Evergreen State Rivals Clash in Pullman: Washington at Washington St

Washington Huskies at Washington St Cougars, Wallis Beasley Coliseum, Pullman, WA
Sunday, January 30, 2011, 10:00 pm Eastern, TV: Fox Sports Net
Opening Line: Washington -4
Current Line: Washington -3 1/2
Opening Total: 150
Current Total: 151 1/2
Money Line: Washington -160 / Washington St +14o

Isaiah Thomas and the Huskies take on arch-rival Washington St and are 3 1/2 point favorites on the road.

The Washington Huskies are 15-4 overall and 7-1 in the Pac 10 The Huskies are #17 in the coaches’ poll and #18 in the AP poll. They travel across the state to take on arch-rival the Washington St Cougars. Washington St is 14-6 overall and 4-4 in conference. Washington has wins over Virginia, Texas Tech, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Oregon St, Cal, Arizona, and Arizona St. Washington beat Arizona St last Saturday in Seattle 88-75. Washington has losses to Kentucky, Michigan St, Texas A&M and Stanford. All were on the road or at a neutral site. Washington St has wins over Gonzaga, Portland, Mississippi St, Baylor, Oregon St, Oregon, Stanford, and Arizona St. They have losses to Kansas St, Butler, USC, UCLA, Cal, and Arizona. They lost to Arizona last Saturday in Pullman 65-63. Washington leads the overall series against Washington St 171-98, including 71-61 in Pullman. Washington has won four straight in the series and is 3-0-1 ATS in those games. The last have gone under the total. Washington St is 5-15 ATS versus teams that are scoring 77 points or more per game the last 3 seasons.

Washington guard Abdul Gaddy tore his ACL in practice a few weeks ago and is gone for the season. He was averaging 8.5 points a game. Washington is led by guard Isaiah Thomas. Thomas is averaging 16.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.4 steals a game. He leads the team in points and assists. Forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning is averaging 16.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks a game. He leads the team in rebounds and blocks. Justin Holiday averages 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.6 steals a game to lead the team. Washington is outscoring opponents 87-68 on the year. The Huskies are shooting 48.8% from the field and 39.4% from 3-point range. Husky opponents are shooting 40.3% from the field. Washington is shooting 65.9% from the free throw line. The Huskies average 40.3 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +6.6. Washington averages 17.7 assists and 11.9 turnovers a game. They force 15.9 turnovers a game on defense. The Huskies force 7.9 steals and 5 blocks a game.

Washington St has no significant injuries right now. The Cougars are led by guard Klay Thompson. He is averaging 22.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.1 steals a game. He leads the team in scoring, assists, and steals. Guard Faisal Aden averages 14.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.6 steals a game. DeAngelo Casto averages 10.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks a game. He leads the team in rebounds and blocks. Washington St is outscoring opponents 75-64 on the season. The Cougars are shooting 47.7% from the field and 38.1% from 3-point range. The Cougs are holding opponents to 37.8% shooting from the field. Washington St shoots 69.7% from the free throw line. Washington St averages 35.2 rebounds a game with a rebounding margin of -0.8. They average 14.3 assists and 12.5 turnovers a game. They force 15.3 turnovers a game on defense. The Cougars average 7.3 steals and 4.3 blocks a game.

Washington St needs a signature win to improve their resume for the NCAA tournament. However, Washington is the Superior team and has owned Washington St in the series recently, winning four straight. Washington has the edge in scoring, defense, and rebounding. Washington is second in the country in points per game, 9th in rebounding, 8th in assists per game, and 9th in field goal percentage. Washington being only a 3 1/2 point favorite seems like a bargain and they should roll in this game against their in-state rivals.