The 7th-seeded Portland State Vikings (14-16) meet the No. 3-seed Northern Colorado Bears (19-14) in a Big Sky Tournament semifinal Friday night in Boise, Idaho. The contest at Idaho Central Arena is slated to tip at 10 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Portland State vs. Northern Colorado odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Portland State has won tourney games over Idaho State (Wednesday) and Southern Utah (Thursday) and has overall won six of its last seven.
The fast-paced Portland State in the Big Sky has often had trouble with knocking down shots and preventing the same. But in two tournament games, PSU has shot 49.0% from the floor while holding foes to a 34.7% mark.
Northern Colorado was swept by the Vikings in the regular season. UNC and PSU played each other in back-to-back games Jan. 31 and Feb. 3. Since then, the Bears have gone 9-3, mostly due to tremendous 3-point shooting.
UNC has shot 40.1% from distance over that stretch. Northern Colorado advanced in the tourney with a 68-67 win over Eastern Washington Thursday.
See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
Portland State vs. Northern Colorado odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 4:15 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Portland State +155 (bet $100 to win $155) | Northern Colorado -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Portland State +4.5 (-120) | Northern Colorado -4.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 150.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
[tipico]
Portland State vs. Northern Colorado odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Northern Colorado 75, Portland State 72
Money line
PASS.
There are better plays to leverage elsewhere.
Against the spread
The underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last five series meetings. And that’s the lean here.
Portland State did well to game control itself to victory in game No. 1 versus UNC. Game 2 was more of a momentum-swing affair: the Bears — at home — led much of the second half but mostly by a margin of 3-to-6 points.
The younger Vikings squad is on a solid trend line with its overall play. With some push in the turnover exchange and some regression in UNC’s distance shooting, a PSU within-a-score-late expectation is reasonable.
TAKE PORTLAND STATE +4.5 (-120).
Over/Under
Northern Colorado has a history of running with faster teams and generating Overs on a consistent basis. But this total started too high at 154.5. It may be a tad high still.
Much profit potential has been sapped from this play, but the UNDER 150.5 (-115) is still a slight lean.
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