The West Virginia Mountaineers (17-11) travel to face off against the BYU Cougars (20-8) on Saturday, March 1st. This game will be played at Marriott Center in Provo and televised on ESPN2. Both team’s come into this one having won their previous games. Tip-off is set for 10:00 ET.

West Virginia Mountaineers vs BYU Cougars

The Mountaineers Are Coming Off A Win

West Virginia Mountaineers Recent Game/Games

The Mountaineers improved to 17-11 on the season with a 73-55 home win over TCU on Tuesday, February 25th. West Virginia entered the game as 7-point favorites and covered the spread with the 18-point victory.

West Virginia took control early, leading 42-27 at halftime. They outscored TCU 31-28 in the 2nd half. The game’s total points of 128 fell just under the O/U line of 129.5.

The Cougars Are Coming Off A Win

BYU Cougars Recent Game/Games

BYU improved to 20-8 on the season with a 91-81 road win over Arizona State on Wednesday. The Cougars, favored by 7.5 points, covered the spread in the victory.

BYU led 47-37 at halftime and matched Arizona State with 44 points in the second half. The game’s total points of 172 exceeded the over/under line of 147.5.

Mountaineers Offense Breakdown

West Virginia’s offense was firing on all cylinders in their last game, shooting 51.9% from the field and hitting 42.3% from beyond the arc, with 11 made threes. Their effective field goal percentage was an impressive 61.5%, and they connected on 61.5% of their two-point attempts.

Javon Small led the way with 23 points and 10 assists, hitting 6 of 11 from three-point range. Joseph Yesufu added 14 points, knocking down 4 threes at a 50% clip.

Cougars Offense Breakdown

BYU’s offense was firing on all cylinders in their last game, putting up 91 points with a 54.8% shooting performance from the field. Their effective field goal percentage was an impressive 67.7%, thanks in large part to hitting 50% of their threes, connecting on 17 of 34 attempts.

Richie Saunders led the way with 26 points, hitting 6 threes at a 54.5% clip. Trevin Knell was nearly perfect from deep, going 5 of 6 from beyond the arc and finishing with 18 points in just 21 minutes. The Cougars dished out 21 assists as a team, though they struggled at the free-throw line, hitting just 6 of 15 attempts.

Mountaineers Team Defense

Even with West Virginia’s defensive struggles, they held their opponent to 55 points. The Mountaineers allowed 51% shooting, including 61% from two-point range, with 16 makes on 26 attempts.

From beyond the arc, West Virginia’s opponent hit 11 of 26 threes, shooting 42%. They also sent them to the line 11 times, where they made 8 free throws, shooting 72%. The Mountaineers gave up 5 offensive rebounds.

Cougars Team Defense

Even though West Virginia gave up 51% shooting from the field, they held their opponent to just 55 points. The Mountaineers allowed 27 made field goals on 52 attempts.

West Virginia’s defense saw their opponent shoot 61% on two-pointers (16/26) and 42% from three-point range (11/26). They also sent them to the free-throw line 11 times, where they made 8 free throws (72%). West Virginia gave up 5 offensive rebounds.

Mountaineers vs Cougars Trends

• In their last three games away from home, the Mountaineers have a straight up record of 0-3 while going 1-2 vs. the spread. The team averaged 60 points per game in this stretch.
• BYU has played well in their previous three home games, going 3-0 straight up. In this stretch, they averaged 86 points per game while allowing 81. The team also performed well vs the spread at 3-0.
• As the betting underdog, the Mountaineers have an ATS mark of just 4-5-1 in their last ten games. West Virginia posted a straight up mark of 3-7 in these matchups.
• The Cougars have played well in their last five games as the betting favorite, going 4-1 straight up and 4-1 against the spread.

Mountaineers vs Cougars Prediction

For a pick on the point-spread in this Cougars vs. Mountaineers matchup, our bet is to grab the Mountaineers at +8.5. Even though our projections have the Cougars winning 74-73, we see the Mountaineers as the play on the point-spread.

As for the total, the line is currently sitting at 139.5 and our model has the Mountaineers and Cougars finishing with a combined 147 points. Our pick is to take the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.