The deciding game on the CBI Tournament odds list goes Friday as the Pittsburgh Panthers battle the Washington State Cougars at Petersen Events Center.
Pitt played without senior leader and top scorer Ashton Gibbs for the first time this year but still rallied past the Cougars Wednesday in Game 2.
Washington State opened as 7.5 point underdogs for this Game 3 battle at Sportsbook.
Pittsburgh will face the 18-16 Cougars, who own a 16-15-1 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Panthers are 16-15 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Cougars are 14-18 favoring the OVER.
View Washington State vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Odds Shark Power Rankings have the Panthers at No. 80 and the Cougars at No. 225 heading into this contest. Handicapping models at Odds Shark project a 73-71 result in favor of the Panthers.
How They Match Up:
Scoring and defensive stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Pittsburgh's No. 137-ranked scoring average of 69.4 PPG, against a Cougars defense rated No. 121 and allowing 65.5 PPG. The Panthers FG% has averaged 45.3% to date this season, less than the Cougars shooters have managed so far (46.7% per game).
Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, Washington State owns the country's No. 178-rated mark, allowing 70 points per game on the highway. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, rates No. 135 in scoring at home.
A few Cougars at Panthers trends to consider:
Washington State is 4-8-1 SU in its last 13 games ,on the road
Pittsburgh6-2-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
