The No. 5 seed BYU Cougars (22-9) will play their first-ever Big 12 Tournament game when they face the No. 12 seed UCF Knights (17-14) in the second round on Wednesday afternoon. BYU had a successful debut in the conference this season, going 10-8 in league play to establish itself as an NCAA Tournament team. UCF is trying to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive after beating Oklahoma State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday. BYU swept the regular-season series between these teams, but those games were decided by a combined seven points.
Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The Cougars are favored by 6 points in the latest BYU vs. UCF odds, while the over/under is 146 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any UCF vs. BYU picks, you'll want to see the NCAA Basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters 2024 conference championship week on a 145-104 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,700 for $100 players. It also has a strong 28-18 (+820) record on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on UCF vs. BYU. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the game:
- BYU vs. UCF spread: BYU -6
- BYU vs. UCF over/under: 146 points
- BYU vs. UCF money line: BYU -258, UCF +208
- BYU vs. UCF picks: See picks here
Why BYU can cover
BYU has done an excellent job of taking care of business during its first season in the Big 12, winning nine of its last 10 games as a favorite. The Cougars are 8-4 in their last 12 games overall, including an 85-71 win over Oklahoma State to close the regular season last Saturday. Junior forward Fousseyni Traore scored a team-high 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting off the bench, while senior guard Jaxson Robinson had 17 points and five rebounds.
Senior guard Spencer Johnson posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and he is one of four players on the team averaging double digits. The Cougars lead the Big 12 with 82.2 points per game after getting picked to finish 13th by the league's coaches during the preseason. They have covered the spread in five of their last six games, and they have a rest advantage in this matchup.
Why UCF can cover
UCF was able to keep its slim March Madness hopes alive on Tuesday, using an 18-1 run to open the second half to take down Oklahoma State in the first round of the tournament. Senior forward Ibrahima Diallo had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 7 of 13 from the floor. He had four teammates finish with at least nine points in a balanced effort, including 12 points from senior forward C.J. Walker.
The Knights have already tested BYU twice this season, covering the spread as 6-point home underdogs in January before covering as 12.5-point road underdogs in February. They lost by just two points in the game in Provo, as junior guard Darius Johnson had 20 points and junior guard Jaylin Sellers had 17 points. UCF has covered the spread in five of its last six games. See which team to pick here.
How to make BYU vs. UCF picks
The model has simulated UCF vs. BYU 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins BYU vs. UCF, and which side of the spread hits 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 145-104 roll on its top-ranked college basketball picks, and find out.
