San Francisco defeats Washington State 86-75 in West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinal
LAS VEGAS (AP) Sophomore Ryan Beasley scored a career-high 29 points and San Francisco defeated Washington State 86-75 on Sunday night in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament.
The third-seeded Dons (24-8) move on to play No. 2 seed Gonzaga in a Monday semifinal. No. 1 seed Saint Mary’s plays No. 9 seed Pepperdine in the other semifinal.
Beasley, who entered play averaging 7.7 points per game while shooting 26% from 3-point range, made 4 of 8 from distance. Malik Thomas finished with 18 points and six rebounds. Tyrone Riley IV and Junjie Wang both scored 10 with Wang adding 10 rebounds.
Ethan Price made three 3-pointers and totaled 26 points and six rebounds to pace the sixth-seeded Cougars (19-14). LeJuan Watts added 20 points and four steals. Nate Calmese pitched in with 16 points and 11 assists.
The Dons outrebounded the Cougars 49-25 and that led to a 21-4 advantage in second-chance points.
—
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
© 2004-2025 CBS Interactive. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.
The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and CBS Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.
Images by Getty Images and Imagn
LAS VEGAS (AP) Sophomore Ryan Beasley scored a career-high 29 points and San Francisco defeated Washington State 86-75 on Sunday night in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament.
Our Latest College Basketball Stories
2025 CAA Tournament bracket, updates
Conference tournaments: Tracking NCAA automatic bids
Texas’ loss to South Carolina shows offensive issues
UCLA storms back to beat rival USC for Big Ten title
2025 NCAA Women’s Tournament: Conference dates, champs
St. Thomas vs. Omaha odds, Summit League picks, bets
CAMERON SALERNO • 1 MIN READ
DAVID COBB • 4 MIN READ
JACK MALONEY • 3 MIN READ
JACK MALONEY • 4 MIN READ
CBS SPORTS STAFF • 1 MIN READ
CBS SPORTS STAFF • 3 MIN READ
Washington State vs San Francisco Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s WCC Tournament Game
Find out why our college basketball betting picks believe the line on Washington State is far too steep as they take on the San Francisco Dons in the WCC Tournament quarterfinals.
This article contains predictions for an old game!
Pour yourself a cup of your preferred caffeinated beverage and stay up late to catch a quarterfinal WCC Championship matchup between the No. 6 seed Washington State Cougars (19-13) and the No. 3 seed San Francisco Dons (23-8) tonight.
Wazzu put forth a dazzling display in last night’s 94-77 throttling of LMU and will look to stay hot against a short-handed USF squad.
Check out why I’m backing the underdog with my Washington State vs. San Francisco predictions and college basketball picks for Sunday, March 9.
Give me Washington State (+180) to pull off the upset. San Francisco got some extremely unfortunate news this week when it was announced that star guard Marcus Williams will be withheld from competition due to a potential NCAA rule violation. Part of what made USF an appealing team in March is that it had two terrific lead guards to pair with a stout defense, but now half of that equation is missing. Wazzu dominated its third-round game against LMU and is ready to capitalize.
My best bet
Washington State +5 (-110 at bet365)
My analysis
This line doesn’t quite make sense to me. These teams met twice in the regular season, with the Washington State Cougars winning as a two-point favorite in Pullman and the San Francisco Dons winning as a 3.5-point favorite at the Sobrato Center. That would imply that USF would be -1 on a neutral court, not -5, as is the case for this quarterfinal matchup.
Add in the fact that second-leading scorer (15.1 ppg) and leading assist man (4.3) Marcus Williams will seemingly miss the contest, and something is awry. Williams and Malik Thomas (19.1 ppg) are the only Dons averaging double-figures, so the entire game plan is now in doubt.
USF was a wagon at home (16-1) but was much more beatable on the road (5-5). The Dons rank 324th in Haslametrics’ away from home metric.
Wazzu made me a believer with its thoroughly dominant 17-point triumph over LMU on Saturday. I was hesitant about the Cougars due to their poor finish to the regular season (2-9 in their last 11 games), but perhaps that is worth a revisit.
After all, this program has a new head coach, a new conference, and is playing with almost an entirely new roster. Such is life after realignment. Some bumps in the road are to be expected along the way, especially when you’re one of two teams in the conference unfamiliar with the new venues and styles of play.
The Cougars have five players averaging double figures led by Nate Calmese’s 15.2 ppg, and two of whom stand 6-foot-10 (Ethan Price, Dane Erikstrup). Although they’re playing their second game in as many days, their willingness to share the wealth (26 assists in two consecutive games) bodes well for longevity.
The worry, of course, is a defense allowing 78.1 ppg and ranking 198th in adjusted efficiency (KenPom). It’s unclear how USF’s offense will respond to Williams’ absence — he leads the team in Offensive Bayesian Performance Rating (EvanMiya) and makes the offense go as the floor general (team-high 28.8% assist rate). His absence could come at the perfect time for the Cougs.
Washington State +5.5
Under 148.5
I’m reticent to play an Under in the WCC Championship as teams have combined to go 5-0 O/U through the first three rounds. That being said, I can’t help but think that there’s some value in the Under given the uncertainty of USF’s offensive outlook sans Williams.
