Portland State vs Southern Utah 1/27/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds and the Portland State Vikings meet Thursday in college basketball action from Stott Center. Southern Utah is 11-6 on the year. The Thunderbirds lost to Weber State in their last appearance. As for Portland State, they’re sitting at 4-12 and coming off a loss to Idaho. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Southern Utah posted a 9-5 record through their first 14 outings, losing to Dixie State, Saint Mary’s, California, Michigan and Northern Colorado along the way. After two wins over Portland State and Idaho State, the Thunderbirds lost to Weber State on Monday. 

In the matchup versus Weber State, Southern Utah trailed 44-35 at halftime. Despite a second-half surge, the Thunderbirds still lost 92-84. Leading scorer Harrison Butler put up 18 points, and Maizen Fausett added 17 points with seven boards. 

Over on the Portland State side, they hit a 3-3 run to start the year with wins over Evergreen State, George Fox and Idaho State. The Thunderbirds have gone just 1-9 since then. They’ve fallen to Montana State and Idaho in their last pair. 

Matched up against Idaho on Monday, the Vikings kept the pace for most of the game but came up short in an 84-79 loss. Damion Squire provided 15 bench points with five steals, and Michael Carter scored 13 points with six turnovers. 

Portland State is 1-8 ATS in their last nine at home and 1-4 ATS in their last five after an ATS loss. The under is 22-7 in the Vikings’ last 29 overall. 

Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games and 0-5 ATS in the last five overall. The over is 4-0 in Southern Utah’s last four after an ATS loss.

PICK: I’m probably going to stay with Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds have scored well over the last four games, hitting 81 or more points in each (with a 16-day postponement break mixed in). The last time these teams met up back on January 17, the Thunderbirds managed an 86-76 win. Southern Utah shot a scorching 61.5 percent from the field in that one and won the rebounding battle 32-27. The Thunderbirds likely won’t hit that rate again here, but I still like them better on a cover.