Texas Longhorns vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 3/19/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Texas Longhorns vs BYU Cougars

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Texas (+3)

Moda Center is the location where the BYU Cougars (23-11) will take on the Texas Longhorns (18-14) on Thursday in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. BYU opens this contest as 3-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The over/under is 158.

The Texas Longhorns took the court against North Carolina State and notched a win by a score of 68-66 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Longhorns finished with 16 while North Carolina State recorded 22 fouls. They also buried 6 of 16 shots from distance. North Carolina State finished the game at 77.8% at the free throw line by converting 14 of 18 attempts. Additionally, North Carolina State totaled 25 rebounds (2 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't notch a block. North Carolina State distributed 10 dimes and had 8 steals in the game. In regard to the defense, Texas allowed their opponent to shoot 39.0% from the field on 23 of 59 shooting. They also recorded 10 assists for the matchup while forcing the opposition into 7 turnovers and having 7 steals. With respect to hauling in rebounds, they earned 38 with 13 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Longhorns converted 21 of 29 shots for a percentage of 72.4%. Texas walked away from the game having earned a 36.8% FG percentage (21 out of 57) and made 5 of their 17 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Tramon Mark is one guy who was a contributor for the game. He ended up walking away with 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He was on the court for 33 mins played and totaled 5 boards. He finished shooting 50.0% from the floor and totaled 2 dimes.

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Texas comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 18-14 on the campaign. They are averaging 83.8 pts per contest (26th in Division 1) while hitting 48.6% from the floor. The Longhorns are connecting on 35.3% on 3-point shots (237 of 671) and 75.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Texas is pulling down 37.7 boards per game and has accumulated 394 assists this year, which ranks 295th in college in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 11.0 times per game and as a unit they commit 18.8 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Longhorns are able to force 9.4 turnovers every game while drawing 21.3 fouls. They are currently ranked 48th in college in giving up assists with 381 surrendered this year. The Longhorns are giving up a field goal percentage of 44.9% (837 of 1,864) and they relinquish 30.3 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 36.0% on 3-pointers while they are 260th in the nation in points per game allowed (76.8).

The last time they took the court, the BYU Cougars took a defeat with a final score of 73-66 when they played Houston. The Cougars snagged 21 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 29 in this matchup. They also coughed up the ball 17 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. Houston committed 17 fouls for the game which got the Cougars to the charity stripe for 19 shots. They were able to make 16 of them for a percentage of 84.2%. When talking about three-point attempts, BYU made 8 of 17 attempts (47.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Cougars ended up going 21 for 51 from the field which had them shooting 41.2%. The Cougars allowed Houston to make 26 out of 58 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.8% in the game. They went 29.4% from beyond the arc by going 5 of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 16 of 20 at the free throw line (80.0%). In reference to rebounds, BYU allowed Houston to pull down 36 in all (13 offensive).

AJ Dybantsa ended up being important for the Cougars for this game. He made 7 of 18 in this contest for a rate of 38.9%, and had 5 rebounds. He scored 26 points in his 40 minutes on the court and earned 2 dimes for the contest.

BYU has a mark of 23-11 on the campaign. The Cougars are responsible for committing 15.8 personal fouls every game while shooting 74.6% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 13.5 times per game (206th in college) and they turn it over 10.9 times per game. BYU has tallied 2,853 pts this year (83.9 per contest) and they collect 38.3 boards per game. As an offense, the Cougars are shooting 47.7% from the field, which ranks 43rd in college hoops.

The Cougars defensively are ranked 226th in college in points given up per game with 75.3. They are forcing their opponents into 11.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 44.3% from the field (187th in college hoops). The BYU defense surrenders 35.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (288 of 816) and their opponents are knocking down 71.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 14.7 dimes and 34.2 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 281st and 166th in the nation.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Texas (+3)

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