Utah Utes vs BYU Cougars Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Utes vs BYU Cougars

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: Marriott Center in Provo, UT

TV: FOX

The Utah Utes (9-10) are hitting the road to Marriott Center on Saturday where they will compete against the BYU Cougars (16-2).

The Utah Utes took the court against Kansas State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 81-78 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Utes walked away with 14 and Kansas State racked up 13 fouls. They also converted 12 of their 23 shots from long range. Kansas State finished the game shooting 70.0% from the free throw line by burying 7 of their 10 attempts. Additionally, Kansas State collected 27 rebounds (5 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Kansas State dished out 17 assists and had 4 steals in this contest. When talking about defending, Utah let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the field on 31 out of 62 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When it comes to rebounding, they earned 31 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Utes knocked down 6 of 10 shots for a percentage of 60.0%. Utah ended with a 49.2% field goal percentage (32 out of 65) and converted 8 of their 23 shots from 3-point land.

Terrence Brown is one player who was a factor for the matchup. He finished 58.3% from the floor and earned 2 assists. He was on the hardwood for 32 minutes played and snagged 4 rebounds. He scored 33 points on 14 of 24 shooting.

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Utah comes into this one with a win-loss mark of 9-10 so far this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.4 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.4 fouls per game. As a unit, Utah is snagging 35.2 boards per contest and has earned 266 assists for the season, which is 229th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Utes are shooting 35.9% from downtown (159 of 443) and 72.9% from the free throw line. They average 80.2 points per outing (115th in D-1) while hitting 46.7% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Utes have forced 10.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.8 fouls. They give up 34.6% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 333rd in college hoops in points per game allowed (81.0). The Utes defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 47.3% (571 of 1,206) and they relinquish 36.4 rebounds per game as a squad. They rank 202nd in college in giving up assists with 264 relinquished on the season.

The last time they took the court, the BYU Cougars took a defeat with a final score of 84-71 against Texas Tech. The Cougars earned 21 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards totaling 33 for the matchup. They turned it over 12 times, while recording 7 steals for this game. Texas Tech was called for 12 fouls in this game which took the Cougars to the charity stripe for 14 shots. They were able to make 12 of those for a percentage of 85.7%. In relation to 3-pointers, BYU converted 5 out of their 22 tries (22.7%). When the game finished, the Cougars finished 27 for 64 from the field which had them shooting 42.2%. The Cougars allowed Texas Tech to make 27 of their 59 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.8% for the game. They shot 37.9% from downtown by going 11 out of 29 and finished the contest at 19 out of 23 from the charity stripe (82.6%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, BYU permitted Texas Tech to pull down 32 in all (8 on the offensive side).

Robert Wright III ended up being a major contributor for the Cougars in the matchup. He made 9 of 17 in this contest giving him a rate of 52.9%, and totaled 5 rebounds. He accumulated 28 points in his 38 mins on the court and totaled 3 dimes in this matchup.

BYU has a win-loss mark of 16-2 so far this season. The Cougars are responsible for committing 14.8 fouls every game and they hit 75.2% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 15.1 times per game (125th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 11.0 times per game. BYU has accounted for 1,559 pts on the year (86.6 per game) and they pull down 40.3 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 48.9% from the field, which ranks them 34th in Division 1.

The BYU defense allows 30.4% from downtown (139 of 457) and their opponents are connecting on 69.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 13.7 dimes and 33.8 boards per contest, which is ranked 209th and 139th in those defensive categories. The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 79th in college hoops in points given up per game with 69.6. They are forcing their opponents into 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 40.7% from the field (45th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Utah

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