Washington vs Arizona Odds, Picks, Predictions (1/5/23)

Washington visits Arizona in this early Pac-12 clash. Washington has struggled this year against decent teams, and have lost three straight to Auburn, USC, and UCLA all by double digits. Arizona has been on a winning streak recently, since losing to Utah, and juts beat ASU on the road. Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this game!

Washington vs. Arizona Odds

Arizona is an 18-point home favorite against Washington, but there’s no odds on the money line just yet. The over/under is also at 154.5. Arizona being favored by this much makes sense because of how good Arizona’s looked and also because the game is a home game for Arizona too. The over/under makes sense too because Arizona is so good on offense and will force Washington to play at their fast pace. This spread should also stay where it’s at before tip-off.

Washington vs. Arizona Prediction & Pick

The pick: Arizona -18

Arizona has been great this year and hasn’t missed a beat since losing a few key players from last year. The keys for Arizona are their big men. Azuolas Tubelis has been incredible at power forward and leads Arizona in scoring and steals per game. He has been the best power forward in the country and is in the running for a few player of the year awards. His running mate, Oumar Ballo, has been great too. He’s the second-leading scorer for Arizona and leads the Wildcats in rebounds and blocks per game. Kerr Kriisa has also been great at running the point guard position for Arizona this year and leads the team in assists per game. Courtney Ramey has also been a great addition for the Wildcats at shooting guard and has blossomed into their go-to scorer when they need a bucket off the wing. As a team, Arizona is the 4th-highest scoring team in college basketball at 88.7 points per game, and is second in college basketball in field goal percentage at 52.2% per game. They are also 4th in college basketball in rebounds per game at 42.

On the other side, Washington has been a disappointment this year. Keion Brooks has been a big bright spot for the Huskies and is their leading-scorer and rebounder off the wing. Cole Bajema has also been decent and is the second-leading scorer and shoots the three-pointer well. Braxton Meah is also a decent big man down low and is tied with Brooks for leading the team in rebounds. As a team, they don’t excel in much on offense, and are okay at best on defense. Arizona is head and shoulders better than Washington and in a home game against the Huskies they should run away with the game and cover this spread easily.

Washington vs. Arizona Key Matchups

Can Braxton Meah matchup with Oumar Ballo? Can Pelle Larsson matchup with Keion Brooks?

Oumar Ballo vs Braxton Meah

Oumar Ballo has been one of the most improved players in all of college basketball this year. He averages 17 points, 1 assist, and 9 rebounds for the year. He’s been a great addition to coach Tommy Lloyd’s system. Braxton Meah has been decent for Washington this year. He averages 10 points, 1 assist, and 6 rebounds for the year. Ballo is unlike any matchup Meah will see all year, and this is a huge matchup for who wins this game because Ballo has been so dominant.

Keion Brooks vs Pelle Larsson

Pelle Larsson struggled to start the season, but has rebounded well so far. He averages 11 points, 3 assist, and 5 rebounds for the year. He’s been decent this year, and showed up when the Wildcats have needed him. Keion Brooks has been the best player for Washington all year. Brooks averages 16 points, 1 assist, and 6 rebounds for the year. Larsson is going to be matched up with Brooks most of the game and this matchup will have a huge impact on the game because Brooks generates so much offense for the Huskies.