Portland vs North Dakota State 12/5/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The North Dakota State Bison and the Portland Pilots meet Monday in college basketball action from Chiles Center. North Dakota State enters this one at 1-8 overall. The Bison lost to Eastern Washington in their last matchup. As for Portland, they’re 7-4 this year and coming off a win over North Dakota. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

North Dakota State sot to Arkansas, Kansas, Pacific and Indiana State to kick off the year, then beat Crown College in game five. The Bison hit losses to Northern Colorado, New Mexico, Jacksonville State and Eastern Washington after that. 

On Saturday versus Eastern Washington, the Bison trailed 38-35 going into the second half. North Dakota State couldn’t get any closer in a 78-70 loss. Jacari White and Damari Wheeler-Thomas each scored a team-high 14 points in the defeat. 

Over on the Portland side, they beat Lewis & Clark, Florida A&M and Portland State before a loss to Kent State. The Pilots lost to Seattle and North Carolina over the next three, then hit a 2-1 stretch that featured a loss to Michigan State. 

In the Saturday matchup versus North Dakota, Portland didn’t have too much trouble. The Pilots outscored the Hawks 44-30 in the first half and 46-39 in the second for a 90-69 win. Both Tyler Robertson and Kristian Sjolund scored 18 points apiece to lead the way. 

PICK: I’ll stay with Portland in this one. The Pilots are rolling along pretty well this year despite being just 3-3 over their last six outings. Portland faced two ranked teams in that stretch and performed well in both matchups despite the losses (89-81 versus North Carolina and 78-77 versus Michigan State). The Pilots aren’t having a lot of trouble scoring this year, and routinely have put up 80-plus points outings. 

As for North Dakota State, their record looks bad but they’re scoring pretty well themselves. The Bison have hit 70 or more points in six of their last seven outings. That said, unless we get extended garbage time at the end of the game here, I don’t see North Dakota State covering.