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An intriguing college basketball matchup between two opposite trending WCC programs will go head-to-head as the BYU Cougars make the road trip to Malibu, California to take on the Pepperdine Waves. Join us for our College Basketball odds series where our BYU-Pepperdine prediction and pick will be revealed.
At the moment, BYU is sitting on the fringe of postseason play at 16-10 which includes a 6-5 conference mark, and will need to get hot down the stretch to secure an at-large bid for the big dance in about a month's time. Recently, BYU is fresh off of a 15-point win over Pacific and are 6-4 ATS over their last 10 games.
There's the good, the bad, the ugly, and then the Pepperdine Waves. Simply put, this is not a very good basketball team and their 8-17 (1-10) record suggests that. In fact, the Waves were stuck in the midst of an eleven-game losing streak before they defeated Portland in double-overtime by a score of 94-93. Against the spread, Pepperdine has struggled mightily and is only 1-9 in their previous ten games in that department.
Here are the BYU-Pepperdine college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: BYU-Pepperdine Odds
BYU: -8.5 (-102)
Pepperdine: +8.5 (-120)
Over: 152.5 (-110)
Under: 152.5 (-110)
How To Watch BYU vs. Pepperdine
TV: CBS Sports Network
Stream: CBS Sports App
Time: 10:00 ET/7:00 PT
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why BYU Could Cover The Spread
While it is yet to be seen whether or not BYU is a true postseason-worthy contender at this point of the season, the Cougars will enter play on this Thursday night with a favorable matchup and is coming off a much-needed gritty victory to win back-to-back games for the first time since the final week of 2022.
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The last time the Cougars faced off with the Waves of Pepperdine, they were able to exploit them at home in a ten-point win. No question, covering and ultimately winning on the road in college basketball is as tough of a task in all of sports, but there is reason to believe that the Cougars have what it takes to take care of business in a convincing fashion.
To begin, although BYU hasn't played a true road game since Jan. 21st and are 2-4 overall away from their home floor, the most dangerous part of this team is how ferocious they can be on the offensive glass. One of the top offensive rebounding teams in the entire nation, Pepperdine could be in trouble if they are unable to corral loose balls off of misses.
If there is anything that might hinder BYU's success tonight, it has been a rash of injuries that has hit this team rather harshly. Since the Cougars will continue to be without the services of Trevin Knell and Hao Dong who are both sidelined for the foreseeable future, BYU will need massive production from leading scorer Fousseyni Traore to be able to cover in this one. Against Pacific, the talented forward paved the way with 19 points on 7/10 shooting from the floor as he should give Pepperdine fits each time down on offense.
Why Pepperdine Could Cover The Spread
Certainly, it is hard to put your trust on Pepperdine in any sense, but if you are feeling brash enough to root for the heavy underdogs, then be our guests! All jokes aside, despite the Waves' hefty struggles this season, there is still a path for them to put together a respectable performance that could lead to a covering of the spread.
In order for this to become a reality, Pepperdine needs to shoot lights out from beyond the arc. If there is one major equalizer in the world of college basketball, it is oftentimes how effective a team can be from three-point range. Alas, if Pepperdine can knock down some open looks from deep, then we may have a game after all.
Clearly, Pepperdine might not possess the height advantage by any means and are in for a difficult task against BYU, but they do happen to have a clean bill of health unlike the Cougars entering this contest.
Not to mention, defensively they have been a mess, but the offensive end of the floor has been a different story. Believe it or not, Pepperdine possesses the 50th best offensive-rating in all of America and do have one of the top playmaking forwards in the conference in Maxwell Lewis. As it stands, Lewis is averaging 18.5 PPG and is a dynamic scorer in the paint and from the perimeter. If Pepperdine is going to pull off the unthinkable, then Lewis may need to drop at least 30 points to keep up on the scoreboard.
Final BYU-Pepperdine Prediction & Pick
Pepperdine has to be feeling good about getting the losing monkey off their backs the last time out, but they will soon come back down from Earth this evening as BYU will prove to be far too overwhelming even though they are shorthanded.
Final BYU-Pepperdine Prediction & Pick: BYU -8.5 (-102)
