BYU Cougars vs Arizona Wildcats Prediction, 2/22/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: BYU Cougars vs Arizona Wildcats

Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025

Location: McKale Center in Fayetteville, AR

TV: ESPN+

McKale Center is where the Arizona Wildcats (18-8) will try to beat the BYU Cougars (18-8) on Saturday.

The BYU Cougars took the court against Kansas and took home the win by a score of 91-57 in their last game. In reference to fouls, the Cougars ended up walking away with 10 and Kansas finished the game with 9 fouls. They also converted 9 of 32 tries from beyond the arc. Kansas walked away from this one shooting 40.0% from the charity stripe by burying 2 of 5 tries. On top of that, Kansas totaled 29 rebounds (6 offensive, 23 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Kansas distributed 14 assists and had 4 steals in this matchup. In reference to defending, BYU allowed the other team to shoot 36.5% from the floor on 23 of 63 shooting. They also recorded 24 dimes for the matchup in addition to creating 15 turnovers and having 14 steals. In the matter of rebounding, they compiled a total of 40 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Cougars knocked down 9 of their 12 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. BYU ended the game with a 51.5% field goal percentage (34 out of 66) and converted 14 of their 36 3-pointers.

Richie Saunders is someone who came through for the contest. He ended up going 69.2% from the field and also earned 3 assists. He played 30 minutes and collected 2 rebounds. He finished with 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting.

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BYU heads into this matchup with a record of 18-8 for the campaign. They are losing possession via turnover 12.0 times per game and as a team are committing 15.4 fouls every game. As a unit, BYU is grabbing 37.6 boards per game and has accounted for 445 dimes so far this year, which is 25th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Cougars are connecting on 36.6% on 3-point shots (274 of 748) and 69.7% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 80.2 pts per game (45th in the nation) while hitting 48.2% from the field.

Defensively, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 12.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.8 personal fouls. They concede 34.5% on 3-pointers while they are 78th in college hoops in points per game allowed (68.5). The Cougars are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.7% (632 of 1,481) and they surrender 30.8 rebounds per contest as a group. They currently rank 153rd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 338 surrendered on the campaign.

In their last game, the Arizona Wildcats took home the win by a final score of 74-67 against Baylor. In reference to rebounding, Arizona permitted Baylor to grab 28 in total (8 on the offensive glass). They shot 22.7% from beyond the perimeter by going 5 out of 22 and ended up shooting 18 of 25 from the free throw line (72.0%). The Wildcats permitted Baylor to make 22 of 55 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 40.0% for the game. Overall, the Wildcats finished 28 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.3%. In terms of shooting from beyond the arc, Arizona converted 4 out of their 18 tries (22.2%). They were able to convert 14 of the free throw tries for a clip of 77.8%. Baylor was called for 19 fouls for the contest which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 18 shots. They coughed up the ball 13 times, while earning 9 steals in this matchup. The Wildcats collected 26 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 34 in the matchup.

Tobe Awaka ended up being a factor for the Wildcats for the matchup. He buried 6 of 9 in this contest for a rate of 66.7%, and added 12 rebounds. He accumulated 14 points in his 32 mins on the hardwood, but left the arena with no assists.

Arizona has a record of 18-8 for the campaign. The Wildcats commit 16.2 fouls every game and they go 77.2% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.0 times per contest (20th in the country) and they turn the ball over 11.9 times per contest. Arizona has 2,107 pts this year (81.0 per contest) and they pull down 40.7 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are connecting on 47.1% from the field, which is ranked 63rd in the nation.

The Arizona defense gives up 31.3% on shots from beyond the arc (210 of 671) and their opposition knocks down 70.0% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 13.0 assists and 32.7 boards per contest, which is 172nd and 82nd in those categories. The Wildcats on the defensive side of the court are 106th in college in points per game surrendered with 69.4. They are forcing 12.5 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.3% from the floor (33rd in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take BYU

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