Santa Clara vs Portland 3/5/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Portland Pilots (18-13) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (20-10)
March 5, 2022 11:30 pm EDT
The Line: Santa Clara Broncos -8.5 ; Over/Under: 156
(Get latest betting odds)
The Portland Pilots and the Santa Clara Broncos meet Saturday in West Coast Tournament college basketball action from Orleans Arena. Portland is 18-13 on the season. The Pilots beat San Diego in their Friday tournament game. As for Santa Clara, they’re sitting at 20-10 overall and beat Portland in their last appearance. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Portland got off to a rocky run this year and were 11-12 in early February. The Pilots have gone 7-1 since then with victories over San Francisco, Loyola Marymount, Bushnell, San Diego, Pepperdine, Pacific and San Diego again.
In the Friday tournament matchup versus San Diego, the Pilots posted a 34-29 run in the first half and a 39-26 advantage from there in a 73-55 victory. Moses Wood finished with 28 points, and Kristian Sjolund doubled on 14 points with seven rebounds.
Over on the Santa Clara side, they had a 2-5 run in November/December and a 2-3 stretch in January but have done very well otherwise. The Broncos are 3-1 in their last four games with victories over Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and Portland.
Last Saturday versus Portland, the Broncos nursed a 41-40 lead at halftime. Santa Clara exploded for 61 second-half points in an eventual 102-89 win. Josip Vrankic led the team on his 30 points and seven assists in the victory.
Santa Clara is 7-1 ATS in their last eight after a straight-up win and 7-1 ATS in their last eight after an ATS win. Meanwhile, the Pilots are 13-4 ATS in the last 17 overall and 4-0 ATS in their last four neutral-site games.
PICK: I’m probably going to stay with Santa Clara here. The Broncos have lost just five games since mid-December, and those losses came versus only Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and San Francisco. Santa Clara has been putting up the points well lately, with 77 or more in 10 of their last 12 outings.
As for Portland, they lost 102-89 the last time these teams met up back on February 26. That said, the Pilots have been playing great otherwise lately. This one’s close, but I’m still leaning toward Santa Clara.
