Arizona expects fight in Big 12 rematch with BYU: Point spread, betting odds
The Arizona Wildcats (18-8, 12-3) know they're going to have their hands full against a red-hot BYU team on Saturday night at McKale Memorial Center.
BYU (18-8, 9-6) is coming off a stunning 91-57 rout of Kansas that captured everyone's attention.
"I hope our guys are paying attention," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said on Friday. "But (our) game at BYU, it's a little misleading. It's one of those games that was very even throughout."
"We know it's going to be an evenly matched game, and I've played against BYU a lot. I know there there's some character in that program and there's going to be a response. You know they're going to come down here with the mindset of getting a win."
Arizona beat BYU 85-74 in Provo on Feb. 4. But as Lloyd said, it was a very competitive game. It was tied at halftime and Arizona led 67-66 with 7:30 to play before going on a 17-3 run to pull away. The Wildcats dominated the paint, outrebounding BYU 45-30 behind Tobe Awaka and Henri Veesaar.
The emergence of Awaka and Veesaar led to Lloyd going with a "two-big" starting lineup against Baylor on Monday. It was Veesaar's first start of the season and the 7-foot redshirt sophomore responded with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Awaka had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Considering how poorly Arizona has been shooting the ball from the 3-point line — 11-of-63 (17.4%) over the past three games — it's possible Lloyd will go with the big lineup again vs. BYU.
Arizona is 11-2 at home this season, with its only losses to No. 3 Duke and No. 5 Houston. BYU is 3-5 in true road games, which includes a 73-69 victory at West Virginia on Feb. 11.
Here are the latest betting odds for the BYU at Arizona Big 12 men's basketball game on Saturday:
BYU at Arizona Betting Odds, Point Spread
Spread: Arizona -7.5 (-105)
Over/Under: 152.5
Moneyline: Arizona (-310), BYU (+245)
Records Against The Spread: Arizona (15-11), BYU (15-11)
ESPN BPI Prediction: Arizona has a 77% chance to win
Our Prediction: Arizona 79, BYU 74
Game Time: Saturday, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. MST
TV Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: Stream the game live online on the ESPN app, Sling, DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu, YouTube TV.
Radio Station: Listen on SiriusXM channel 390 (Arizona broadcast) and channel 143 (BYU broadcast).
Live Audio Stream: Listen online on Arizona Sports Enterprises (AM 1290 live audio stream).
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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-029877d49238355bd3388a94f90e3c72.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.