The No. 4 Arizona Wildcats (23-2, 10-2) host the No. 23 BYU Cougars (19-6, 7-5) tonight. It’s a matchup of Big 12 powers who are each dealing with injuries to key players and as a result, scuffling of late.
The Wildcats opened the season with 23 straight wins but have lost their last two (Kansas and Texas Tech). They are dealing with a shorthanded roster, missing key freshman Koa Peat and rotation player Dwayne Aristode. BYU enters this matchup following a significant blow, having lost forward Richie Saunders to a season-ending injury during last Saturday’s 90-86 overtime win against Colorado. The win was the Cougars second straight after losing their previous four.
With the aforementioned stars sidelined for each side, each school will need others to step up. BYU will be forced to rely even more on star freshman AJ Dybantsa, who scored 24 points in their previous loss to Arizona, to lead an offense that is averaging 86.5 points per game, and Arizona will require more out of their leading scorer, star freshman Brayden Burries who poured in 29 in the Cats 86-83 win over BYU in late January.
No question this game boils down to Arizona’s defense (top-ranked in the Big 12 but a unit that has allowed an average of 80 points per game the last two games) returning to form vs. BYU’s success in finding a replacement for Saunders’ veteran leadership and 18 points per game.
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game Details and How to Watch Live: No. 23 BYU vs. No. 4 Arizona
- Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026
- Time: 9PM EST
- Site: McKale Memorial Center
- City: Tucson, AZ
- Network/Streaming: ESPN
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Game Odds: No. 23 BYU at No. 4 Arizona
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: BYU Cougars (+625), Arizona (-950)
- Spread: Arizona -12.5
- Total: 164.5 points
This game opened Arizona -13.5 with the Total set at 161.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NCAA Basketball schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: No. 23 BYU at No. 4 Arizona
BYU Cougars
- G Robert Wright III
- G Alexsej Kostic
- F Kennard Davis Jr.
- F Keba Keita
- F A.J. Dybantsa
Arizona Wildcats
- G Jaden Bradley
- G Brayden Burries
- F Tobe Awaka
- F Ivan Kharchenkov
- C Motiejus Krivas
Injury Report: BYU at Arizona
BYU Cougars
- Richie Saunders (knee) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
- KJ Perry (redshirt) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
- Xavion Staton (undisclosed) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
- Dawson Baker (knee) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
- Nate Pickens (undisclosed) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
- Brody Kozlowski (redshirt) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
Arizona Wildcats
- Koa Peat (lower leg) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
- Dwayne Aristode (illness) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
Important stats, trends and insights: No. 23 BYU at No. 4 Arizona
- Arizona is 13-1 at home this season
- BYU is 3-3 on the road this season
- BYU is 10-15 ATS overall this season / 2-4 ATS on the road
- Arizona is 15-10 ATS overall this season / 7-7 ATS at home
- BYU is 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games
- The OVER has cashed in each of the last 5 games between these teams
- The OVER has cashed in 6 of BYU’s last 7 games overall
- BYU is 8-17 ATS in the 1st Half this season
- AJ Dybantsa has scored at least 20 points in 6 of his last 7 games and at least 24 in 5 of his last 7
- Brayden Burries has pulled down at least 5 rebounds in 5 straight and 6 of his last 7 games
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s game between BYU and Arizona:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on Arizona -12.5 ATS
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 164.5.
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