The Idaho State Bengals and the Washington Huskies meet Saturday in college basketball action from Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Idaho State enters this matchup at 3-8 overall. The Bengals lost to St. Thomas MN in their last game. As for Washington, they’re 8-3 on the year and coming off a win over Cal Poly. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Idaho State has wins over Westcliff, UMKC and Montana Western so far this year. Otherwise it’s been losses to BYU, Utah, Denver, Lindenwood, Bethune-Cookman, Central Arkansas, Southern Utah and St. Thomas MN.
In the matchup versus the Tommies last Saturday, the Bengals were down 38-32 by halftime. Idaho State kept the pace from there but ended up losing 76-70. Brayden Parker was the top team scorer with 28 points.
Over on the Washington side, they went 6-1 to start out the year with a lone loss to California Baptist on November 17 as the blemish. Since then it’s been a 2-2 run with losses to Oregon State and Gonzaga.
Washington was able to handle Cal Poly in their last game on Tuesday. The Huskies trailed 35-24 by the break but surged on a 50-33 run from there in a 74-68 win. Keion Brooks topped the team with 30 points.
PICK: I’ll probably stay with Washington in this one. The Huskies had a rough first half against Cal Poly in their last game but to their credit Washington was able to get back to form after the break and take the win. The Huskies have been a mixed bag on the scoreboard so far this year, but they’ve hit 73 or more points in each of their last three wins. As for Idaho State, it’s been a tough season. The good news is that the Bengals have hit 70 or more points in three of their last five; the bad news is that they likely won’t be able to keep pace for too long in this one if Washington is playing to their capabilities.