BYU vs Portland 12/31/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Portland Pilots and the BYU Cougars meet Saturday in college basketball action from Marriott Center. Portland comes into this one after a Thursday matchup versus Loyola Marymount. In that one the Pilots lost by 20 points. As for BYU, they’re fresh off a Thursday game versus Pacific. The Cougars would go on to win by 20 points. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Portland started out their year on a 4-2 clip with losses to Kent State and Seattle. The next nine games were a 4-5 run for the Pilots. The losses in that time came to North Carolina, Michigan State, North Dakota State, Oregon and UC Riverside. 

On Thursday versus LMU, the Pilots were down 46-33 by halftime. Portland was outpaced 46-39 in the second for a 92-72 loss. Leading scorer Mike Meadows put up 29 points, and Alden Applewhite added 12 points with five rebounds.

Over on the BYU side, they went 3-3 over their first six, beating Idaho State, Missouri State and Nicholls State. The Cougars hit a 7-2 run from there with wins versus Dayton, Westminster UT, Creighton, Western OR, Utah, Lindenwood and Weber State. 

In the Thursday game versus Pacific, BYU didn’t have too many issues. The Cougars scored 36 points in the first half and 33 more in the second during a 69-49 win. Jaxson Robinson put up 17 points with six rebounds to lead the team. 

PICK: I’m going to stay with BYU here. The Cougars have had a close call or two during this current six-game winning streak, however they’re playing well overall. BYU has hit 69 or more points in five of those six outings and shouldn’t have too many issues putting up offense in this one. Portland has lost three straight to a few relatively good teams and they’ve been at 56 points or fewer in two of those matchups. If BYU gets going I don’t think the Pilots will keep up for long.