We are fast approaching the best time of the college basketball season, and it seems like every day we have a plethora of monster matchups that will have big-time seeding implications come March. The best game of the day features the #23 BYU Cougars rolling into McKale Memorial Center to take on the #4 Arizona Wildcats.
BYU vs. Arizona tips off at 10:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday from Tucson, AZ., live on the Big Ten Network.
Below, we’ll break down our BYU vs. Arizona prediction, spread, picks for Wednesday’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. Arizona Prediction, Spread, Picks
The BYU Cougars come into this matchup in the midst of their worst stretch of the season, having lost five of their last eight games. In their last game vs. Colorado, they saw their senior team leader and third-leading scorer, F Richie Saunders, leave with an ACL injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season. The devastating loss of Saunders, coupled with their recent poor play, has made them significant underdogs against a suddenly desperate Arizona team battling injury issues of its own.
Just a week ago, the Wildcats were 24-0 and potentially on their way to their first undefeated season in the modern NCAA era. Since then, they have dropped back-to-back games to a Darryn Peterson-less Kansas and then at home as 9.5-point favorites vs. Texas Tech.
They also saw star freshman forward Koa Peat leave the game in the first half vs. the Red Raiders with a lower-body injury. Peat will miss the next couple of games for the Wildcats, who will be desperate to get back in the win column tonight.
“Yes” on the Arizona Wildcats to win the National Championship is currently returning a 6.25x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks.
BYU vs. Arizona Spread, Over/Under
The Wildcats enter Wednesday’s game as 12.5-point home favorites, returning a 1.09x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright.
The Cougars are road underdogs with a 5.88x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
- Spread: Arizona Wildcats -12.5 (1.88x payout)
- Over/Under: 164.5 (1.81x payout on over)
- Game Winner Payout: Cougars 5.88x | Wildcats 1.09x
Team Picks payouts are live as of publishing and are subject to change.
BYU vs. Arizona Prediction on Spread
Here are some stats to know to help you make your BYU vs. Arizona prediction on the spread on Wednesday, February 18.
- Arizona is 14-10-1 (58.3%) against the spread (ATS) this season.
- BYU has been bad on the road both straight up and ATS. Straight up, they are 12-2 at home but just 3-3 on the road. ATS, they are 2-4 (33.3%) away from home and 0-2 (0%) when they are a road underdog.
- The Cougars are also not a good covering team overall. On the season, they are 10-15-0 (40%) ATS, tied for the worst record in the Big 12.
- Even without Peat, the Wildcats should be able to get whatever they want offensively against a BYU defense that is 73rd in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency and 100th in effective field goal percentage allowed, according to Bart Torvik.
BYU vs. Arizona Picks for PrizePicks Today: Wednesday, February 18
Here are two of the top BYU vs. Arizona picks to target for Wednesday, February 18, on PrizePicks. Player stat projections via PrizePicks are headlined by.
BYU F AJ Dybansta vs. Arizona Projection: 36.5 Pts + Rebs + Asts
- Dybansta is averaging just 30.9 points+rebounds+assists (PRA) on the road this season.
- Away from home, he averages 2.5 fewer points, 2 fewer rebounds, and 1.6 fewer assists per game.
- This is an incredibly difficult matchup for the dynamic freshman. Arizona ranks second in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency (90.7) and third in effective field goal percentage allowed (44.8%).
Arizona G Brayden Burries vs. BYU Projection: 27 Pts+Rebs+Asts
- Burries is averaging just 23 PRA this season, but we can expect him to shoulder much more of the offensive load with fellow star freshman Koa Peat out for this game.
- With a total of 164.5, we can reasonably expect a lot of back-and-forth action and many possessions for both teams. Arizona ranks 26th nationally in tempo, and BYU ranks 51st. This will create many opportunities for Burries to accrue stats against a bad BYU defense.
- The Cougars defense is ranked 108th nationally in 2-point field goal percentage (50%) and 122nd in 3-point percentage allowed (33%).
- They also allow a 3-pointer on 39% of their defensive possessions, which ranks 164th. Burries is shooting 37.3% from deep this year.
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Make BYU vs. Arizona CBB Picks on PrizePicks
Despite both teams missing a key player, this should still be an electric Big 12 showdown in Tucson tonight. BYU vs. Arizona picks for Big 12 ball are just one of many ways hoops fans can get in on the daily college basketball action.
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Stick around with the Playbook for continued CBB predictions, picks, and news.
