Free NCAA Hoops Pick: Santa Clara vs. Washington State CBB Odds
Looking for Santa Clara Broncos vs. Washington State Cougars NCAA basketball free picks & CBB odds? CBB betting sees the Broncos taking on the Cougars on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at Friel Court in Pullman, WA. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all college basketball matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NCAA basketball predictions like this Broncos Cougars matchup.
2022 NCAA Basketball Handicapping
(21-11) Santa Clara Broncos vs. Washington State Cougars (19-14)
Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Time: 8:00 PM PT
Venue: Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum
CBB Moneyline Odds: Broncos +135 / Cougars -155
CBB Betting ATS Odds: Broncos +3.5 / Cougars -3.5 (Bet Now!)
CBB Betting Total: O/U 150
The Santa Clara Broncos will make a short trip up the coast and land in Pullman to take on the Washington State Cougars on Tuesday night. As some may see an appearance in the NIT as a disappointment, there is no letdown for these two programs who are still, at least, playing hoops in March.
The Broncos had a fantastic campaign and just fell short of reaching the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament despite picking up 21 wins against only 11 losses. By the same token, there is likely a bit of a disappointment for the Broncos being that the Dons landed a 10-seed in the big show while they were slighted to the NIT.
Santa Clara finished ahead of the Dons in the final regular-season standings and was hoping there would be 4 WCC programs playing in the big tourney which included them, Meanwhile, Washington State had to watch three other Pac 12 programs get invited to the Madness the likes of UCLA, USC, and Arizona. Oregon, Washington State, and Colorado will all be playing tonight in NIT action to make it 6 Pac 12 programs participating in the post-season.
Santa Clara Broncos
Well, there are two ways to look at an NIT appearance. Happy to be playing basketball at all or upset you didn’t get a crack in the big show. So, Head Coach Herb Sendek will now have to find a way to keep his kids motivated to win a road game to start the NIT. Sendek is finally getting his program to the post-season in year 6 with Santa Clara with this his second time picking up a 20-win season.
The last time the Broncos won 20 games, there was no post-season and Santa Clara was left to wonder what could have been like the rest of the country had to endure. Now it is time to at least be happy with the invite to the NIT and put any disappointment aside.
Sendek has a program that has been playing some quality hoops all season long, and if you study their last 20 games you only see losses to Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, and San Francisco. The Broncos handled everyone else on their schedule besides the 3 WCC programs that are indeed dancing in the big show this week.
Despite being a close game, the 75 – 72 loss to St. Mary’s in the WCC Tournament came a little too early, and had the Broncos won that game some argue that a deeper run to the finals could have changed the dynamic of the voting committee. BYU and Santa Clara both were in contention as ‘bubble teams’ but neither did enough to ultimately land a bid in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Broncos have 4 players averaging over double-digits and Jalen WIlliams leads the way taking in 18 PPG. Williams has played in all 32 games and plays nearly 35 minutes a night as the floor General for Coach Sendek.
Santa Clara shoots the rock as well as any program in the nation and they make their free throws when it matters most too. The Broncos rank 6th in the nation converting 49.2% of their shots from the floor and they bury 76.3% of their tosses from the charity stripe.
Washington State Cougars
The Cougars may also feel as if they are a bit slighted but realistically an NIT appearance is still keeping this team together while also getting host another home game. The beauty of the NIT giving programs home games to advance can be big if the mindset is in a good place.
The Cougars had won 5 of their last 6 games before being taken out of the Pac 12 Conference Tournament in the quarterfinals against UCLA. Michael Flowers had a terrible game against the Bruins scoring only 8 points which are well below his season average of 14 PPG. Andrej Jakimovski was the leading scorer against UCLA and he is simply not the guy who does much damage on a daily basis.
Jakimovksy is 7th on the depth chart bringing in under 6 PPG and not unlike a lot of programs there is little depth to rely on. As you saw in the loss to UCLA last time out, only 7 players really had an influence on the outcome of the game. The Cougars are just another of many teams with depth issues this season and they only have 3 players averaging double-digits this season.
After Flowers, Tyrell Roberts has been a constant in the lineup finding his way to 11 PPG and his free-throw shooting is stellar converting 93.6% of his shots from the charity stripe. Roberts landed 14 points in the loss to UCLA and 14 points in the win over Cal to start the Pac 12 tourney and he has only missed 3 free throws the entire season.
CBB Betting Trends:
- The Broncos are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- The Broncos are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games.
- Cougars are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
- Cougars are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite.
Free Santa Clara Broncos vs. Washington State Cougars NCAAB Betting Prediction:
Give me those points and I even expect the Broncos to win this game outright. When the line setters give me points? I take them, so +3.5 with the Broncos it is!
4* Free CBB Betting Pick: Santa Clara +3.5
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