Southern Utah vs Portland 3/26/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Portland Pilots will travel to the America First Events Center this Saturday night to take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in the Quarterfinals of The Basketball Classic.

The Portland Pilots improved to 19-14 on the season after defeating the New Orleans Privateers, 94-73, this past Saturday. Portland was outstanding on the offensive end in the 1^st half against New Orleans and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 56-30 lead. Portland shot 50.0% from the field & 47.1% from beyond the arc while holding New Orleans to just 33.8% shooting from the field & 20.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Pilots was Kristian Sjolund who had 21 points, 4 rebounds, & 4 assists.

On the season, Portland is averaging 74.5 ppg on 43.7% shooting from the field. The Pilots are averaging 7.8 three-pointers per game on 35.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Portland has been led by Tyler Robertson (14.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.3 spg), Moses Wood (14.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.9 apg), Chris Austin (14.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.0 apg), & Mike Meadows (10.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 apg). Mike Meadows missed the Pilots last game due to a back injury and is questionable for this matchup.

Defensively, Portland is allowing their opponents to an average of 72.0 ppg on 41.6% shooting from the field. The Pilots have a rebound margin of 0.8 and a turnover margin of -0.8.

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds improved to 22-11 on the season after defeating the UTEP Miners, 82-69, this past Tuesday. Southern Utah was lights out on the offensive end against UTEP and had no trouble holding off the Miners for the victory after going into halftime with a 40-29 lead. Southern Utah shot 58.2% from the field & 43.5% from beyond the arc while allowing UTEP to shoot 37.5% from the field & 32.1% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Thunderbirds was Nick Fleming who had 18 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, & 1 steal.

On the season, Southern Utah is averaging 78.6 ppg on 46.3% shooting from the field. The Thunderbirds are averaging 8.4 three-pointers per game on 34.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Southern Utah has been led by Tevian Jones (14.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg), John Knight III (14.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.0 spg), Maizen Fausett (12.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.0 apg), & Dre Marin (11.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Southern Utah is allowing their opponents to average 72.9 ppg on 43.9% shooting from the field. The Thunderbirds have a rebound margin of 4.7 and a turnover margin of -0.3.

The Pilots are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 Saturday games & 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games overall. The Thunderbirds are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall & 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite.

Portland has been led by their offense which ranks 82^nd in scoring offense & 101^st in 3P-FG%, however, the defense has struggled at times as the Pilots come into this matchup ranked just 251^st in scoring defense. Southern Utah has also been led by their offense, which ranks 22^nd in scoring offense, 52^nd in FG%, & 80^th in three-pointers per game, however, like Portland, the Thunderbirds have also struggled defensively and come into this matchup ranked just 268^th in scoring defense & 202^nd in defensive FG%.

Portland was impressive against New Orleans, however, this is a team that had a losing record on the road this season (6-8) and really struggled in the WCC Championship against Santa Clara, allowing the Broncos to put up 91 points in a 24-point loss. Southern Utah is an impressive 12-3 at home this season and between the fact that I was impressed with the offensive performances by the Thunderbirds against Kent State & UTEP and that I think the offense puts up another 80+ points, I think Southern Utah will do enough cover this small home spread. Good Luck!