The second game of Thursday is on tap as 11-seed Duquesne faces 6-seed BYU. It is time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Duquesne-BYU prediction, pick, and how to watch.

Duquesne comes into the game after a 24-11 season. This is the first time since 1977 that Duquesne is in the tournament. They would lose in the first round that year, and last won a tournament game in 1969. They would enter the A-10 tournament as the sixth seed, and most likely without an NCAA tournament invite. Duquesne came away with a ten-point win over Saint Louis in the second round after getting a bye. They would then upset Dayton by eight in the Quarterfinals. In the semi-finals, they would face St. Bonaventure, and once again come away with a win. In the finals, they would face the fifth-seeded VCU, with the winner getting a birth to the NCAA tournament There, they would upset VCU, coming out with a 57-51 victory.

Meanwhile, BYU was 23-10 on the year. BYU returns to the tournament for the first time since 2021, where thye lost their first-round game. BYU used to be a perennial tournament team, making the NCAA tournament in eight of nine years from 2007 through 2015. They would go into the Big 12 Tournament as the fifth seed, and a bye into the second round. After UCF beat Oklahoma State. They would face BYU. There, BYU won 87-73. That would result in a quarterfinal game with Texas Tech, where they fell 81-67.

Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

March Madness Odds: Duquesne-BYU Odds

Duquense: +9.5 (-110)

Moneyline: +365

BYU: -9.5 (-110)

Moneyline: -490

Over: 142.5 (-110)

Under: 142.5 (-110)

How to Watch March Madness 

Time: 12:40 PM ET/ 9:40 PM PT

TV: truTV

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why Duquesne Will Cover The Spread/Win

Duquesne comes in sitting 86th in KenPom's adjusted efficiency rankings. They are ranked 166th in adjusted offense efficiency this year while sitting 28th in adjusted defensive efficiency on the year. Duquesne sits 252nd in points per game this year while sitting 211th in effective field goal percentage this year. Dae Dae Grant comes in leading the team in points this year. He is scoring 16.7 points per game this year, but shooting just 38.9 percent from the floor this year. Still, he takes care of the ball well with just 1.3 turnovers per game this year. Sitting second on the team this year is Jimmy Clark III. He comes into the game with 15.1 points per game on the year, while shooting at 41.6 percent. He is also the leader in assists on the season, with 3.8 per game. Still, turnovers have been an issue this year, as he commits 2.8 turnovers per game on the year.

The rebounding has not been solid either. They are 180th in rebounding this year but do sit 149th in offensive rebounds per game. Still, they are 205th in the nation in defensive rebounding rate. The leader here is Fousseyni Drame, who comes in with 5.9 rebounds per game. Next on the team is David Dixon, who comes in with 4.7 rebounds per game this year.

Duquesne is also 29th in the nation in points allowed per game this year. Further, they are 60th in the nation in opponent effective field goal percentage this year. Jimmy Clark III has been great on defense this year. He comes in with 2.4 steals per game this year. Meanwhile, Dae Dae Grant comes in with a steal per game. Further, David Dixon comes in with 1.6 blocks per game this year.

Why BYU Will Cover The Spread/Win

BYU is ranked 16th in the nation in KenPom's adjusted efficiency rankings. They are 11th in adjusted offensive efficiency while sitting 48th in adjusted defensive efficiency. BYU is currently 16th in the nation in points per game this year while sitting second in the nation in assists per game on the year. Jaxson Robinson leads the team in points per game this year. He comes into the game with 13.8 points per game this year. Meanwhile, Trevin Knell is tied for second on the team with 10.9 points per game. Tied with him in points is Fousseyni Traore. He comes in with 10.9 points per game as well and is shooting great. He has shot 64.7 percent from the field this year. Dallin Hall also gives a lot to this offense. He leads the team with 5.0 assists per game this year while scoring nine points per game of his own.

BYU has been solid on the glass this year, sitting 13th in the nation in rebounds per game this year. Further, they are tenth in the nation in defensive rebounding rate this year. They are also 63rd in offensive rebounding rate. Spencer Johnson leads the way here. He comes into the game with 6.0 rebounds per game this year. He also averages over 1.5 offensive rebounds per game this year.  Further, Noah Waterman has 5.5 rebounds per game while Fousseyni Traore has 5.3 rebounds per game.

BYU is 97th in the nation in opponent points per game on the year. They are also 61st in the nation in opponent effective field goal percentage. BYU is also 12th in the nation in scoring margin this year, with a +11.9 differential per game.  Spencer Johnson leads the team with 1.0 steals per game but also has 1.6 turnovers per game.  BYU averages just 5.9 steals per game this year while having just three blocks per game.

Final Duquesne-BYU Prediction & Pick

Duquesne made a magical run in the A-10 tournament just to get here. While BYU bowed out of the Big 12 tournament earlier than they would have liked. Still, they are the far better team here. The Duquense defense is solid and will hold BYU down some, but their offense is horrible. They will not be able to score enough points to keep up in this one as BYU gets the win.

Click here for more betting news and predictions

Final Duquesne-BYU Prediction & Pick: BYU -9.5 (-110)