BYU Cougars vs Kansas Jayhawks Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: BYU Cougars vs Kansas Jayhawks

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS

TV: ESPN

Allen Fieldhouse is the location where the Kansas Jayhawks (15-5) will play the BYU Cougars (17-3) on Saturday.

The BYU Cougars stepped onto the hardwood against Arizona and took a loss by a score of 86-83 in their last contest. BYU finished the game with a 40.3% FG percentage (29 out of 72) and knocked down 13 of their 34 shots from downtown. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cougars buried 12 of their 19 shots for a percentage of 63.2%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 31 with 14 of them being offensive. They also recorded 16 assists for this game while forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In reference to defense, BYU let their opponent shoot 52.8% from the floor on 28 of 53 shooting. Arizona doled out 13 assists and had 7 steals in this contest. In addition, Arizona pulled down 34 boards (5 offensive, 29 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Arizona finished the contest at 81.3% at the free throw line by making 26 of 32 attempts. They converted 4 of their 12 tries from beyond the arc. With respect to personal fouls, the Cougars walked away with 22 while Arizona finished the game with 19 personal fouls.

AJ Dybantsa is a guy who came through in this matchup. He ended up shooting 25.0% from the field and dished out 5 dimes. He played for 35 minutes and also pulled down 4 boards. He racked up 24 points on 6 out of 24 shooting.

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BYU heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 17-3 for the year. They are averaging 86.7 points per game (20th in the country) while hitting 48.6% from the floor. The Cougars are connecting on 35.6% on shots from beyond the arc (180 of 506) and 75.1% from the free throw line. As a unit, BYU is pulling in 40.1 rebounds per game and has totaled 304 assists this year, which ranks 165th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 10.9 times per game and as a unit are committing 15.1 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 12.5 turnovers per game and they draw 19.1 personal fouls. They are giving up 31.8% on three-point shots and they rank 109th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (70.9). The Cougars defense is giving up a FG percentage of 41.5% (513 of 1,236) and they relinquish 33.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 179th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 277 surrendered for the campaign.

In their last game, the Kansas Jayhawks took home the win by a final score of 86-62 against Kansas State. With respect to how they cleaned up the glass, Kansas allowed Kansas State to pull down 28 in total (13 offensive). They finished 34.5% from downtown by connecting on 10 out of 29 and ended up going 10 of 14 at the free throw line (71.4%). The Jayhawks allowed Kansas State to convert 21 of 61 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 34.4% in the matchup. When this game wrapped up, the Jayhawks ended up going 31 out of 58 from the field which gave them a rate of 53.4%. When talking about 3-pointers, Kansas buried 4 of their 16 tries (25.0%). They were able to bury 20 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 83.3%. Kansas State earned 14 fouls for the matchup which got the Jayhawks to the free throw line for a total of 24 tries. They also coughed it up 9 times, while earning 2 steals for the matchup. The Jayhawks were able to pull down 24 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 35 in this contest.

Flory Bidunga pitched in for the Jayhawks for this contest. He earned 21 points in his 33 minutes of playing time and earned 1 assist in the game. He converted 10 of 13 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 76.9%, and had 10 rebounds.

Kansas has a record of 15-5 this year. As an offensive team, the Jayhawks are shooting 47.4% from the field, which ranks 70th in college. Kansas has accounted for 1,565 points on the season (78.3 per contest) and they average 39.5 rebounds per contest. They are getting an assist 15.3 times per game (114th in college) and they cough up possession 10.4 times per contest. The Jayhawks are responsible for committing 14.5 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 76.5% from the free throw line.

The Kansas defense surrenders 29.1% on 3-point attempts (161 of 553) and their opponents are making 65.8% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 11.7 assists and 35.4 total boards per game, which ranks them 60th and 236th in college. The Jayhawks defensively are ranked 40th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 67.3. They have forced 9.4 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.9% from the floor (5th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kansas

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