Washington vs Washington State Picks and Odds

• The Washington Huskies (3-16, 2-12 Pac-12) play the Washington State Cougars (12-9, 5-9 Pac-12) on Monday, February 15th 
• Both teams need a win in a big way to gain momentum going into the final stages of the season
• See the odds, spread, analysis, and best bet below

The Washington Huskies will look to end a five game conference losing streak when they head to Pullman to take on the Washington State Cougars.

The Huskies won in the Pac-12 last on January 24th against the Utah Utes. Since then, they have dropped five straight conference games, the latest a close 64-61 loss to UCLA.

Things haven’t gone much better for the Cougars but they been much more competitive in conference, despite just five Pac-12 wins. They took a 76-65 beating from USC last time out which was only their second loss in five games.

The Cougars are in control of this series winning the last three meetings, including a 77-62 straight up win as an underdog a couple weeks ago. This time around the current odds show Washington State as four-point favorites.

Washington vs Washington State Odds

Odds as of Feb 14th at FanDuel.

Washington is Reeling

Nothing has gone right for the Huskies so far, from the November portion of their season being cancelled until now. They’ve only won three games in total and have lost by at least 20 points five times. They kept their last game with UCLA closer than most this season but still ultimately came up short.

Fought until the end but came up short. pic.twitter.com/kp6HtkUHLW

— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) February 14, 2021

The final score may look like the Huskies were competitive but anyone who saw the game knows otherwise. They went into the locker rooms down six and only stayed in the game in the second half because UCLA couldn’t hit a free throw. The Bruins, a 72% free throw shooting team on the season, went an abominable 6-18 from the charity stripe in this one. It was more than enough to keep Washington closer than than they actually were.

Washington State Turning a Corner

The Cougars turned some heads by going to Eugene and beating the Pac-12’s third place Oregon Ducks in their own building as 11-point underdogs on February 2nd. They proved it wasn’t a fluke by beating second-place UCLA a week later. They had a shot to up the ante even further and beat first-place USC last time out but ultimately couldn’t close the deal.

FINAL
Tough one for the Cougs as the Trojans take it in Beasley#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/Uqmc5QgUGZ

— Washington State Men's Basketball (@WSUCougarsMBB) February 14, 2021

Washington State is a decent three point shooting team, ranking 141st in the country connecting on 34.2% of their attempts. It’s an important part of their arsenal, attempting about 22 per game. Against the Trojans, the Cougars took 25 threes and only hit three of them. If it wasn’t for their 19 points off of turnovers, they would have been beaten by much more in this game.

Best Betting Angle

Since January 31st, the Huskies have played five conference games and only one of them has been decided by less than 12 points. That game was against UCLA and can be attributed to a free throw performance which was an anomaly. It’s highly unlikely Cougars will match the Bruins and shoot 33% from the free throw line as they are at 77% in their last three games.

Free throws will be important in this one, as the Huskies put opponents on the free throw line an average of 20 times per game. On top of that, they are 250th in the country at defending the long ball, allowing enemies to hit at a 35.1% clip. If Washington State can bounce back from an off night from deep, they can win this game by double digits.

The pick: Washington State -7.5 (-110)