Denver (3-5) vs. Portland (2-5)
December 1, 2024 5:00 pm EDT
The Line: Portland -5.5; Over/Under: +148
(Get latest betting odds)
The Denver Pioneers and the Portland Pilots meet Sunday in college basketball action from Chiles Center. Here’s a Portland vs Denver prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Portland vs Denver pick.
Denver Pioneers Betting Preview
Denver got off to a 3-2 start this year with losses to Stanford and Colorado State among wins versus Western State, Colorado Christian, and Montana State. The Pioneers have lost to Montana, CSU Northridge, and Utah Tech since then, though.
On Tuesday versus Utah Tech, the Pioneers came out of the break with a 39-29 deficit. Denver didn’t get any closer than that in a 68-54 defeat. Josh Lee and Sebastian Akins each had a team-high 11 points with five combined rebounds between them.
Portland Pilots Betting Preview
Over on the Portland side, they went 2-2 in their first four with wins over Lewis and Clark and LBSU between losses to UC Santa Barbara and Oregon. The Pilots have lost to South Florida, Ohio, and Princeton in the three games since.
Matched up against Princeton last Sunday, the Pilots got drilled 52-29 in the first half and trailed on a 42-38 run from there in a 94-67 defeat. Vukasin Masic and Mikah Ballew led the team with 12 points and three rebounds each.
Why the Portland Pilots will win
- Denver has lost six of its last seven games against non-conference opponents.
- Portland has won three of its last four games at Earle A. & Virginia H. Chiles Center.
- Denver has lost the first half in eight of its last nine games against non-conference opponents.
Why the Denver Pioneers will win
- Portland has lost nine of its last 10 games against non-conference opponents.
- Portland has lost the first half in seven of its last eight day games against non-conference opponents.
Portland vs Denver Prediction
I’ll stick with Denver. Granted, there’s not a lot to get excited about here if you’re not a fan of either team. That said, we should have a pretty good game. The Pioneers started out on a pretty good scoring run earlier this year but they’ve notched just 114 combined points in their last pair. Denver has given up 68 or more points in four straight games on the other side, but thankfully Portland should be in the Pioneers’ wheelhouse.
Speaking of the Pilots, they’ve scored reasonably well (67 or more points) in three straight but they’ve also given up 74 or more in all three of those games. Denver should have some open looks here but whether or not they’ll take advantage remains to be seen. I’m probably staying away from this one.
