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Arizona vs. Washington State prediction and odds for Thursday, January 26 (Why to bet UNDER)

By Reed Wallach

Jan 21, 2023; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats center Oumar Ballo (11) celebrates during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2023; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats center Oumar Ballo (11) celebrates during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports /
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Arizona has three losses on the season, one of them coming at home against Washington State by 13, their lone loss in Tucson this season.

Now, the team hits the road to try and get revenge in Pullman, Washington against a Cougars team that has struggled with health all season but will look to complete a rare season sweep of the Wildcats.

Arizona got back on track after losing two of three by beating USC and UCLA at home last week, can the team kickoff a road trip to Washington by beating Wazzu before they head Seattle to face Washington on Saturday?

Here are the odds:

Arizona vs. Washington State odds, spread and total

Arizona vs. Washington prediction and pick

Let’s go back to the first meeting between the two teams, a game that Arizona closed as 12-point home favorites and a total of 150.5. The final was a Washington State 74-61 victory that was aided by Zona shooting 16% on 3-point tries.

Now, Arizona won’t shoot that poorly again, but it’s clear that Wazzu found a way to challenge the Wildcats 3-point shooters like Courtney Ramey and Cedric Henderson, who combined to shoot 0-for-6 from beyond the arc, and forced Kerr Kriisa into perimeter shots. Kriisa hit on just two of his 11 treys in the loss as Washington State sagged off the quick trigger Arizona guard.

The game plan is there for the Cougars, who are strong at limiting transition opportunities, top third in the country in transition rate allowed per Hoop-Math.com. The goal for the Cougars will be to slow this game into a half court battle and dare Arizona to win from the perimeter.

They absolutely can, but this is a team shooting 29% from 3 in conference play, I’m not sure that they will get it going on the road just yet.

However, Tommy Lloyd’s bunch is adapting, evident by grinding out a 58-52 win against UCLA on Saturday. I think Arizona totals need to be adjusted as PAC-12 teams begin to force them into a half court battle, so I’ll grab the under in what should be another low scoring game relative to expectation.

Track all of Reed’s bets at Betstamp HERE!

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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