BYU vs Pepperdine 1/14/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Pepperdine Waves and the BYU Cougars meet Saturday in college basketball action from Marriott Center. Pepperdine is fresh off a Thursday matchup versus San Diego. The Waves went on to lose in a close outcome. As for BYU, they played Gonzaga in their Thursday game. In that one the Cougars fell by a single point. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Pepperdine stood at 6-6 after 12 games with losses to CSUF, UCLA, Nevada, UCSB, Grand Canyon and Hawaii. The Waves went 1-4 in their next five with losses to Iona, Gonzaga, Santa Clara and Pacific. 

On Thursday versus San Diego, the Waves were down by 10 points at halftime. The Waves posted 50 second-half points but couldn’t come back in a 92-89 defeat. Mike Mitchell and Jevon Porter each scored 21 points to lead the team. 

Over on the BYU side, they were 7-5 after 12 games with losses to San Diego State, USC, Butler, South Dakota and Utah Valley. The Cougars went 6-1 over the next seven games with a lone loss to LMU 64-59 on January 5. 

Matched up against Gonzaga on Thursday, the Cougars took a 44-39 deficit into the break. BYU fought back on a 35-31 second-half run but ultimately lost 75-74. Spencer Johnson was the top team scorer on 18 points and six boards. 

PICK: I’ll probably stick with BYU. The Cougars gave Gonzaga a great game on Thursday, ultimately falling short in the closest of outcomes. BYU has been scoring pretty well lately; they’ve hit 68 or more points in four of their last five games. As for Pepperdine, they’re struggling right now with a five-game losing streak. The Waves have hit 75 or more points in four of those games however, so this one’s bound to be a high total as well. I ultimately like the Cougars to power out the cover, though.