Washington State Cougars vs High Point Panthers Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 1

High Point won 31 games last season and is 2-0 with a defense allowing 53 points a game. Washington State scored 61 in its opener. Saturday at the Qubein Center is a long trip into a bad matchup.

The Matchup

Washington State visits High Point on Saturday afternoon at Qubein Center in High Point, on ESPN+, with High Point an 11.5-point favorite and a total of 153.5. High Point is 2-0 and Washington State is 0-1, and the cross country trip the Cougars are making tells half the story before the ball goes up.

Last season these programs lived in different worlds. High Point went 31-5 in the Big South, scoring 89.7 points a game and allowing 71.3, one of the best mid major seasons in the country. Washington State went 12-20, scoring 76.1 and allowing 77.5.

With one and two games played this season, the numbers here lean on last season, and last season says High Point was a powerhouse and Washington State was rebuilding. This season's first looks widened the gap instead of closing it: High Point has allowed 53.0 points a game through two wins, while Washington State opened with a 76-61 home loss to Davidson in which the Cougars shot 24-of-68.

Cam'Ron Fletcher is the player Washington State has to solve. He scored 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 10 rebounds against Maryland Eastern Shore, a complete two way game from the frontcourt, and CJ Brown added 13 points while getting to the line 12 times.

Washington State's opener had no such anchor: Jaylen Harrell led the Cougars with 13 points off the bench, Jamari Phillips needed 12 shots to score 11, and no starter took the game over at any point. A road team without a go to scorer, facing a defense allowing 53 points a game, has a very narrow path.

Key Factors

High Point's defense is the mechanism in this pick. Allowing 53 points a game through two outings, with Fletcher protecting the glass at 10 rebounds and the Panthers holding Maryland Eastern Shore to 49 points in this building, is a profile that smothers a visiting offense still searching for itself.

Washington State shot 35 percent in its opener and scored 61 points at home. Nothing about a cross country flight to a loud, small, hostile gym fixes a shooting problem that severe, and every empty Cougar possession feeds a High Point team that scored 89.7 a game last season and knows how to turn defense into runs.

The situational spot is just as lopsided. High Point has played twice, both at home, with its rotation set and its confidence rolling. Washington State has played once, lost at home to Davidson, and now travels east for a mid afternoon start that lands early on its players' body clocks.

Fletcher's efficiency means High Point does not need a hot shooting night from deep to build margin, and Brown's 12 free throw attempts say the Panthers attack the rim and live at the line in this building. Double digit home favorites with the better defense, the better star, and the rest advantage are exactly the favorites worth laying points with.

The counterpoint is Washington State's size and the law of early November shooting. The Cougars cannot shoot 35 percent forever, Harrell was efficient off the bench with 13 points on 8 shots, and Dominik Robinson scored 10 on 5-of-9 shooting inside, so the pieces of a competent offense exist.

High Point's two wins came against Liberty and Maryland Eastern Shore, and its most recent outing produced only 63 points, a reminder that the Panthers can bog down too. If Washington State's shots finally fall and High Point plays its second straight sluggish offensive game, the visitors hang inside this number all afternoon and the long flight home feels a lot better than expected.

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.