The Denver Pioneers (12-10, 3-6 Summit) attempt to knock off the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (17-4, 8-0) in Tulsa Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the UCLA vs. USC odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Denver comes into this matchup off a 76-61 loss to South Dakota State Saturday. The Pioneers, who came in as 10-point underdogs, failed to cover the spread against the better team in the Jack Rabbits.
At 74.5 points per game, the Pioneers offense matches up good against an Oral Roberts defense that allows 72.1 points per game – good for 260th in the nation. The issue the Pioneers will need to fix, and the Golden Eagles will be able to take advantage of, is on the other end of the court.
Denver ranks 326th in team defense at 75.5 points per game. Oral Roberts and its fast-paced offense ranks 7th in the country averaging 84.2 points a game. The Golden Eagles are lethal from the field with a 47.8 FG%, and this, along with the terrible Pioneers defense will allow Oral Roberts to score early and often.