The Northern Iowa Panthers (8-4) and BYU Cougars (8-4) will face off at Stan Sheriff Center for this game. Action begins at 3:30 pm ET on Friday, Dec. 25 and can be seen on ESU and ES3.
The Cougars, meanwhile, are coming off a 96-66 win against New Mexico on Wednesday. Chase Fischer was the game’s top scorer, accounting for 41 points on 12-for-21 shooting.
Kyle Davis has upped his play over the last five games for the Cougars, averaging 15.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.0 block.
Second-chance opportunities could be few and far between for the Panthers in this one. They rank 349th in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of just 19.0%), while BYU is 27th-best in the nation on the defensive glass (DR% of 75.5%). It will also be a tale of two tempos, as the up-and-down Cougars are ranked 14th in possessions per game, with the methodical Panthers at 311th.
BYU takes on Northern Iowa as a four-point favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 148 points. The Panthers have gone 8-4 Straight Up (SU) and 6-5 Against The Spread (ATS). The Panthers are one of the best in Division I in terms of three-point field goals, making 8.0 shots per game from beyond the arc.
As for their opponent, the Cougars have 8-4 SU and 4-3-2 ATS records. Offensively, they average 83.7 points per game, which is good for 30th in the country. The Cougars rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking 50th in the nation with 103 made (8.0 per game). The Cougars have controlled the glass with an average of 41.8 rebounds per game, 33rd in the country.
Northern Iowa and BYU will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – BYU, ATS Winner – NoIa, O/U – Over
Notes
Northern Iowa is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games.
BYU scores 76.2 points per away game (ranked 46th). Northern Iowa ranks a poor 171st in points allowed at home, allowing 67.2 points.
Ranked 78th, the Northern Iowa Panthers have an offensive rating of 111.0. The BYU Cougars rank 101st with a defensive rating of just 97.2.
The BYU Cougars average 75.4 possessions per game and 1.109 points per possession. The Northern Iowa Panthers earn fewer possessions with 66.4, but they score more points with 1.110.
Northern Iowa has an average effective field goal percentage of 58.0%, ranked 10th in the nation. BYU is undefeated (3-0) when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Northern Iowa attempts 22.0 three pointers and BYU attempts 22.0. Both teams have winning records when they have 20 or more three point attempts. The Northern Iowa Panthers sit at 5-3 and the BYU Cougars are 7-3.
BYU ranks 67th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.28. Northern Iowa is ranked lower at 156th with an A/TO of 1.08.
Northern Iowa ranks 350th in offensive rebounds, while BYU ranks 13th in defensive rebounds.
Northern Iowa has forced an average turnover rate of 17.1% this season. In games where its turnover rate is 17.1% or higher, BYU is an even 3-3.
