West Virginia Mountaineers vs BYU Cougars Prediction & Picks - NCAA Men

Prediction published on 3/1/25, 11:57 AM  by Travis Pulver | Modified on 3/1/25 at 12:00 PM in Basketball Picks

The West Virginia Mountaineers (17-11, 8-9) could use a win over the No. 25 BYU Cougars (20-8, 11-6) when these two teams face off tonight at the Marriot Center in Provo, UT. The action for this Big 12 battle is scheduled to get underway at 10 p.m. ET with coverage on ESPN2.

When the Mountaineers beat then-No. 2 Iowa State 64-57 on Jan. 18, West Virginia looked like a team destined to play in the Tournament this season. But since then, WVU has gone 4-7 with losses in three of their last five games, putting them firmly on the bubble. One of their recent losses was against BYU at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown (Feb. 11, 73-69). They held a 34-32 lead at the half in that game and were up 69-68 with just over two minutes to go. But a pair of free throws by Egor Denim with less than a minute to go put the Cougars ahead for good.

As for BYU, the Cougars will come into this game with more confidence, having won their last five games, including the victory against the Mountaineers. They destroyed then-No. 23 Kansas at home (91-57), edged out a ranked Arizona team in Tucson 96-95, and last played on Wednesday, beating Arizona State 91-81.