Idaho vs Portland State 1/7/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Portland State Vikings and the Idaho Vandals meet Saturday in college basketball action from ICCU Arena. Portland State is fresh off a Thursday game versus Eastern Washington. In that one the Vikings lost by 12 points. As for Idaho, they played Sacramento State in their Thursday game. The Vandals ended up falling in a close OT outcome. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Portland State went 5-5 over their first 10 games this year, beating Evergreen State, Oregon State, Oregon State again, Portland Bible College and Air Force. The Vikings hit a 1-3 run from there with a lone win over Cal Baptist. 

On Thursday versus Eastern Washington, the Vikings were down 43-39 going into the second half. Portland State fell further behind from there and lost 92-80. Jorell Saterfield was tops on 21 points with eight rebounds. 

Over on the Idaho side, they were 4-6 after 10 games this year with wins over Walla Walla, Pacific, Northern IL and North Dakota. The Vandals went 2-3 in the next five with wins over Northwest Indian and CSU Northridge. 

Matched up against Sacramento State on Thursday, the Vandals were down 39-38 at halftime but ended up forcing overtime. Idaho was outscored 8-6 from there and lost 85-83. Isaac Jones went off for a team-high 42 points and 12 rebounds in the defeat.

PICK: I’ll probably lean Idaho here. The Vandals are currently riding a four-game losing streak but they’ve scored pretty well overall this year. Idaho has hit 71 or more points in 10 of the last 12 outings. Portland State is in something of the same boat: the Vikings have scored 73 or more points in four of their last five games but they’ve lost four of those. All things considered, this should be a pretty competitive matchup and a fun one to watch.