BYU comes into this game fresh off a real battle against the Longhorns of Texas. Rick Barnes and company proved that you can hang with the Cougars if you can defend and rebound adequately, and BYU moved to 0-8 ATS versus Big 12 teams in their last eight tries.

Wichita State is not in the Big 12, but they mirror some of those programs in terms of overall toughness and depth. The Shockers dismantled DePaul by 18 in a game that was never close to get to this one, and it should be a unique challenge for them.

The Shockers are receiving increased scrutiny and attention given their trip to last year’s Final Four. They feature a top 30 offense and top 30 defense and are a model of consistency night in and night out.

But they have yet to play a team with anything like the offensive explosiveness that BYU brings to the table. They had shortcomings against Creighton in late season match ups a year ago as the result of their inability to contain Doug McDermott.

BYU gets most of its scoring from the outside, and the Wichita State guards are very found defensively. Fred Van Fleet is a quick and shifty athlete who should be able to keep Matt Carlino’s effectiveness at a minimum.

Tekele Cotton and Nick Wiggins are also very serviceable defensive commodities who should be able to stick with BYU scoring phenom Tyler Haws.

At 6’5, haws can score in a variety of ways. He specifically enjoys posting up in the high post or elbow extended and getting mid range jump shots that can demoralize even the best defenses. But Wiggins, the younger brother of Andrew, is a long and lanky 6’6 defender who poses a nice matchup problem.

BYU should also be challenged on the boards as the Shockers grade out a bit better on the boards. Eric Mika and Nate Austin are a nice combo inside with very good size at 6’9 and 6’11, respectively.

But the Cougars do not have great depth behind those two. Their overall front court depth may not matter, but their desire to likely go zone could be a question mark here.

BYU likes to play a decent amount of 2-3, which could work against a Wichita team that prefers to attack down low and through the mid range.

Van Fleet and Ron Baker are good three point shooters, however. Van Fleet is more of a pure point who does not always look for his shot, but baker is downright deadly despite being a selective shooter who elects to pick his spots.

The ability for BYU to keep this game close comes down to how they handle the athletes inside for Wichita. Cleanthony early is a monster and major matchup problem. Going zone can take away some of his effectiveness, but it will not eliminate his presence.

Early is joined in the front court by Chadrack Lufile and Kadeem Coleby, who both stand at 6’9. It is imperative that that the Cougars are aggressive in their pursuit to box out and put bodies on the opposition despite playing in zone.

Wichita is a 3.5-4 point favorite in this game and rightfully so. They are the better team and their tournament success from a season ago will attract public betting attention here. Early on, they are receiving well over 80% of bets.

I think the Shockers are the right side to this game as their athleticism, similar to Texas, should challenge the Cougar offense. At the same time, BYU can shoot and score from virtually anywhere and their zone could be an issue for the Shockers as they have yet to face anything quite like what BYU has in terms of length yet this season.

Neutral floor games are tough to call and while Wichita might be the better side, I think its a bet with limited value here as BYU has an excellent coach in Dave Rose who will be sure to fire up his team after a physical game against the Longhorns. That challenge should prep the Cougar well for tonight’s matchup and I’d expect a great game.