Washington State Cougars vs Duquesne Dukes Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Washington State has opened 0-2 and allowed 79.5 points a game, and its eastern road trip now runs through a Duquesne team that has defended its own floor well. The Cougars need a first win. The Dukes are favored by 6.5 at home.

The Matchup

Duquesne hosts Washington State on Tuesday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, on ESPN+, with Duquesne a 6.5-point favorite, a total of 147.5, and the Dukes priced at -245 on the moneyline against Washington State at +200. Duquesne is 2-0. Washington State is 0-2, and the Cougars have looked it at the defensive end.

Washington State lost 76-61 at home to Davidson on November 3 and 83-71 at High Point on November 7. The Cougars have scored 66.0 points a game and allowed 79.5, and the one bright spot is Lazerek Houston, who leads the team at 17.0 points a game.

RJ Jones hands out 3.0 assists a game, and Tyler Kropp leads the team on the glass at just 4.0 rebounds a game, which tells its own story about how little size Washington State has brought to the fight so far. Houston, Jones, and Kropp are all active with no injury designations.

Duquesne has handled its first week at home, beating Purdue Fort Wayne 78-71 and Central State 68-58. The Dukes have scored 73.0 points a game and allowed 64.5, and Yoav Berman leads them at 18.0 points a game. Izaiah Pasha runs the offense at 3.0 assists a game, and Kerem Konan gives Duquesne a real presence inside at 8.5 rebounds a game. Berman, Pasha, and Konan are all active with no injury designations.

Last season these were middling teams in different ways. Duquesne went 18-15, scoring 78.3 points a game and allowing 75.2. Washington State went 12-20, scoring 76.1 and allowing 77.5. This season's first two games have flipped the Cougars' problem: the scoring has dried up at 66.0 a game while the defense has gotten worse, and a team from Pullman playing its second straight game on the East Coast is not catching any breaks from the schedule.

Key Factors

The glass is where this game tilts. Konan pulls down 8.5 rebounds a game for Duquesne, and Washington State's team leader is Kropp at 4.0. When a team's best rebounder would be the other team's second option inside, second chances pile up on one end and one-and-done possessions pile up on the other. Washington State cannot afford empty trips in this building, because its defense has not shown it can string together stops.

The scoring burden is the other half of it. Houston is a real scorer at 17.0 a game, but he is close to a one-man offense right now, and Duquesne can load its defense toward him in a way Davidson and High Point already have. The Cougars scored 61 and 71 in their two games. Duquesne does not need to be explosive to cover 6.5 at home. It needs its normal defensive game, the one that held its first two opponents to 64.5 a game, and enough Berman to keep Washington State chasing.

The honest counterpoint is that Duquesne has not been tested either. Purdue Fort Wayne and Central State are not Washington State, even a struggling Washington State, and the Dukes scored only 68 against Central State. If Houston gets loose early and the Cougars finally shoot the way their guards are capable of, a 6.5-point home favorite with a 73-point offense is living dangerously. The bet is that the rebounding gap and the road legs show up first.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.