The BYU Cougars (10-5) look to extend their eight-game home winning streak when they take on the Santa Clara Broncos (5-11), who have dropped five in a row on the road. Action gets underway at 11:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 7 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Cougars defeated Pacific 81-67 in their last matchup. Kyle Collinsworth was a key piece with 22 points, eight assists, and five rebounds. The Broncos, meanwhile, are coming off an 84-77 win over Portland in their last outing. Jared Brownridge had a good game for Santa Clara, accumulating 23 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Over the last five games, Chase Fischer has taken his game to another level for the Cougars, averaging 23.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 4.2 three-pointers. On the other side, the Broncos have been led by Brownridge. He has been on fire, averaging 25.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 4.8 three-pointers in the same time frame.
It will be a battle of conflicting tempos, as the up-tempo Cougars (ranked 32nd in the nation in possessions per game) will look to push the slow-paced Broncos (303rd in possessions per game). Put-back points also figure to be rare for the Broncos. They rank 284th in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of 26.7%), while the Cougars are 18th-best in the nation on the defensive glass (DR% of 75.9%).
This one isn’t expected to be close when BYU, a considerable 16-point favorite, takes on Santa Clara. The teams combine to set the Over/Under (O/U) at 148 points. The Cougars come into this game 10-5 Straight Up (SU) and 6-4-2 Against The Spread (ATS). The Cougars have no trouble scoring as they rank 29th in the nation in offense with 82.9 points per game. The Cougars 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. The Cougars have a distinct advantage on the boards in this matchup. They are the 38th-ranked rebounding team in Division I, averaging 41.1 per game, while the Broncos rank 275th in the nation with 34.8 per game.
Across the court, the Broncos have 5-11 SU and 6-7-1 ATS records.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between these conference rivals. Their previous game was a Cougars victory, bumping their SU record to 10-0 over Santa Clara in their most recent meetings. The Cougars also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. BYU held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice, while Santa Clara was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – BYU, ATS Winner – BYU, O/U – Over
Notes
BYU is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of BYU’s last 7 games.
BYU is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of BYU’s last 6 games when playing Santa Clara.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of BYU’s last 5 games when playing at home against Santa Clara.
BYU is an even 1-1 against other teams in its conference, while Santa Clara is a poor 1-3 against its rivals.
BYU scores 87.4 points per home game (ranked 37th). Santa Clara ranks a poor 175th in points allowed on the road, allowing 75.2 points.
The BYU Cougars average 74.2 possessions and 1.117 points per possession in games this season. The Santa Clara Broncos average fewer possessions with 66.6, as well as fewer points per possession with .992.
BYU averages an effective field goal percentage of 53.8%. Santa Clara has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-5).
On average, the BYU Cougars attempt 22.0 three point field goals per game and the Santa Clara Broncos attempt 20.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 three pointers, BYU has a solid record of 9-4, while Santa Clara has an underachieving record of 2-7.
BYU ranks 77th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.24. Santa Clara is ranked lower at 155th with an A/TO of 1.08.
Santa Clara ranks 297th in offensive rebounds, while BYU ranks at 25th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Santa Clara forces a turnover rate of 18.1%. When BYU turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 4-2 record.
