NCAAB Odds, Pick for Portland vs Hawaii

We head out to the island in Honolulu as the Portland Pilots out of the WCC will take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. It's been tough sledding as of late for the Pilots, who have lost three of their last four games and find themselves with a 6-6 record.

As for the Rainbow Warriors, they're coming off a loss to Nevada. However, they're playing much better basketball than the Pilots, and enter the game with a 7-2 record.

The Rainbow Warriors are a decent-sized favorite entering this contest.

The Pilots have a long season ahead of them. Once conference play begins, they're projected to win just four games through the entire rest of their schedule.

A big reason Portland has struggled this season is its lack of defense. The Pilots enter this matchup 294th in adjusted defensive efficiency.

They will have the height advantage in this game, but they've struggled to rebound the basketball. The Rainbow Warriors are excellent at preventing second opportunities, so this will be an uphill climb for the Pilots.

Portland's offense is shooting 32% as a team from deep, which isn't a great sign going against a strong perimeter defense. I have a feeling those shooting woes are going to continue.

Despite the Pilots ranking 58th in Rim & 3 Rate, ShotQuality suggests they have some slight regression coming considering Portland is 328th in adjusted defensive shot quality.

Forward Vukasin Masic, who is shooting 40% from deep on the season, provides most of the scoring for the Pilots. This team gets to the foul line a decent amount, so it will have to cash in on any extra scoring opportunities it can get.

This isn't the best matchup for Portland, and I don't see many areas that the Pilots will be able to exploit.

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The entire Rainbow Warriors starting lineup is filled with seniors, and it's evident this group wants to make the NCAA Tournament this season. One more dominant win at home and they will be one of the nicer surprises of the season thus far.

Hawaii is about even in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, ranking inside the top 140 in both categories. The Rainbow Warriors are 54th in 3PT% and 28th in attempts, so they will be firing right from the get-go. If the Rainbow Warriors get hot from deep, this is going to be a long night for the Pilots.

This offense will not have the height advantage, but Hawaii is still excellent at preventing second scoring chances. If the Rainbow Warriors are going to dominate, they will also cash in on their scoring chances on the inside.

This game might not be at 11 p.m. on a random Saturday in the fall, but I have a feeling this could fill all of the late night cravings of some hoops after dark.

Pick: Hawaii -9 (Play to -10)

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