Arizona Wildcats vs. Washington Huskies Preview
Where: Alaska Airlines Arena — Seattle, Washington
When: Wednesday, February 18, 2017 – 9:00 PM ET
Line: Arizona Wildcats vs. Washington Huskies – view all NCAA Basketball lines
College Basketball News and Previews
- 2017 NCAA March Madness Final Four Preview
- Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. South Carolina Gamecocks Preview
- North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Oregon Ducks Preview
Betting on the Arizona Wildcats (24-3, 13-1 PAC-12)
The Wildcats are getting some rhythm back that was lost in their humiliating 27-point loss to Oregon two weeks back. They are now riding a three-game winning streak, with the most recent being an easy 78-59 win over the Washington State Cougars.
Lauri Markkannen posted 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Parker Jackson-Cartwright added a career-high 20 points, four treys, and four steals. Arizona was also efficient from beyond the arc, as they splashed 10 of 18 attempts.
Against the Huskies, whom they had handily beat last January 29th, 77-66, Markkanen (15.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG) should be able to take the lead once again. He’ll have a tough matchup with the opposing bigs, but help from the balanced offense and supporting cast should make it somehow lighter.
The ‘Cats have four other guys that can be threats to the D, including Alonzo Trier (13.7 PPG) and Markkanen’s co-freshmen Rawle Alkins (11.5 PPG) and Kobi Simmons (11.3 PPG).
Arizona isn’t putting anyone in notice with averages of 74.7 PPG on 47.2 percent shooting, but they are pretty good on the road this season – 10-1 SU and 9-2 ATS.
Betting on the Washington Huskies (9-17, 2-12 PAC-12)
The Huskies dropped their eighth straight on Thursday night, as they lost in a hard-fought game to Arizona State, 83-81. Their defense couldn’t stop the Sun Devils duo of Torian Graham and Tra Holder, who combined for 50 points and seven three-pointers.
Markelle Fultz (23.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.7 APG) is continuing to be the athletic, all-around player that he was touted to be, and he is sure to be a future top three pick in the NBA. But besides him, David Crisp (14.5 PPG), and Noah Dickerson (11.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG,), the Huskies basically don’t have much to offer offensively. That, coupled with poor defense, is the recipe for building a horrible season, which is exactly what the team is having.
Along with a really crappy ranking in defensive efficiency (332nd), the Huskies are also dead-last in the PAC-12 in allowed points (81.8) and offensive rebounds (11.2), and third-worst in opponents’ field goal percentage (48.6 percent)
In their previous meeting with Arizona, Fultz only went 8-for-23 for 16 points, and the team collectively shot 39.1 percent from the floor, one of their worst shooting nights this season.
Washington is 0-4 SU and ATS in their last four games at home.
Writer’s Prediction
The Wildcats win, 82-76.
Create a betting account now and build a winning college basketball parlay.
1,781 total views, 1 views today
