Pepperdine Waves vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 1/23/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pepperdine Waves vs BYU Cougars

Date: Saturday, January 23, 2021

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Pepperdine (+11)

Marriott Center is the site where and the BYU Cougars (12-3) will take on the Pepperdine Waves (6-6) on Saturday. The line on this game has BYU as 11-point favorites. The total opens at 147.

Pepperdine comes into this contest with a win-loss record of 6-6 for the campaign. They average 78.0 points per outing (74th in the nation) while connecting on 46.6% from the field. The Waves are hitting 31.6% on 3-pointers (86 of 272) and 80.3% from the free throw line. As a team, Pepperdine is pulling down 35.2 boards per contest and has tallied 218 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 38th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 14.5 times per contest and as a group are committing 19.4 personal fouls per game. On defense, the Waves are able to force 14.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.5 fouls. They relinquish 28.1% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 266th in college basketball in points per game allowed (74.2). The Waves defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 43.6% (322 of 738) and they surrender 36.3 boards per game as a group. They are ranked 257th in college basketball in giving up assists with 177 surrendered this season.

The Pepperdine Waves faced off with the Pacific Tigers and earned the victory with a final of 85-68 in their last contest. Pepperdine ended the contest having earned a 45.9% FG percentage (28 out of 61) and converted 12 of their 24 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Waves knocked down 17 of 21 tries for a percentage of 81.0%. In the matter of grabbing boards, they compiled 37 with 12 of them being offensive. They also doled out 25 assists in this game as well as earning 9 steals and 2 blocked shots. Pertaining to defense, Pepperdine allowed the other team to go 45.9% from the field on 28 out of 61 shooting. Pacific doled out 13 dimes and had 12 steals for the matchup. In addition, the Tigers pulled down 28 boards (7 offensive, 21 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Pacific finished the contest at 62.5% from the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of their 16 shots. They knocked down 6 out of their 21 tries from 3-point range.

Kessler Edwards is someone who was a factor in this matchup. He racked up 37 points on 11 of 18 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes played and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Edwards walked away from this one shooting 61.1% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists. Another guy that played a role in this contest for the Waves was Darryl Polk. He pulled down 4 boards and also earned 2 dimes. He finished the game shooting 80.0% from the field for the matchup by shooting 4-of-5 (11 points). At the conclusion of this game, Polk played 22 min.

BYU has a mark of 12-3 on the campaign. The Cougars are committing 17.5 fouls per contest and they go 70.3% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 17.1 times per contest (28th in college hoops) and they cough up possession 13.8 times per game. BYU has earned 1,166 points for the campaign (77.7 per contest) and they collect 39.7 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cougars are hitting on 47.8% from the field, which has them ranked 53rd in the country. The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 100th in the nation in PPG given up with 67.3. They are able to force 12.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 40.6% from the field (71st in the nation). The BYU defense allows 33.3% on 3-point shots (104 of 312) and opponents are making 68.3% of their foul shots. They have allowed 11.9 assists and 33.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 107th and 108th in Division 1.

In their last game, the BYU Cougars walked away with a victory by a final of 95-67 against the Portland Pilots. The Cougars corralled 35 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 43 in this game. They stuffed 4 attempts while getting 4 steals for the game. The Pilots had 15 fouls in the game which took the Cougars to the charity stripe for a total of 12 tries. They were able to make 9 of the free throws for a rate of 75.0%. Concerning shooting from distance, BYU buried 14 out of 33 attempts (42.4%). In all, the Cougars finished 36 for 63 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 57.1%. The Cougars permitted the Pilots to convert 24 of their 64 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.5% in the matchup. They finished shooting 33.3% from 3-point land via 11 of 33 and walked away from this one shooting 8 of 10 at the free throw line (80.0%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, BYU permitted Portland to grab 22 in total (5 offensive).

Matt Haarms ended up being a factor for the Cougars for the matchup. He buried 9 of 9 in this matchup giving him a rate of 100.0%, which earned him 23 points. Haarms totaled 6 boards in his 21 mins played and tallied 2 dimes for the matchup. Another guy that ended being a contributor for BYU was Brandon Averette. He was able to score 12 points in 23 minutes on the court by going 5 of 9 shooting in the game. Averette finished going 55.6% from the floor in addition to earning 4 assists and 3 rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pepperdine (+11)

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