The BYU Cougars (18-8) will travel to Leavey Center to challenge the Santa Clara Broncos (9-16) in their home finale. Action begins at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 13.
The Broncos enter this game hoping for similar success after edging San Diego 74-71 on Thursday. Jared Brownridge was the game’s leading scorer with 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The Cougars, meanwhile, are coming off a 114-89 win against San Francisco on Thursday. Nick Emery led the game in scoring by accounting for 37 points on 12-for-15 shooting.
Second-chance opportunities could be few and far between for the Broncos in this one. They rank 311th in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of just 25.2%), while BYU is 22nd-best in the nation on the defensive glass (DR% of 75.1%). It will also be a tale of two tempos, as the up-and-down Cougars are ranked 17th in possessions per game, with the methodical Broncos at 276th.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Cougars winning the first matchup 97-61. Kyle Collinsworth put up a triple-double in the victory, with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Broncos have gone 9-16 Straight Up (SU) and 12-12-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Broncos have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 83.9 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 67.6 points per game.
As for their opponent, the Cougars have records of 12-10-2 ATS and 18-8 SU. Offensively, they average 83.8 points per game, which is good for 11th in the country. The Cougars rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking 24th in the nation with 232 made (8.0 per game). The Cougars have controlled the glass with an average of 41.4 rebounds per game, 15th in the country. The Cougars are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 47th in Division I at 1.33.
The Cougars’ win over Santa Clara in their last clash bumped their SU record over their most recent meetings to 10-0. With a 7-3 record, the Cougars also have the advantage ATS. BYU held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers three times in the last five matchups. On the other side of the court, Santa Clara never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – BYU, ATS Winner – BYU
Notes
“Santa Clara is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of Santa Clara’s last 6 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of Santa Clara’s last 7 games at home”.
“Santa Clara is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games when playing BYU”.
“Santa Clara is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing BYU”.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of Santa Clara’s last 7 games when playing BYU”.
“Santa Clara is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against BYU”.
“Santa Clara is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against BYU”.
“BYU is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Santa Clara”.
BYU holds a 9-4 SU record against the West Coast Conference this season, while Santa Clara has a poor 5-8 SU record against the conference.
BYU is one of the top-scoring teams on the road, averaging 80.3 points per game (ranked 12th). Santa Clara, on the other hand, allows 68.1 points per home game (ranked 129th).
Ranked 40th, the BYU Cougars have an offensive rating of 113.3. The Santa Clara Broncos rank 261st with a defensive rating of just 106.6.
The BYU Cougars average a field goal percentage of 46.2% this season. The Santa Clara Broncos have a subpar record of 2-6 when opponents have a FG% of 46.2% or greater.
The Santa Clara Broncos and the BYU Cougars both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Santa Clara is 281st and 257th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while BYU is 74th and 61st in these categories.
BYU ranks 38th in assists, recording 16.0 per game. Santa Clara performs worse at 214th with 12.8 assists per game.
BYU, the 70th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 4.4 per game. Santa Clara does worse, ranked 262nd with 2.7.
Santa Clara ranks 311th in offensive rebounds, while BYU ranks 15th in defensive rebounds.
The Santa Clara Broncos make an average of 4.5 steals per game. When the BYU Cougars allow 4 or more steals, they are a winning 12-7.
