No. 8 Houston travels to No. 16 BYU for a a top-25 Big 12 contest tonight for an 9:30 CT tipoff on ESPN. Houston (20-2, 8-1 Big 12) has won three games in a row following a 79-55 home win over UCF on Wednesday; BYU (17-5, 6-4 Big 12) are in the business of ending a three-game losing skid following a seven-point loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Wednesday. Here’s a preview, prediction, key storylines and updated odds for tomorrow’s contest in Provo, Utah.
HOUSTON VS. BYU GAME ODDS
Houston opened as a 1.5-point favorite, with an over/under of 149.5 points as of Friday afternoon. By Saturday afternoon, the Cougars were down to just a 1-point favorite on the road, with the over/under up to 150 total points in some sports books, but holding steady at 149.5.
KEY STORYLINE: HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
BYU is 9-1 at home this season, but just 1-4 against ranked opponents entering Saturday’s home matchup with Houston. The only loss came in a one-possession loss against unbeaten Arizona last month. Houston is 3-1 all-time in Provo, but this is easily the toughest BYU roster they’ve met to date.
MATCH UP TO WATCH: LOTTERY-PICK FRESHMEN DYBANTSA AND FLEMINGS
Projected first-round NBA Draft picks AJ Dybantsa, dropping 36 points for BYU at Oklahoma State on Wednesday, and Kingston Flemings, averaging 17.0 points per night for Houston, will go head-to-head on Saturday at the Marriott Center. Undersized in this particular matchup, Flemings will have a tall task handling Dybantsa, but plays some of his best basketball on the road averaging 50% from the field and 23.5 points on road trips.
PREDICTION: HOUSTON 76, BYU 72
Houston’s defense, which ranks first in the league and second nationally only to Northern Iowa with 61.4 points per game. Opponents are shooting just 39.3% against Kelvin Sampson‘s defense, but a loaded BYU backcourt featuring Dybantsa, Richie Saunders (19.5 ppg), and Robert Wright III (17.4 ppg) will have the crowd behind them as BYU looks to run up the score at home on Saturday. BYU will make this one a late night, no doubt, but I’m sticking with Houston to pull this one out.
