Halftime Report

Only one more half stands between BYU and the victory they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Bellarmine 42-28.

If BYU keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 11-1 in no time. On the other hand, Bellarmine will have to make due with a 4-10 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

Bellarmine Knights @ BYU Cougars

Current Records: Bellarmine 4-9, BYU 10-1

How To Watch

What to Know

If the oddsmakers' predictions hold true, the near future looks bright for BYU. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Bellarmine Knights at 9:00 p.m. ET on Friday at Marriott Center. The timing is sure in BYU's favor as the squad sits on eight straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Bellarmine has not had much luck on the away from home, with four straight road losses.

BYU has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 28 points or more this season. They steamrolled past the Panthers 86-54 at home. Winning is a bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 16 more assists than your opponent, as BYU did.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead BYU to victory, but perhaps none more so than Richie Saunders, who scored 20 points along with six rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Saunders has scored all season. Dallin Hall was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with six assists.

Bellarmine was no doubt aware that the odds were against they in their game with Utah but that awareness did nothing to prevent the predicted outcome. The Knights were dealt a punishing 85-43 loss at the hands of the Utes on Wednesday. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Bellarmine has scored all season.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Bellarmine struggled to work together and finished the game with only eight assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.

The Cougars' win bumped their record up to 10-1. As for the Knights, their loss dropped their record down to 4-9.

This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: BYU just can't miss this season, having made 48.1% of their shots per game. It's a different story for Bellarmine, though, as they've only made 41.8% of their shots per game this season. Given BYU's sizeable advantage in that area, Bellarmine will need to find a way to close that gap.

Odds

BYU is a big 26.5-point favorite against Bellarmine, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Cougars as a 26-point favorite.


The over/under is set at 142 points.

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