BYU Basketball opens as 8-point favorite over Pepperdine

BYU Basketball resumes action after a week off as they finish off the regular season with a trip to Pepperdine. Vegas released its line for the game and opened with BYU as a 8-point favorite over the Waves. KenPom gives BYU a 80% win probability and predicts a 84-75 final score.

BYU-Pepperdine last played January 30 in Provo where BYU came out on top 107-80. Pepperdine is one of the top offensive teams in the league but at the bottom of many defensive categories. The Waves are 344th nationally in three-point field goal defense while BYU is the top three-point shooting team in the country.

The Waves are currently ranked 134th in the NET rankings, meaning they barely qualify as a Quadrant two game — road games versus top 135 teams qualify as Quadrant two. The committee looks at Quad one and Quad two games when judging quality wins, so a win over the Waves does present some level of upside.

The main guy to watch for Pepperdine is point guard Coleby Ross. The junior guard is second in the WCC in scoring at 20.2 ppg and leads the WCC in assists with 7.2 apg. Ross was in foul trouble versus BYU in Provo, which aided in the 27-point final margin.

BYU-Pepperdine tip off Saturday at 4pm MST on CBSSN.