March Madness Best Picks: Washington State to Rout Stanford

Tenth-seeded Stanford (14-17, 8-12) is playing with nothing to lose as it has already exceeded expectations in this tournament, having upset rival and seventh-seeded California in Wednesday’s opening round. Still, the Cougars are easily the better team in this one, so one of the March Madness best bets to make for Thursday is taking the favorite to win and cover easily.

Washington State vs Stanford Game Information

• Game: Washington State (23-8, 14-6 Pac-12) vs Stanford (14-17, 8-12)
• Date/Time: Thursday, March 14, 9 p.m. ET
• Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Washington State vs Stanford Live Stream: TBS.com

Washington State dominated the season series with Stanford, winning both matchups by 13 or more points. We expect that to continue in this one, as does most every sportsbook, with the Cougars as 8½-point favorites. The over/under for this game has been set at 140½ points.

Washington State vs Stanford Odds and Spreads

Washington State vs Stanford Betting Trends

• Both Washington State and Stanford have 16 wins ATS this season.
• The Cougars are 15-15-1 against the over in 2023-24.
• The Cardinal are 4-6 ATS over their last 10 contests.
• Washington State is 11-4 ATS when scoring over 76 points.
• The over is 4-6 in the last 10 meetings between these teams.
• Stanford is 8-1 ATS in its last nine games played in March.
• The under has hit in six of Washington State’s last nine contests.
• The Cougars are 7-1 straight-up in their last eight games played on a Thursday.

Washington State vs Stanford Over/Under Pick: Over 140½

Both of these teams can score in bunches when they get rolling, with Stanford averaging 76.6 points and Washington State 74.9. The Cougars have the better defense, but we anticipate this being a blowout, which will allow the Cardinal to put up some points in garbage time to get this game to the over.

Senior forward Isaac Jones has played very well offensively for the Cougars this season, averaging a team-best 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. He’s done even better against the Cardinal, scoring 19.5 points in Washington State’s two victories. This will be a high-scoring contest, so make sure your college basketball picks include a wager on the over.

Washington State vs Stanford ATS Pick: Washington State -8½

The Cougars have had a week to stew over their loss to rival Washington in their regular-season finale, so they’ll be looking to atone for that in this one. Washington State wants to be playing at its best heading into the NCAA Tournament, and taking the conference tournament crown is the team’s goal for this week.

Stanford had a very good effort in its Pac-12 Tournament opener, topping rival California in overtime behind 21 points and 13 rebounds from 7-foot junior Maxime Raynaud, his fourth game of 20 or more points in his last five outings. Still, the Cardinal are stepping up in competition now, and taking the Cougars is one of the March Madness best picks for Thursday.

Washington State vs Stanford Team Prop Pick: Washington State 1st Half Over 35½ (-115)

As stated above, Washington State is looking to atone for a bad performance in its regular-season finale, so it’s going to come out firing to try to take care of Stanford in a hurry. The last matchup saw the Cardinal leading by one at halftime, so WSU coach Kyle Smith is sure to be on his team to have a better performance in the first 20 minutes. Make one of your college basketball picks on the over for Washington State in the first half of Thursday’s contest.

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Washington State vs Stanford Score Prediction

Washington State 88, Stanford 75

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