The UCF Knights (17-14) battle the No. 21 BYU Cougars (22-9) Wednesday in the 2nd round of the Big 12 Tournament. Tip from T-Mobile Center is set for 12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s'lines around the UCF vs. BYU odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
The Knights ended the regular season with a 7-11 conference record. As the 12th seed in this Big 12 Tourney, UCF had to play in Tuesday’s 1st round where it defeated the 13th-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys 77-62. The Knights covered as 4-point favorites and the Over (135.5) hit. UCF has covered in 5 of its last 6 games, winning 4 of the 6 outright. It is 19-12 against the spread (ATS) on the season.
BYU, which is No. 21 in the , went 10-8 in the conference and is the No. 5 seed.' It beat Oklahoma State 85-71 at home Saturday in its regular-season finale, covering as a 13.5-point home favorite. The Cougars won 3 of their last 4 games, including a victory at then-No. 9, now-No. 17 Kansas 76-68. They covered in 5 of their last 6, including 2 straight on the road. BYU closed the regular season with a 19-12 ATS record.
The Cougars swept the Knights in the regular season, winning at home 90-88 Feb. 13, and at UCF 63-58 Jan. 13. However, UCF covered both games — as a 12.5-point road underdog and a 5.5-point home dog, respectively.