BYU Cougars vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, 3/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: BYU Cougars vs Cincinnati Bearcats

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Cincinnati Bearcats (15-13) will take on the BYU Cougars (20-8) at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday.

The BYU Cougars played West Virginia and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 79-71 in their last contest. BYU ended with a 47.1% field goal percentage (24 of 51) and made 9 out of their 24 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Cougars converted 14 of 19 tries for a percentage of 73.7%. Regarding pulling down rebounds, they earned 26 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 10 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Concerning defense, BYU allowed their opponent to shoot 43.5% from the field on 27 of 62 shooting. West Virginia recorded 17 dimes and had 6 steals for the game. Additionally, West Virginia collected 35 boards (16 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. West Virginia finished the game at 77.3% from the charity stripe by making 17 of their 22 shots. They also buried 8 of 25 tries from three-point range. In the matter of personal fouls, the Cougars walked away with 18 while West Virginia totaled 15 personal fouls.

Robert Wright III is a player who played a role for the contest. He finished the game at 46.7% from the field and dished out 4 dimes. He played for 40 minutes and snagged 4 boards. He was able to score 23 points on 7 out of 15 shooting.

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BYU comes into this one with a win-loss record of 20-8 for the campaign. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.6 times per contest and as a squad they commit 15.6 fouls per game. As a unit, BYU is pulling down 39.0 rebounds per game and has accumulated 399 assists this year, which ranks 195th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Cougars are connecting on 35.2% on 3-point shots (247 of 702) and 74.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging 85.5 pts per contest (20th in the nation) while connecting on 48.0% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Cougars are able to force 11.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.8 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 34.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 224th in the country in opponents PPG (75.1). The Cougars defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 43.9% (762 of 1,736) and they concede 34.2 rebounds per game as a team. They are currently ranked 263rd in college in giving up assists with 415 surrendered this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Cincinnati Bearcats got the victory with a final of 91-68 against Oklahoma State. With respect to rebounds, Cincinnati allowed Oklahoma State to snag 29 in total (4 on the offensive glass). They shot 33.3% from distance by connecting on 7 out of 21 and ended up shooting 17 of 20 at the charity stripe (85.0%). The Bearcats allowed Oklahoma State to convert 22 out of their 54 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 40.7% for this contest. In all, the Bearcats ended up going 33 out of 70 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.1%. When discussing shots from beyond the perimeter, Cincinnati made 14 of 34 tries (41.2%). They were able to convert 11 of them for a clip of 73.3%. Oklahoma State was called for 12 fouls in the game which took the Bearcats to the free throw line for a total of 15 tries. They also coughed up the ball 8 times, while earning 6 steals for the contest. The Bearcats recorded 27 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 for this contest.

Day Day Thomas was important for the Bearcats in this matchup. He earned 26 points in his 29 mins on the court and had 2 assists in this game. He knocked down 7 of 12 for the game for a rate of 58.3%, and had 2 rebounds.

Cincinnati has a win-loss mark of 15-13 so far this year. As an offensive team, the Bearcats are connecting on 42.9% from the field, which is ranked 307th in the country. Cincinnati has scored 2,031 points on the season (72.5 per contest) and they average 36.8 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 16.1 times per game (59th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 11.8 times per contest. The Bearcats are committing 16.0 fouls per game while shooting 67.7% from the free throw line.

The Bearcats defensively are ranked 33rd in college in points per game surrendered with 67.5. They are forcing their opponents into 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 41.5% from the floor (50th in college). The Cincinnati defense allows 31.9% on shots from behind the 3-point line (210 of 658) and opponents are knocking down 70.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 13.1 assists and 34.8 boards every game, which ranks them 157th and 214th in D-1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take BYU

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