Who’s playing
Fresno State Bulldogs @ BYU Cougars
Current records: Fresno State 3-6, BYU 6-2
How to watch
What you need to know
If the bettors’ predictions hold true, the near future looks bright for BYU. They will look to defend their home court on Wednesday against the Fresno State Bulldogs at 9 p.m. ET at the Marriott Center. The Cougars will look to keep their 11-game home winning streak dating back to last season alive.
Last Tuesday, BYU suffered a painful 83-64 loss to Providence. This was the Cougars’ lowest scoring game so far this season.
BYU’s loss shouldn’t overshadow the performances of Dawson Baker, who went 7 of 11 en route to 16 points, and Keba Keita, who nearly dropped a double-double with nine points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Baker a new career high in offensive rebounds (two). Egor Demin, on the other hand, was considerably less useful: he went 0-5 from long range.
Even though they lost, BYU broke the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds. This strong performance was nothing new for the team: they have now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in four straight games.
Meanwhile, Fresno State’s recent rough patch got a little tougher Saturday after its fourth straight loss. The game between them and Santa Clara wasn’t a total blowout, but with Fresno State losing 81-66 on the road, it was damn close to turning into one.
Fresno State’s loss shouldn’t overshadow the performances of Zaon Collins, who had 17 points plus six assists and five rebounds, and Alex Crawford, who went 5 of 7 en route to 13 points plus three steals.
BYU’s loss dropped its record to 6-2. As for Fresno State, their loss dropped their record to 3-6.
This competition is shaping up to be an explosion: BYU has been incredibly precise this season, making 46.8% of its baskets per game. It’s a different story for Fresno State, as they’ve made just 39 percent of their field goals this season. Given BYU’s considerable advantage in this area, Fresno State will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything went rosy for BYU against Fresno State in their previous meeting in December 2023, as the team earned an 85-56 victory. Will BYU repeat its success, or does Fresno State have a better game plan this time around? We’ll know soon enough.
The line drifted a bit toward the Cougars, as the game opened with the Cougars as 25.5-point favorites.
The over/under is 155.5 points.
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History of the series
BYU won the only game these two teams played last year.
- December 01, 2023 – BYU 85 vs. Fresno State 56
