BYU Cougars vs Pepperdine Waves Prediction, 1/27/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: BYU Cougars vs Pepperdine Waves

Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Location: Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, CA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: BYU (-6)

Firestone Fieldhouse is the venue where and the Pepperdine Waves (6-7) will take on the BYU Cougars (13-3) on Wednesday. Pepperdine opens this game as 6-point underdogs. The total has been set at 146.

BYU heads into this matchup with a record of 13-3 for the campaign. The Cougars are hitting 34.5% on 3-point shots (134 of 388) and 70.6% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 76.9 points per game (78th in Division 1) while connecting on 47.2% from the field. They turn it over 13.6 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.5 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, BYU is pulling down 40.3 boards per contest and is sitting with 272 dimes this year, which is 10th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. On the defensive end, the Cougars are able to force 12.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.1 personal fouls. The Cougars defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 39.8% (383 of 962) and they concede 33.8 boards per game as a team. They are ranked 237th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 187 surrendered for the campaign. They are giving up 32.6% on shots from distance and they are ranked 84th in the nation in PPG allowed (66.4).

The BYU Cougars faced the Waves and went home with a win by a final score of 65-54 in their last contest. BYU ended the game with a 37.5% field goal percentage (21 of 56) and converted 6 out of their 23 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Cougars made 17 of their 23 shots for a percentage of 73.9%. Regarding getting rebounds, they earned 45 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 15 assists for this game while earning 3 steals and 4 blocks. When talking about the defense, BYU allowed the other team to go 37.5% from the floor on 21 out of 56 shooting. Pepperdine dished out 9 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. On top of that, the Waves grabbed 33 rebounds (7 offensive, 26 defensive) and had 4 blocks. Pepperdine finished the contest at 78.6% from the free throw line by making 11 of their 14 attempts. They converted 5 out of their 22 tries from distance.

Brandon Averette is a guy who came through in this matchup. He had 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 25 minutes played and totaled 6 rebounds. Averette ended up going 54.5% from the floor and recorded 5 assists. One more player that was a determining factor in this matchup for the Cougars was Trevin Knell. He snagged 2 rebounds and accounted for 2 assists. He finished 50.0% from the field in the matchup by going 4-of-8 (12 points). When all was said and done, Knell saw the court for 24 minutes.

Pepperdine has a mark of 6-7 on the season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Waves are hitting on 45.1% from the field, which ranks them 144th in college basketball. Pepperdine has accounted for 990 pts for the season (76.2 per game) and they pull in 35.5 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 17.5 times per contest (19th in the nation) and they are turning it over 13.9 times per game. The Waves are responsible for committing 19.5 fouls per game and they go 80.2% from the free throw line. The Waves on defense are ranked 252nd in Division 1 in points allowed per contest with 73.5. The Pepperdine defense surrenders 27.9% on three-point shots (81 of 290) and opponents are knocking down 68.9% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 14.8 assists and 37.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 288th and 267th in college hoops. They are forcing 14.2 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 43.2% from the field (193rd in college basketball).

In their loss to BYU, the Waves snagged 26 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 33 in the game. They also blocked 2 attempts while getting 5 steals in this matchup. The Cougars were called for 17 fouls for this contest which took the Waves to the free throw line for a total of 14 tries. They were able to convert 11 of them for a clip of 78.6%. Pertaining to three-point shots, Pepperdine knocked down 5 of their 22 tries (22.7%). Overall, the Waves ended up shooting 19 for 66 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 28.8%. The Waves permitted the Cougars to convert 21 out of 56 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.5% in this game. They shot 26.1% from 3-point land by going 6 out of 23 and ended up going 17 of 23 from the charity stripe (73.9%). In reference to attacking the glass, Pepperdine allowed BYU to get 45 in all (8 on the offensive side).

Colbey Ross ended up being a factor for the Waves for the contest. He made 7 out of 16 in this game for a field goal percentage of 43.8%, which got him 21 points. Ross pulled down 2 boards in his 38 minutes and had 4 dimes for the contest. An additional guy that was important for Pepperdine was Kessler Edwards. He ended up finishing with 11 points in his 31 minutes played by way of 4 of 13 shooting for the matchup. Edwards walked away from this one going 30.8% from the field while also earning 2 dimes and 10 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take BYU (-6)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here