Arizona State Sun Devils vs Byu Cougars Picks and Predictions February 26th 2025

No. 25 BYU Looking for Season Sweep at Arizona State

No. 25 BYU brings a four-game winning streak and a fresh national ranking into Wednesday night’s game against Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz.

The Cougars (19-8, 10-6 Big 12) followed up last week’s rout of then-No. 23 Kansas with a 96-95 victory Saturday at then-No. 19 Arizona.

The next challenge is beating an Arizona State team that ended its six-game losing streak with a 66-54 win Sunday at Kansas State.

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The Sun Devils (13-14, 4-12) will play the rest of the season without leading scorer BJ Freeman, who was dismissed from the program Sunday for conduct detrimental to the team.

Arizona State also may not have freshman standout Jayden Quaintance, who suffered an apparent knee injury with less than five minutes remaining against Kansas State. He finished with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

“I’m not sure about Jayden yet,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said. “He’ll get examined, and it didn’t look good how he fell. That kid usually just bounces right up, so we’re just holding our breath until we get some answers.”

The Sun Devils have a seven-game home losing streak in Big 12 games.

BYU Aiming for More History

BYU has won four of its last five road conference games, the latest on Saturday night when Richie Saunders made two late free throws against Arizona.

The Cougars achieved their first back-to-back wins over ranked opponents in 37 years with the victories over Kansas and Arizona.

Saunders, who scored a team-high 23 points at Arizona, went to the stripe with 3.2 seconds remaining after a foul was called on Trey Townsend.

“Luckily we were able to make enough (plays) of our own; Richie was incredible,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “My message to our group is whatever the next challenge in front of us, we are trying to attack it, whether that is practice, whether that is a shootaround, whether that is a game.”

BYU defeated Arizona State 76-56 in the Big 12 opener for both teams at Provo, Utah, on Dec. 31.

Can Arizona State Respond Without Key Players?

Saunders scored a career-high 30 points in the last meeting. The Cougars capitalized on 13 Arizona State turnovers, turning them into 19 points, and dominated the paint with a 36-24 scoring advantage. They also held a 38-28 rebounding edge, including 13 offensive rebounds leading to 16 second-chance points.

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If Quaintance is unable to play Wednesday night, Arizona State will need other frontcourt players to step up. Quaintance leads the Sun Devils with 7.9 rebounds per game. Basheer Jihad, a wing player, is next at 5.6 a game, while 7-footer Shawn Phillips Jr. adds 4.6.

Phillips finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the win at Kansas State.

Arizona State’s perimeter game struggled without Freeman, who was averaging 13.7 points per game. Jihad, Alston Mason, and Adam Miller combined for 18 points on 6-for-18 shooting from the field (3 of 11 from deep) against Kansas State.

Who Will Prevail in Tempe?

BYU looks to maintain its momentum and solidify its tournament resume, while Arizona State aims to overcome adversity and end its conference home struggles.

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