One of the top games on today’s college basketball slate is at 9:00 p.m. ET between the No. 25-ranked BYU Cougars and the Ohio State Buckeyes. This game is part of the Bad Boy Mowers Series and will take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ohio State is 4-3 against BYU, with their last matchup in 1997 at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, which the Cougars won.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, BYU is a -3.5-point favorite, while Ohio State is a +142 underdog. The over/under is 160.5 points, with the under at -115 and the over at -105. Check out my best bet and preview for tonight’s game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the BYU Cougars.
Ohio State vs. BYU prediction, preview
Although BYU was a No. 6 seed, they lost in the first round of the March Madness tournament last season. BYU lost their superstar AJ Dybantsa, who was selected No. 1 in the recent NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards. But Head Coach Kevin Young did a good job of retooling the BYU roster in the offseason. BYU added five-star forward Bruce Branch, ranked No. 6 in the 2026 recruiting class on 247Sports. The Cougars also landed two four-star transfers, Jaxon Kohler and Collin Chandler.
Ohio State was a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament last season and lost three of its top four scorers (Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal, and Christoph Tilly). The Buckeyes brought in the No. 23 recruiting class led by the No. 7 prospect in the country (on 247Sports), Anthony Thompson. Ohio State also got two four-star transfers, Justin Pippen and Andrija Jelavic. Last season for the California Golden Bears, Justin Pippen had a breakthrough year averaging 14.2 points, 4.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds per contest. Junior guard John Mobley is Ohio State’s best returning player and averaged 15.7 points on 41 percent shooting on three-pointers last season.
BYU beat Nebraska by 11 points and UNLV by 12 points in their two exhibition games. Ohio State went 1-1 in exhibition games, losing by 11 points to Cincinnati and beating Butler by nine. Although BYU lost Dybantsa, they returned their lead guard, Robert Wright III. Wright took a massive step forward as a sophomore, averaging 18.1 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting from the field while shooting 41 percent from deep. Kohler is also coming off a great season, averaging 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for Michigan State.
Ohio State vs. BYU pick, best bet
Although Wright is the only major contributor returning from BYU last season, Young filled in the pieces around him to build a compelling roster. With elite wing players like Chandler and Branch, plus a dominant big man in Kohler, BYU has the pieces to break Ohio State down with their athleticism and high-level scoring. If the Cougars can get Kohler involved throughout the game, they should find success. Kohler should be able to take advantage of Ohio State’s frontcourt, including Ivan Njegovan and Josh Ojianwuna, who have been inconsistent.
