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It's time to continue our WCC Tournament odds series with an LMU-Washington State prediction and pick. Find out how to watch LMU-Washington State.
Washington State started the college basketball season so well, but in January and February, the West Coast Conference took a real bite out of the Cougars, who were pushed into the middle of the conference and did not have the top-tier season they hoped to achieve. Washington State got out of the blocks quickly, winning at Nevada and scoring some other solid nonconference wins under first-year head coach David Riley, who shows promise as an X-and-O engineer. However, as the season continued, opponents became more familiar with what Washington State was doing. WSU players didn't respond well to opponents' adjustments. Riley realized how limited his roster actually was. He won a lot of games with his coaching in the early part of the season, but when the scouting reports and game plans on his roster became more identifiable, WSU lost its edge. Riley needs a talent upgrade to get his team to a point where Wazzu always has a counter-move it can make to thwart the opposition. It will be interesting to see how Washington State responds in the WCC Tournament after a conference regular season which did not go the way the Cougars had expected.
Here are the LMU-Washington State WCC Tournament Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
WCC Tournament Odds: LMU-Washington State Odds
LMU: +2.5 (-102)
Moneyline: +126
Washington State: -2.5 (-120)
Moneyline: -152
Over: 148.5 (-110)
Under: 148.5 (-110)
How to Watch LMU vs Washington State
Time: 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT
Article Continues Below
TV: ESPN Plus
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Why LMU Will Cover The Spread/Win
Washington State really fell off a cliff later in the season. The Cougars became flat. They had a hard time playing defense without fouling. Their offense was not consistent enough to compensate for the defense's flaws. The team seemed to run out of ideas and not find the ability to adjust to opponents. That is not a team one should trust in a tournament setting to begin with. Add on the fact that Loyola Marymount pulled away from San Diego on Friday night to win easily and convincingly. Not going down to the wire in a tournament game enabled Loyola Marymount to rest its starters late in that game and make sure they aren't overextended for this game against Washington State. The game sets up well for LMU.
Why Washington State Will Cover The Spread/Win
Washington State has had a rough time of it in the WCC this year, but tournament basketball and a tournament situation — win which Washington State can play its way into the 2025 NCAA Tournament if it gets the automatic bid — could be just the tonic to revive this team. We saw Washington State win 10 of its first 13 games this season. We saw this team play really well before getting pushed around the past several weeks. This is the time for WSU to hit the reset button in every way — physically, mentally, tactically — and become more like the team we saw in November and early December. If that team shows up, WSU will cover the very small point spread in this game.
Final LMU-Washington State Prediction & Pick
Washington State has more talent and will indeed find that reset button here. Take Washington State.
Final LMU-Washington State Prediction & Pick: Washington State -2.5
