Utah Valley Wolverines vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 11/28/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Utah Valley Wolverines vs BYU Cougars

Date: Saturday, November 28, 2020

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Utah Valley (+18)

The BYU Cougars (24-8 last year) play the Utah Valley Wolverines (11-19 last season) at Marriott Center on Saturday. BYU opens this matchup as 18-point favorites. The total has been set at 148.5.

Utah Valley comes into this contest after finishing with a win-loss mark of 11-19 last year. They had an average of 70.2 pts per contest (208th in college basketball) while hitting 44.1% from the floor. The Wolverines hit on 30.2% on shots from beyond the arc (192 of 635) and 71.3% from the charity stripe. As a group, Utah Valley grabbed 35.2 rebounds per contest and totaled 412 assists last season, which was 169th in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. They lost possession via turnover 14.2 times per game and as a basketball team committed 17.8 personal fouls every game. When they were on defense, the Wolverines were able to force their opponents into 12.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.2 fouls. They were 97th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 362 conceded over the course of last year. The Wolverines defense allowed an opponent FG percentage of 42.4% (757 of 1,785) and they conceded 35.8 rebounds per contest as a group. They gave up 32.3% on 3-point shots and they ranked 225th in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (71.0).

The Utah Valley Wolverines played the UMKC Kangaroos and ended up losing by a score of 61-51 in their last contest. Utah Valley finished having earned a 42.9% FG percentage (18 of 42) and converted 3 out of their 12 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Wolverines converted 12 of their 17 shots for a percentage of 70.6%. With respect to rebounding, they compiled 28 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 12 assists for this game while earning 7 steals and 5 blocks. When talking about the defense, Utah Valley allowed 42.9% from the floor on 18 out of 42. UMKC distributed 12 dimes and 13 steals for the matchup. On top of that, the Kangaroos grabbed 30 rebounds (11 offensive, 19 defensive) and earned 5 blocked shots. UMKC finished the game at 65.0% when shooting free throws by making 13 of their 20 attempts. They also converted 6 out of their 22 attempts from distance.

Brandon Averette is one guy who played a lot for the contest. He notched 8 points on 2 of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 32 mins played and also snagged 4 rebounds. Averette walked away from this one shooting 18.2% from the floor and also dished out 3 assists. Someone else that saw the court a lot in the matchup for the Wolverines was TJ Washington. He grabbed 3 boards and totaled 7 dimes. He ended up going 37.5% from the floor in this game by shooting 3-of-8 (8 points). At the conclusion of this game, Washington was on the court for 32 min.

BYU had a record of 24-8 last season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars shot 50.0% from the field, which ranked them 3rd in D-1. BYU earned 2,548 pts throughout last season (79.6 per game) and they collected 33.2 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists was at 17.3 times per game (6th in Division 1) and they turned it over 11.0 times per contest. The Cougars were responsible for committing 16.0 fouls per game while shooting 70.0% from the free throw line. The Cougars on defense were ranked 149th in college basketball in points given up per game with 68.4. They gave up 11.9 dimes and 33.6 boards on a nightly basis, which was ranked 117th and 113th in those defensive categories. The BYU defense conceded 30.8% on 3-point shots (193 of 626) and their opponents connected on 69.3% of their free throw shots. They forced 12.9 TO's per game and allowed teams to shoot 43.8% from the field (228th in the country).

The last time they took the hardwood, the BYU Cougars went home victorious with a score of 86-61 when they played the New Orleans Privateers. The Cougars collected 32 defensive boards and 17 offensive boards totaling 49 in this contest. They also blocked 2 shots while getting 5 steals for this contest. The Privateers committed 26 personal fouls in the game which took the Cougars to the charity stripe for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to knock down 8 of the free throws for a percentage of 38.1%. When talking about shooting from distance, BYU buried 10 of 27 attempts (37.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Cougars finished shooting 34 out of 66 from the floor which had them shooting 51.5%. The Cougars permitted the Privateers to bury 17 of 51 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.3% in this game. They finished the game shooting 71.4% from distance by going 5 of 7 and finished the contest at 22 out of 32 from the charity stripe (68.8%). In relation to cleaning up the glass, BYU allowed New Orleans to grab 26 in all (5 offensive).

Alex Barcello played a lot for the Cougars for this contest. He knocked down 8 out of 12 for the contest for a rate of 66.7%, which had him sitting at 19 points. Barcello snagged 7 boards in his 29 mins played and had 4 dimes for this game. Someone else that ended up playing a role for BYU was Connor Harding. He notched 12 points in his 27 minutes on the court via 4 of 9 from the floor in this contest. Harding finished going 44.4% from the field while also totaling 2 assists and 4 rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Utah Valley (+18)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here