BYU easily handled UCF in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament to earn a shot at Texas Tech in the quarterfinal on Thursday. The Red Raiders will have the rest advantage after earning a top-four spot and double bye.
BYU enters the matchup with a 20-12 ATS record on the season. The Cougars are playing their best basketball of the season, having won four of their last five games and covering the spread in five straight matchups. Their offense has been hot as well, hitting the OVER for total points in three of their last four.
Texas Tech has had a good season with a 22-9 record but has played a ton of tight matchups, leading to a poor spread rate. The Red Raiders are only 14-16-1 against the spread this season, but they have ended the season on a hot streak, winning and covering the spread in three straight. The defense has led the charge during the win streak, hitting the UNDER for total points in three straight.
In the only regular season matchup, the Red Raiders beat the Cougars 85-78 and covered a 2-point spread.
Here is the BYU vs. Texas Tech betting news, player props and a prediction for today's Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal. The game tips off at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
BYU vs. Texas Tech live odds for Big 12 Conference Tournament Quarterfinal
Here are the spread, moneyline, and BYU vs. Texas Tech for today's Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinal at the best online sportsbooks.
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BYU Cougars betting news
BYU has an elite offense, ranking 12th for adjusted efficiency, and its defense is above average, ranking 43rd for adjusted efficiency on KenPom. The Cougars like to play fast, too, ranking 88th for adjusted tempo. If opponents are not careful, they can score in a hurry and stretch out leads in the blink of an eye.
The BYU offense is not led by one player but rather through one of the deepest groups of scorers of any team in the nation. The Cougars have seven players scoring between 9.1 PPG and 13.9 PPG. All five starters had at least eight points in the second round win over UCF. Two players also came off the bench to score in double figures. Fousseyni Traore scored 14 points, and Richie Saunders added 13 points.
Traore usually comes off the bench but has been BYU's leading scorer in three of the last four games. In the one game where he was not the leading scorer, it was Saunders. There may not be another team in the country that has had their leading scorer come off the bench in four consecutive games.
That's not to say their starters are not quality players in their own right, as Jaxson Robinson leads the team in scoring with 13.9 PPG. He is the most consistent of the seven players, scoring nine-plus points a game. The 6-foot-7 senior has scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 Cougars games. BYU will also have a size advantage with two 6-foot-11 frontcourt players, while Texas Tech only has one big with that type of size.
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Texas Tech Red Raiders betting news
Texas Tech is a talented offensive team whose defense has been playing better of late, making them an extremely dangerous team in March. The Red Raiders rank 24th for adjusted offensive efficiency, and their defense is a bit behind, ranking 52nd for adjusted efficiency on KenPom. They have also played stiff competition, ranking 43rd for strength of schedule.
The Red Raiders have a deep group of scorers with five players averaging double figures. Leading that group is Pop Isaacs, who scores 16.0 PPG and is second on the team with 3.6 assists per game. Isaacs can score the ball, but he is also one of the most inefficient guards in the country, shooting only 35.6% from the field.
As Texas Tech goes into the postseason, it would maximize the team's potential to distribute some of Isaacs' touches to more efficient players. Third-leading scorer Darrion Williams has been fantastic, especially late in the season. The 6-foot-6 sophomore averages 11.6 PPG but does so shooting 50% from the field and 47.1% from three.
Williams has in many respects been the most consistent player for Texas Tech late in the season, scoring double digits in 10 straight games. That includes his career-high 30 points when Texas Tech upset Kansas. If there is one area of weakness for Texas Tech, it's their lack of frontcourt depth. Warren Washington is a solid big man, averaging 9.9 PPG and 7.4 RPG, but the next tallest player who gets regular minutes is only 6-foot-7.
BYU vs. Texas Tech player props
Here are some of the top player prop markets for BYU vs. Texas Tech from the top online sports betting sites for today's Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinal.
BYU vs. Texas Tech prediction: BYU's depth propels Cougars to the win
This is time of the year when teams are beat up, tired and looking to players outside their stars to step up and produce. BYU is the deeper team, and even if one of their top players has a bad game here, there are not just one or two but five or six players who can fill that void.
Pick: BYU
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