BYU vs Oklahoma Odds, Picks and Predictions: Sooners Take Away the Three-Ball

Nearly every Big 12 conference game is a war and that certainly appears to be the case again tonight when the No. 21 BYU Cougars head to Norman to face off with the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Cougars have found their groove lately after stumbling at times early on in its first season in the Big 12. They’ve won back-to-back games over Texas and West Virginia to reach .500 in conference play.

The Sooners are simply looking to stop the bleeding after dropping three of their last four games.

Glancing at college basketball odds, the Sooners are a slight one-point favorite at home while the total resides at 150.5.

The good news for the Sooners is this is a decent matchup on paper. Will that be enough for them to find a home win? Check out our college basketball picks and predictions for BYU vs. Oklahoma on Tuesday, February 6 to find out. 

BYU vs Oklahoma best odds

BYU vs Oklahoma picks and predictions

Do we have a case of an unstoppable force against an immovable object tonight at the Lloyd Noble Center? It at least looks that way on paper regarding the BYU Cougars’ prolific three-point shooting going head-to-head with the Oklahoma Sooners’ elite three-point defense. 

The Cougars lead the nation with 12.1 made 3-pointers per game. They take a bombs-away approach in which they chuck 33.3 attempts from behind the arc per game (second nationally) and convert at a 36.4% clip. Three players average over two made threes per game — Jaxson Robinson, Trevin Knell, and Noah Waterman. 

This makes for a fascinating matchup on the road against a Sooners team that has run teams off the 3-point line, ranking fifth in 3-point defense (28.2%). Porter Moser’s squad has not allowed a single opposing team to make 10 or more 3-pointers in a game, and it’ll be a tough ask to keep that streak alive against a team like BYU. 

Rivaldo Soares has picked up the pace lately, averaging 13.3 ppg across his last three outings for Oklahoma. He’s provided complementary scoring to the team’s three double-digit scorers — Javian McCollum (14.3 ppg), Otega Oweh (13 ppg), and Jalon Moore (10.2 ppg).

Moser’s squad prefers to get downhill and attack the cup offensively, taking 46.4% of their shot attempts at the rim (24th nationally per Hoop-Math). 

The openings could be there against a BYU team without a whole lot of size or shot blocking on the interior. The Cougars are allowing opponents to convert 65.7% of their attempts at the rim, the ninth-worst mark nationally. 

Big man Aly Khalifa missed BYU’s last game on Saturday with an illness and is considered questionable. His presence looms large — literally — as the rest of the lineup regulars are lacking in height. The only other player standing above 6-foot-6 and seeing at least 13 minutes per game is Waterman, who is a perimeter-oriented player. 

To simplify things, this may set up as a good matchup for Oklahoma. When the Sooners have the ball, they could be able to convert looks at the rim, which is what their offense is set up to do best. When the Cougars have the ball, they may find 3-point looks more difficult to come by than normal against a Sooners defense that has defended the arc very well. 

BYU is a high-quality team, but it hasn’t proven that it can win on the road consistently. Mark Pope’s squad is 2-3 straight up and 1-4 ATS away from home this season, with one of those wins coming on Saturday in Morgantown. Will the Cougars suddenly win back-to-back road games in the Big 12? Maybe, but I’ll need to see it before I believe it. 

Oklahoma has been great at home with an 11-2 record and I’ll buy low on Moser’s squad. This team has been up and down overall this year but has mostly been "up" in Norman.

My best bet: Oklahoma -1 (-110 at bet365)

BYU vs Oklahoma same-game parlay

Oklahoma -1.5

Under 150.5

+260 at bet365

BYU gets a lot of credit for its offense and rightfully so. The Cougars are ruthlessly efficient and have an eye-catching style that hits a ton of threes, so it’s only natural that they get a reputation as an offensive team. 

The thing is, the defense is also legit. Pope’s squad ranks 24th in adjusted defensive efficiency (KenPom) while holding opponents to just 40.8% from the field. Oklahoma ranks just 53rd in adjusted offensive efficiency and therefore I find it hard to believe that it will light up the scoreboard in this spot. A lower-scoring win seems more likely. 

The Sooners are tough on the defensive end, holding opponents to 40.5% from the field while ranking 22nd in adjusted defensive efficiency. They limit what the Cougars do best — shooting the three ball — and Moser needs to have his team ready to ugly things up. 

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

BYU vs Oklahoma spread and Over/Under analysis

BYU opened -1 at most spots but the line has flipped to +1.5 at most locations. There is still an Oklahoma -1 available at the time of this writing. Be sure to shop around using our college basketball odds tool and track future fluctuations using our college basketball line movement tool to ensure you grab the best price available before placing your wager. 

BYU has been extremely profitable at 14-7 ATS this season while Oklahoma has also kept backers in the green at 12-10 ATS. 

That being said, the Sooners have hit a rough patch as they are just 4-8 ATS across their last 12 games. Regardless, I see this as a decent buy-low spot considering they have won 12 of their last 14 home games. 

Neither team has a huge distinction against the total — BYU is 10-11 O/U while Oklahoma is 11-11 O/U. 

The Cougars like to play with a little pace, ranking 113th in adjusted tempo. The Sooners are a bit slower at 178th and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they pump the brakes here at home to slow down their opponent and avoid easy looks at the cup and from behind the arc, which is what BYU does best. Moser is a respectable coach and he'll look to make his mark in this spot by muddying up the waters. 

BYU vs Oklahoma betting trend to know

BYU is 1-4 ATS on the road. Find more college basketball betting trends for BYU vs. Oklahoma.

BYU vs Oklahoma game info

BYU vs Oklahoma key injuries

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