Baylor Bears vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 2/20/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Baylor Bears vs BYU Cougars

Date: Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: ESPN+

Marriott Center is the location where the BYU Cougars (18-7) will attempt to defeat the Baylor Bears (19-6) on Tuesday.

The Baylor Bears took the court against West Virginia and earned the victory with a final of 94-81 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Bears walked away with 23 while West Virginia finished the game with 22 fouls. They made 8 of 19 shots from 3-point range. West Virginia shot 70.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 19 of their 27 attempts. Furthermore, West Virginia pulled down 25 boards (8 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. West Virginia distributed 15 assists and had 6 steals in this game. In relation to the defense, Baylor allowed their opponent to shoot 52.9% from the floor on 27 out of 51 shooting. They also dished out 19 assists for this contest while forcing 13 turnovers and getting 11 steals. Concerning rebounding, they compiled 27 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Bears made 22 of their 30 shots for a rate of 73.3%. Baylor wrapped up the contest having earned a 53.6% FG percentage (30 out of 56) and knocked down 12 of their 32 three-point shots.

Ja'Kobe Walter is one guy who had an impact for the game. He finished 35.3% from the field and also distributed 1 assist. He played 34 minutes played but concluded the game with no rebounds. He ended up walking away with 23 points on 6 out of 17 shooting.

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Baylor steps onto the hardwood with a record of 19-6 this year. They have an average of 83.0 points per game (21st in D-1) while going 49.3% from the floor. The Bears are shooting 40.1% on shots from downtown (224 of 558) and 72.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, Baylor is snagging 35.1 boards per contest and has accounted for 393 assists on the season, which ranks 71st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 11.8 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Bears are forcing 12.9 turnovers per game while drawing 19.4 personal fouls. They rank 152nd in college basketball in giving up assists with 324 surrendered on the year. The Bears defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 45.3% (642 of 1,418) and they relinquish 29.2 boards per contest as a team. They are conceding 33.5% on 3-point shots while they are 144th in D-1 in opponents points per game (70.7).

For their last game, the BYU Cougars took a defeat with a final score of 93-83 against Oklahoma State. The Cougars recorded 17 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 31 for the matchup. They turned the ball over 8 times, while getting 7 steals for this contest. Oklahoma State was called for 11 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 15 attempts. They were able to bury 13 of the free throw tries for a rate of 86.7%. When discussing shooting from distance, BYU knocked down 8 of their 35 tries (22.9%). When the game finished, the Cougars ended up shooting 31 for 71 from the floor which had them sitting at 43.7%. The Cougars allowed Oklahoma State to make 31 out of their 52 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 59.6% for this contest. They went 50.0% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 11 out of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 20 of 29 at the free throw line (69.0%). When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, BYU permitted Oklahoma State to pull down 27 in all (5 on the offensive side).

Fousseyni Traore was important for the Cougars for the contest. He converted 7 of 10 in this contest for a field goal rate of 70.0%, and accounted for 4 rebounds. He accumulated 17 points in his 21 mins of playing time and had 1 assist in the matchup.

BYU has a win-loss mark of 18-7 for the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 47.0% from the field, which is ranked 61st in college hoops. BYU has 2,084 pts on the campaign (83.4 per game) and they collect 40.1 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 19.1 times per game (3rd in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 10.9 times per contest. The Cougars commit 17.4 fouls per game and they shoot 74.0% from the charity stripe.

The BYU defense allows 30.6% on 3-pointers (158 of 517) and their opponents are connecting on 69.5% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 11.9 assists and 32.7 boards every game, which ranks them 98th and 70th in those defensive categories. The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 87th in college basketball in PPG given up with 68.6. They are forcing 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 42.3% from the floor (107th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Baylor

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