The Dons have been terrific defensively, ranking 27th in adjusted efficiency since February 1 (BartTorvik). Chris Gerlufsen is a fantastic coach and I’d expect him to maximize his team’s strengths by using their strong defense to slow down a red-hot Wazzu offense that has scored 90+ points in three consecutive games.
The Cougars thrive when they space teams out (36.5% from 3-point range) and find open cuts to the rim (32nd in near-proximity field goal percentage per Haslametrics). USF’s defense is elite at defending the arc (third nationally in 3-point percentage allowed at 28.2%) and is a long, athletic, well-coached defense that theoretically should cut off some of those cuts to the paint and slow this game down. Plug your nose and take the Under.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Take advantage of the early win payout at bet365, where any pre-game CBB moneyline bet gets paid out as a winner if your school goes up by 18+ points!
Learn more about this feature, and all of bet365’s offerings, with our comprehensive bet365 review.
21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Teams
Spread
Total
Moneyline
Washington St.
+7.0
-118
o 151.5
+108
+250
San Francisco
-4.5
-152
u 156.5
-110
-215
View Matchup
View all NCAAB odds
Odds courtesy of bet365
David Riley-coached teams are 4-1 ATS as an underdog in the postseason. Find more college basketball betting trends for Washington State vs. San Francisco.
San Francisco Dons
Player Position Status
Marcus Williams G
Out – Not Injury Related
Reported: Fri, March 7
Washington State Cougars
Player Position Status
Cedric Coward G
Out – Shoulder
Reported: Wed, November 27
Marcus Wilson G
Out – Shoulder
Reported: Mon, November 18
Rihards Vavers F
Out – Wrist
Reported: Sat, November 9
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
JD is a diehard college football fan with five years of experience writing betting and fantasy content for publications such as SportsGrid, Fantasy Points, Fantrax, and Devy Watch. An avid reader, he uses his inclination to look at things with an exhausting and in-depth, analytic viewpoint combined with a love for statistics and metrics to form a well-rounded handicapping approach.
If you choose to make use of any information on this website including online sports betting services from any websites that may be featured on this website, we strongly recommend that you carefully check your local laws before doing so.It is your sole responsibility to understand your local laws and observe them strictly.Covers does not provide any advice or guidance as to the legality of online sports betting or other online gambling activities within your jurisdiction and you are responsible for complying with laws that are applicable to you in your relevant locality.Covers disclaims all liability associated with your use of this website and use of any information contained on it.As a condition of using this website, you agree to hold the owner of this website harmless from any claims arising from your use of any services on any third party website that may be featured by Covers.
Washington State vs San Francisco prediction
Washington State vs San Francisco same-game parlay (SGP)
Cash your ML bets quicker with bet365’s early win payout
Washington State vs San Francisco odds
Washington State vs San Francisco betting trend to know
How to watch Washington State vs San Francisco
Washington State vs San Francisco key injuries
Pages related to this topic
On this page
Who will win Washington State vs San Francisco?
Washington State vs San Francisco live odds
Washington State vs San Francisco opening odds
Upcoming Picks
Popular Content
US sports betting
Canadian sports betting
| Location | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, NV |
| Date | Sunday, 3-9-2025 |
| Tip-off | 11:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN2 |
WSU men’s run in WCC tournament ends in quarterfinals, losing to USF 86-75
FILED UNDER:
The season likely comes to a close in Las Vegas.
The Washington State Cougars season likely came to a close on Sunday night after losing to the San Francisco Dons 86-75 in the WCC quarterfinals.
Despite a 26-point performance from Ethan Price, 20 from LeJuan Watts, and a double double from Nate Calmese, it wasn’t enough to keep WSU in the WCC tournament. USF smothered WSU on the glass, hauling in 21 offensive rebounds and 49 rebounds in total, while WSU grabbed just 25 total rebounds. The 21 offensive rebounds led to 21 second chance points for the Dons. Ryan Beasley led all scorers with 29.
WSU was without senior Dane Erikstrup for most of the game, who took an elbow to the face early on. Erikstrup did return to the court briefly after exiting the game to be examined but didn’t play for very much longer. He finished with nine minutes played.
The Cougars had the game tied at 34 all with a bucket to open the second half, but USF put together an 18-7 run to go up double digits. WSU answered right back with a 12-2 run to pull the game back within a point thanks to a Rihards Vavers three to bookend the run. Unfortunately for WSU, that would prove to be the peak of their momentum. USF began to pull away, slowly pushing their lead all the way out to 12 and would keep WSU at an arms length away down the stretch. The Cougars only got as close as eight points with 2:30 remaining before USF got out to a game-high 13 points with free throws to close out WSU’s time in the WCC tournament.
Pending an invite to a postseason tournament, this is likely the end for the 2024-25 WSU season and year one for David Riley. Like the city where they saw there season end, it all starts with highs and flashes of potential but finishes in disappointment and frustration.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537). Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support (MA). Visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). Call 877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 21+ (18+ D.C.) and present in select states (for KS, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino). Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT) or visit FanDuel.com/RG.
