Santa Clara vs BYU Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 1/19/23

The BYU Cougars and the Santa Clara Broncos meet Thursday in college basketball action from Leavey Center. BYU is 14-7 overall this season. The Cougars beat Pepperdine in their last game. As for Santa Clara, they’re currently 15-5 following a win over Pacific on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

BYU Cougars

BYU was 9-5 through 14 games this year, falling to San Diego State, USC, Butler, Utah Valley and South Dakota along the way. BYU is 5-2 since then with wins over Weber State, Pacific, Portland, San Diego and Pepperdine. 

Last weekend versus Pepperdine, the Cougars went into halftime with a 41-28 edge. BYU was outscored 53-50 from there but held on for the 91-81 victory. Fousseyni Traore led the team with his 19 points and nine rebounds. 

Santa Clara Broncos 

Over on the Santa Clara side, they were 11-3 through 14 games with losses to only Utah State, UCF and San Jose State. The Broncos are 4-2 since then with wins over Boise State, San Francisco, Pepperdine and Pacific. 

Matched up against Pacific last weekend, the Broncos took a 51-39 lead into the second half. Santa Clara scored another 41 points from there and won it 92-81. Keshawn Justice scored 26 points and Carlos Stewart managed 21 points. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK

I’m going to take a stab on Santa Clara. We should have a pretty fun matchup in store here and you could probably make a great case either way. The Broncos have a couple of close losses to good Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga teams in their last nine games, but otherwise it’s been smooth sailing. Santa Clara has hit 71 or more points in eight of those nine games. As for BYU, they’re coming off a great all-around effort in a win over Pepperdine; the Cougars had six different players in double-digit points in that one. I like BYU to post a nice total in this one but ultimately I think Santa Clara will pull off the cover/win.