The Arizona State Sun Devils (9-5) and No. 9 BYU Cougars (13-1) are set to face off on Wednesday night, going head-to-head in Provo, Utah. The Big 12 showdown will tip off at 9 p.m. EST on Peacock and NBCSN.
The Cougars are 17.5-point favorites at home with -1650 moneyline odds and the total has been set at 165.5 points. Here is a preview of the conference matchup featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Arizona State at BYU Preview, Prediction
Arizona State Preview
The Sun Devils opened up the season with a 17-point win over Southern Utah and a 15-point win over Utah Tech before falling to No. 19 Gonzaga by 12. They immediately strung together a four-game winning streak by besting Georgia State at home, Hawai’i on the road and Texas and Washington State at the Maui Invitational. Arizona State ultimately lost to USC in the finals of the tournament, only to bounce back with wins over Oklahoma, Northern Arizona and Santa Clara. However, it is in the midst of a three-game losing streak since then, dropping contests against UCLA, Oregon State and Colorado.
Pepperdine transfer Moe Odum has been the focal point of the Sun Devils’ offense so far this season, averaging 16.6 points and 6.6 assists per game while hitting 35.7% of his 7.0 three-point attempts a night. University of the Cumberlands transfer Anthony “Pig” Johnson has provided solid reinforcements primarily off the bench, chipping in with 14.1 points per game. As for Massamba Diop, the 7-foot-1 freshman has been an X-factor with his 13.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Argentinian San Diego transfer Santiago Trouet has also made his mark in the frontcourt with 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Arizona State’s ability to get going from deep is largely dependent on Toledo transfer Bryce Ford, Montenegrin forward Andrija Grbovic and Belgian guard Noah Meeusen, who are all shooting at least 36.5% from beyond the arc.
The most notable stats to keep an eye on for the Sun Devils are their 32nd-ranked free-throw rate and their top-100 ability to block shots and force turnovers.
Arizona State ranks No. 85 in the latest KenPom net efficiency ratings. It boasts the No. 74 adjusted offense and No. 107 adjusted defense in the country.
BYU Preview
After beating Villanova by five in their season-opener in Las Vegas, the Cougars notched a pair of comfortable home wins over Holy Cross and Delaware. BYU then played six consecutive neutral-site contests in Boston, Salt Lake City, Orlando and New York City. Following a two-point loss to then-No. 3 UConn, the Cougars have won 10 straight. They beat Dayton and Clemson by four and three points, respectively, all while dismantling then-No. 23 Wisconsin, Miami (FL) and a handful of mid-majors. BYU played its first true road game to open conference play last Saturday, beating Kansas State by 10.
Star freshman AJ Dybantsa has lived up to the hype so far this year, averaging 23.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Richie Saunders is averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game, while Robert Wright III is putting up 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals a night. Both guards are shooting above 38% from three-point range. Then there’s starting center Keba Keita, who is averaging 7.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals per game despite measuring in at just 6-foot-7. But while Southern Illinois transfer Kennard Davis has rejoined the starting five following a two-game suspension in November, Dawson Baker is out for the season with a knee injury.
The Cougars rank among the top-50 Division I programs in defensive rebounds, steals and blocks per game. There are only seven teams better than BYU when it comes to limiting fouls, leading to its seventh-ranked free throws against per game.
BYU currently slots in at No. 10 in the KenPom ratings, boasting the No. 9 adjusted offense and No. 18 adjusted defense in the country.
Arizona State at BYU Pick, Best Bet
In nine games against high-major and WCC opponents, the Sun Devils are 4-5. None of those five losses have come by more than 13 points, though, so covering a 17.5-point spread seems more than feasible. Arizona State has averaged 81.8 points across that sample while giving up 84.1. Four of those nine games have broken Wednesday’s 165.5-point total, even on the road.
As for the Cougars, they are the heavy moneyline favorite for a reason – their lone loss this year came by two points against a top-10 team in what was effectively a road game. At the same time, their 6-1 record against top-100 KenPom opponents features just one win by more than 10 points. That lone exception was a 28-point win in Salt Lake City against Wisconsin, who is 43 spots higher than Arizona State in the KenPom. And yet, BYU only beat Kansas State by 10 last weekend and skirted by Clemson by three last month. Just before Christmas, the Cougars beat Abilene Christian by 18 when they were 32.5-point favorites. The Sun Devils are a more formidable foe, so look for them to keep it just as close – if not closer – in Provo on Wednesday.
BYU has also seen just two of its seven games versus top-100 KenPom opponents hit at least 166 total points, so the under is enticing as well.
