One of the marquee matchups of the college basketball season takes place on Saturday, as the No. 13 BYU Cougars hit the road to take on the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks.
Saturday’s game (4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN) sees projected top draft picks go head-to-head. Cougars F AJ Dybantsa and Jayhawks G Darryn Peterson are downright electric talents, and they could provide fireworks in this Big 12 clash.
Below, we’ll break down our BYU vs. Kansas prediction and picks for Saturday’s game. Make your college basketball picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
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BYU vs. Kansas Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
In their third year in the Big 12, BYU is pacing for their best finish. Off to a blazing 17-3 start, head coach Kevin Young has his team firing on all cylinders, although a tough 86-83 loss to the Arizona Wildcats just occurred on Monday.
Kansas, meanwhile, went 34-6 in 2021-22 and steadily declined each of the ensuing three years. After dropping to 11-5, Bill Self’s squad has ripped off four consecutive wins and seems to have Peterson on the better side of some nagging injuries.
Dating back to 1959, this is just the eighth time the Cougars and Jayhawks meet. Kansas owns a narrow 4-3 series lead, but BYU throttled them 91-57 on February 18 of last year.
BYU vs. Kansas Over/Under, Spread
BYU enters Saturday’s game as 4.5-point road underdogs, returning a 2.5x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright.
Kansas is a home favorite with a 1.49x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
- Spread: Kansas Jayhawks -4.5
- Over/Under: 156.5
- Game Winner Payout: Jayhawks 1.49x | Cougars 2.5x
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
BYU vs. Kansas Prediction on Spread
Here are some stats to know to help you make your BYU vs. Kansas prediction on Saturday, January 31.
- Kansas owns a 5-2 against-the-spread mark as a home favorite this year. BYU is 0-1 in its only opportunity to cover as road underdogs.
- The Cougars’ offense does most of its work inside the arc, owning college basketball’s 34th-ranked 2-point percentage (57.4).
- Kansas’ stifling defense holds foes to the ninth-lowest 2-point clip (44.7%) and the third-worst shooting efficiency (37.9%) overall.
- On defense, BYU ranks 77th with 21.0 defensive rebounds per game given up.
- The Jayhawks snag the fifth-most defensive boards (28.0) each night.
- This could be a tight-knit battle between two 2026 Big 12 powerhouses. According to KenPom, Kansas and BYU are 14th and 15th, respectively, in net rating entering Saturday.
BYU vs. Kansas Picks for PrizePicks Today: Saturday, January 31
Here are three top BYU vs. Kansas picks to target for Saturday, January 31 on PrizePicks. Player stat projections via PrizePicks are headlined by F AJ Dybantsa, G Darryn Peterson, and F Flory Bidunga.
BYU F AJ Dybantsa vs. Kansas Projection: 33 Pts + Rebs + Asts
- On the year, Dybantsa averages 33.9 combined points, rebounds, and assists. That number has held steady at 33.4 in conference play.
- Among the 34 Division I players pouring in 20+ points per outing, Dybantsa is one of six to do so while canning 53% or more of his field goal tries.
- Despite owning just a 31.8 3-point percentage, the Massachusetts native maintains a true shooting clip of 61.5%.
- Dybantsa ranks third in nightly free throw attempts at 8.6. Kansas allows 17.1 trips to the line on average, 41st in the country.
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Kansas G Darryn Peterson vs. BYU Projection: 22.5 Points
- In 10 games as a freshman, Peterson brings home 21.6 points on average. Since the start of conference play, he’s up to 23.2.
- If he qualified for the leaderboard, the former Prolific Prep standout’s 42.0 3-point percentage would rank 13th among players attempting as many as him.
- BYU cedes 24.5 3-point hoists per game, ranking 258th in the sport.
- Per Bart Torvik, out of all players with a usage rate of 30% or higher, Peterson’s 120.8 offensive rating is eighth.
Kansas F Flory Bidunga vs. BYU Projection: 23 Pts + Rebs
- Bidunga averages 23.4 points and rebounds per game. During conference play, his nightly ledger is 22.6.
- Flory is far from dominant on the boards. Among players with at least a 20% usage rate, his 11.0% offensive rebounding clip is 119th.
- BYU is a top-40 program in opponent offensive rebounding percentage (24.7, 38th).
- The Kansas big man’s range remains limited. He’s shooting just 42.6% on non-rim attempts and is 0-for-1 on treys.
Make #13 BYU vs. #14 Kansas Picks on PrizePicks
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