Portland State vs Idaho State 2/26/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Idaho State Bengals and the Portland State Vikings meet in college basketball action from the Viking Pavilion on Saturday night.

The Idaho State Bengals will look to build on a 70-66 win over Northern Arizona last time out. Tarik Cool leads the Bengals in scoring with 11.9 PPG and 2.7 APG while Robert Ford III has 10.9 PPG with 4.6 RPG this season. Malik Porter also has 4.3 RPG for the Bengals this season. As a team, Idaho State is averaging 64.4 PPG on 41.7% shooting from the field, 31.7% from three and 68.3% from the foul line while allowing 71.4 PPG on 47% shooting from the field and 33.7% from three this season.

The Portland State Vikings will hope to build on back-to-back wins after an 81-75 win over Weber State last time out. James Jean-Marie leads the Vikings in scoring and rebounding, with 12.9 PPG and 8.9 RPG while Damion Squire has 11.4 PPG in 13 games. Khalid Thomas has 11.3 PPG while Ezekiel Alley and Michael Carter III each have 10+ PPG to make up the scoring in double figures for Portland State with Carter III logging a team-high 3 APG and the aforementioned Thomas leading the Vikings with 6 RPG this season. As a team, Portland State is averaging 73.2 PPG on 42.9% shooting from the field, 30% from three and 75.6% from the foul line while allowing 72.6 PPG on 45% shooting from the field and 37.6% from three this season.

Idaho State is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 road games. Portland State is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite while the over is 9-1 in their last 10 games overall.

I get why Portland State’s favored at home after coming off of the big win over Weber State and picking up quite a few covers as of late. However, Idaho State’s no slouch and I give a bit more merit to the Bengals because they’ve been covering the number like nobody’s business on the road, which I feel is a much harder thing to do. I think this could be a game where Portland State wins but Idaho State covers, so give me the Bengals and the points in this one.