BYU vs Wofford | Prediction & Pick

Jimmer tries to coax Cougars past Wofford

One of the most electrifying players in all of college basketball leads his team into the NCAA Tournament as Jimmer Fredette and the BYU Cougars face the upset-minded Wofford Terriers in a second round Southeast Region contest on Thursday in Denver.

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#3 BYU (30-4, 14-2 MWC) vs. #14 Wofford (21-12, 14-4 Southern)

Date/Time: Thursday, March 17, 7:15 PM ET
Venue: Pepsi Center in Denver, CO.
Broadcast: CBS

Money Line: BYU -400, Wofford +325
Spread: BYU -8
Over/Under: 147

Fredette is the big gun the Terriers will need to contain if they wish to win their first-ever NCAA Tournament game in this their second all-time appearance. Wofford gave Wisconsin all that they could handle in the first round last year, losing by four to the Badgers.

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BYU’s senior guard led the nation in scoring, averaging 28.5 points per game. The Cougars leading scorer posted 13 games with 30-plus points, including a career-high 52 in the Mountain West semifinals against New Mexico. Fredette will be counted to score more points with the loss of Brandon Davies, who was suspended for a violation of team rules late in the season. Fredette certainly should threaten the BYU record for points in an NCAA Tournament game, established by Danny Ainge in 1981.

The Cougars were on target to secure a top seed, but they stumbled late in the season following the suspension of Davies. Though they avenged two regular season defeats to the Lobos in the conference tournament, they were on the opposite end of that equation in the MWC title game against San Diego State.

BYU also has had a tendency to play up or down to the level of their competition. Though they earned quality victories out-of-conference against Utah State, Arizona, and UNLV, they also struggled to defeat teams they were seemingly superior to such as South Florida and Buffalo.

As for the Terriers, they won the Southern Conference championship tournament after a season in which they shared the regular season crown in the South Division with Charleston. Wofford played a brutal non-conference schedule but showed themselves to be a capable opponent by defeating George Mason and earning quality losses against Clemson, Georgetown, VCU, and a three overtime affair with Xavier.

Noah Dahlman is the leading scorer for the Terriers. He finished third in the conference at 20.0 points per contest, shooting an astounding 61.2 percent from the field. Tim Johnson is the leading rebounder on the team, averaging 8.4 boards per contest – tops in the Southern Conference.

The odds makers have the BYU Cougars as a -8 point favorite with an over/under of 147.

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Prediction: The Terriers will keep things close for much of the game, but the Cougars should be able to distance themselves down the stretch and advance to the third round.

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