Washington State Cougars vs Portland Pilots Prediction, 12/28/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington State Cougars vs Portland Pilots

Date: Sunday, December 28, 2025

Location: Chiles Center in Portland, OR

TV: ESPN+

Chiles Center is the location where the Portland Pilots (7-6) will attempt to beat the Washington State Cougars (5-8) on Sunday.

The Washington State Cougars took the court against Mercer and walked away with a win by a score of 84-78 in their last contest. With respect to personal fouls, the Cougars walked away with 16 and Mercer recorded 19 personal fouls. They also converted 7 of 27 tries from 3-point range. Mercer went 50.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 7 of their 14 attempts. Additionally, Mercer snagged 35 rebounds (12 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Mercer recorded 13 assists and had 7 steals in the game. When discussing defending, Washington State let their opponent shoot 42.7% from the field on 32 of 75 shooting. They also dished out 12 dimes for the contest while forcing 9 turnovers and having 8 steals. In regard to getting rebounds, they collected 33 with 3 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Cougars knocked down 13 of their 20 shots for a percentage of 65.0%. Washington State wrapped up the game with a 53.6% FG percentage (30 out of 56) and buried 11 of their 23 3-pointers.

Ace Glass lll is one player who was a factor in the game. He finished with 24 points on 8 out of 14 shooting. He played for 30 mins and totaled 5 rebounds. He finished the game at 57.1% from the field and also totaled 2 assists.

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Washington State enters this matchup with a mark of 5-8 on the season. They cough up possession 13.4 times per game and as a squad they are committing 18.8 fouls per contest. As a team, Washington State is grabbing 34.3 boards per game and has totaled 162 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 285th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Cougars are shooting 35.4% on three-point shots (115 of 325) and 74.9% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 76.2 points per outing (222nd in D-1) while hitting 47.1% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Cougars are forcing 10.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.1 personal fouls. They give up 34.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 276th in the nation in opponents points per game (77.3). The Cougars defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 46.9% (352 of 751) and they concede 30.2 boards per contest as a team. They rank 159th in college in allowing assists to their opponents with 164 surrendered so far this year.

The last time they took the court, the Portland Pilots went home defeated by a final of 79-61 when they faced UC Santa Barbara. The Pilots were able to corral 16 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 26 in the matchup. They turned the ball over 14 times, while recording 4 steals in the game. UC Santa Barbara was called for 10 personal fouls for the contest which took the Pilots to the free throw line for a total of 11 shots. They were able to convert 7 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 63.6%. In regard to shots from beyond the arc, Portland buried 4 out of 17 tries (23.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Pilots finished shooting 25 for 55 from the floor which had them shooting 45.5%. The Pilots permitted UC Santa Barbara to bury 30 out of their 56 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 53.6% for this game. They went 48.3% from downtown by shooting 14 of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 5 out of 9 at the free throw line (55.6%). In reference to team rebounding, Portland allowed UC Santa Barbara to get 30 in all (9 offensive).

James O'Donnell ended up being important for the Pilots for the matchup. He recorded 15 points in his 22 mins on the court, but didn't get an assist. He knocked down 6 out of 9 for the contest for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and had 1 rebound.

Portland has a mark of 7-6 on the season. As an offensive team, the Pilots are hitting on 50.0% from the field, which is 30th in D-1. Portland has earned 1,062 pts for the season (81.7 per game) and they grab 36.3 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 19.2 times per contest (17th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 15.3 times per game. The Pilots have committed 17.3 personal fouls per game while shooting 71.9% from the charity stripe.

The Portland defense allows 35.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (142 of 406) and their opponents are making 77.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 18.2 dimes and 33.0 rebounds per contest, which ranks 356th and 110th in the nation. The Pilots on the defensive side of the court are 333rd in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 81.9. They are able to force 13.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 44.4% from the floor (236th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Washington State

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