The BYU Cougars take on the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson, AZ. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Arizona is favored by 7.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -325. The total is set at 152.5 points.
Here are my BYU vs. Arizona predictions and college basketball picks for February 22, 2025.
BYU Cougars vs. Arizona Wildcats Prediction, Pick
- Pick: Over 154 or Better
My Arizona vs. BYU best bet is on the over, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, find the best lines using our live NCAAB odds page.
BYU vs. Arizona Odds, Spread, Line
| BYU Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+7 -110 | 153.5 -110o / -110u | +250 |
| Arizona Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-7 -110 | 153.5 -110o / -110u | -310 |
- BYU vs. Arizona spread: Arizona -7, BYU +7
- BYU vs. Arizona over/under: 153.5
- BYU vs. Arizona moneyline: Arizona ML -310, BYU ML +250
Spread
I'm passing on the spread.
Moneyline
I'm passing on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I'm betting the over in what should be another fast-paced, high-scoring battle between the Cougars and Wildcats.
My Pick: Over 154 or Better
BYU vs. Arizona Picks, Best Bet
The key to beating Arizona is to keep the Wildcats out of transition and to turn them into jump shooters in the half-court.
While Caleb Love and the lengthy frontcourt are elite when running their up-tempo pace-and-post offense, they get in trouble when relying on over-the-top offense.
Can the Cougars execute that defensive game plan?
Maybe.
They switch between a modified pack line and a 2-3 matchup zone on defense, both of which are elite at keeping opponents away from the rim.
But their transition defense has fallen off a cliff in conference play, as they’ve recently been shredded by Kansas (1.15 PPP), West Virginia (1.33 PPP) and Cincinnati (1.50 PPP).
Regardless, Arizona dropped 85 points on BYU in the first head-to-head matchup this season on Feb 4. The Wildcats scored 10 fast-break points while shooting 23-for-42 (55%) from inside the arc and 17-for-25 (68%) at the rim.
The Cougars were ultimately powerless against Arizona’s bigs, with Henri Veesaar and Tobe Awaka combining for 31 points on 13-for-16 shooting.
That said, Arizona also allowed 74 points despite BYU’s typically elite five-out offense shooting under 30% from 3 (10-for-34). ShotQuality graded that game as a six-point analytically expected win for the Cougars, and they could flip the script with better shooting variance.
That’s especially true because Arizona is a horrific 3-point defense (334th nationally in low-quality 3s forced, per ShotQuality) — I think you can move its bigs around and make them defend in space.
But I’m worried about BYU from a situational perspective. The squad is probably due for a letdown after three consecutive wins, including a 34-point blowout of Kansas on Tuesday.
They’re also taking a cross-country road trip, and the Cougars have been a dreadful road team so far, going 3-5 ATS while ranking 357th in Haslametrics' away-from-home metric.
I can’t make a case for a side here.
However, I quite like the over.
Arizona proved it could run its offense in the first matchup, and the Wildcats shouldn’t have a problem back in Tucson, where they’re about four points per 100 possessions more efficient on that end of the court.
The up-tempo Wildcats also controlled the pace, as the first head-to-head matchup was played over 70 possessions, which is partially why it went over the closing 154-point total.
But if BYU can make more 3s, the Cougars could post a similarly crooked number, and we could see an even higher-scoring rematch.
I’ll bank on that happening.
