its first Pac-12 win in this one.
