Pac-12 tournament 2020 Round 1 odds and NCAA basketball picks

The Pac-12 tournament makes its way onto the NCAA basketball betting board, with odds up for the four opening-round games Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. We break down the Pac-12 tournament odds and give our top college basketball picks for Wednesday’s action (all times ET). **video

Utah Utes vs. Oregon State Beavers

Season Series: 1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS, 1-1 O/U
Utah: 16-14 SU, 15-15 ATS, 15-15 O/U (8-10 ATS, 9-9 O/U vs Pac-12)
Oregon State: 17-13 SU, 17-13 ATS, 18-12 O/U (8-10 ATS, 10-8 O/U vs Pac-12)

These teams split their regular-season matchups, with each winning by double digits and covering as home chalk. But there’s a reason Utah and Oregon State are the Nos. 9 and 8 seeds, respectively, in a 12-team conference: it’s hard to trust either to put up a win. The Utes (16-14 SU, 15-15 ATS) went 2-5 SU and ATS in their last seven games, and the Beavers (17-13 SU and ATS) lost four in a row before winning their last two outings.

Somehow, back on Dec. 18, Utah beat Kentucky in a neutral-site game. That’s the last time the Utes won outside of Salt Lake City, as they went 0-10 SU and 1-9 ATS. That includes a 70-51 loss as 5-point underdogs at Oregon State on Feb. 13. Sure, the Beavers don’t travel much better (2-6 SU, 3-5 ATS last eight), but they’ve cashed three of their last four overall and are worth a look in this contest.

Pick: Oregon State -2.5

Washington Huskies vs. Arizona Wildcats

Season Series: 1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS, 1-1 O/U
Washington: 15-16 SU, 12-19 ATS, 15-16 O/U (5-13 ATS, 8-10 O/U vs Pac-12)
Arizona: 20-11 SU, 16-15 ATS, 14-17 O/U (10-8 ATS, 8-10 O/U vs Pac-12)

Although these teams split their regular-season meetings, it was the road team winning and cashing each time: Arizona 75-72 as 2-point chalk Jan. 30, and Washington 69-63 as a 10.5-point underdog in Saturday’s regular-season finale. In fact, the fifth-seeded Wildcats are on a 1-4 SU and ATS skid, while the No. 12 seed Huskies – dreadful since Christmas – managed a 3-1 SU and ATS finish.

Still, it’s hard to put your faith in a team that at one point lost nine in a row SU and ATS, part of Washington’s 2-13 SU and ATS plunge dating to Dec. 25. The ‘Cats aren’t exactly inspiring, either, losing days ago to Washington as double-digit favorites on their home floor, in a game they needed in order to shore up their March Madness credentials. So look to the total: the Over is 8-3 in the Huskies’ last 11 games.

Pick: Over 139

California Golden Bears vs. Stanford Cardinal

Season Series: 1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS, 0-2 O/U
California: 13-18 SU, 14-17 ATS, 18-12-1 O/U (10-8 ATS, 11-7 O/U vs Pac-12)
Stanford: 20-11 SU, 19-12 ATS, 12-17-2 O/U (10-8 ATS, 9-8-1 O/U vs Pac-12

Bay-Area archrivals square off in this contest, with No. 7 seed Stanford hoping to play its way into the NCAA Tournament and No. 10 seed California likely playing out the string. Neither comes in with any momentum, as both went 0-2 SU and ATS on the Oregon/Oregon State road trip last week.

Stanford has much more at stake, which could be enough reason to back the Cardinal, especially since the Golden Bears got blown out by Oregon and Oregon State. But defense seems to be the order of the day when these teams meet up, with the Under hitting in both meetings this year and in last year’s regular-season finale.

Pick: Under 128

Washington State Cougars vs. Colorado Buffaloes

Season Series: Colorado 1-0, Colorado 1-0 ATS, 0-1 O/U
Washington State: 15-16 SU, 13-17-1 ATS, 16-15 O/U (8-10 ATS, 9-9 O/U vs Pac-12) 
Colorado: 21-10 SU, 13-17-1 ATS, 18-13 O/U (8-11 ATS, 12-7 O/U vs Pac-12)  

Less than three weeks ago, Colorado was very much in position to contend for the Pac-12 regular-season title. Then the Buffs lost their last four games SU and ATS, including three as favorites, dropping to sixth place. And Colorado has been a horrible bet of late, at 1-8 ATS in its last nine outings, including a current 0-5 pointspread purge.

Meanwhile, 11th-seeded Washington State is on a 1-6 SU skid (3-4 ATS), and when these teams got together in Boulder on Jan. 23, Wazzu got thumped 78-56 catching 13.5 points. Colorado seems like the right side, but laying nearly double digits with a team that has shown zero propensity for covering lately seems risky. One key issue for the Buffs of late: though they put up 41 in the first half of Saturday’s overtime loss at Utah, prior to that, they had four straight first halves of 29 points or less.

Pick: Colorado 1H Under

ODDS TO WIN 2020 PAC-12 TOURNAMENT

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