The college basketball spotlight this week shines brightest on Provo, where No. 1 Arizona heads into a hostile Marriott Center to take on a surging BYU squad. It’s a matchup that not only tops Andy Katz’s list of the best games in the country this week-it’s also a potential preview of what postseason basketball could look like in the new-look Big 12.
Arizona enters the week undefeated at 20-0, sitting atop the Big 12 standings at 7-0 and holding the No. 1 spot in both the NCAA NET rankings and Katz’s NCAA Power Rankings. The Wildcats have been a model of consistency this season-balanced, deep, and unshaken in the face of every challenge thrown their way. Their recent 84-77 road win over Central Florida on January 17 was another example of their ability to handle tough road environments, and Monday night in Provo is shaping up to be their biggest road test yet.
BYU, ranked 13th in both Katz’s Power Rankings and the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI), has been impressive in its own right. The Cougars are 5-1 in conference play, tied for third in the Big 12 alongside Houston, and have shown they can hang with elite competition.
Freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa has been everything BYU hoped for-and maybe even more. His scoring punch and poise have elevated the Cougars into legitimate contenders in their first full season navigating the Big 12 gauntlet.
FanDuel Sportsbook currently lists Arizona as a slim 1.5-point favorite, down from an opening line of 2.5, signaling just how tight this matchup is expected to be. ESPN’s analytics give the Wildcats a 57.8% chance to come out on top, but the margin for error is razor thin. This is a classic strength-on-strength showdown: Arizona’s deep rotation and top-ranked Strength of Record against BYU’s home-court advantage and dynamic guard play.
Tipoff is set for 7 PM Mountain Standard Time on ESPN, with Jon “Boog” Sciambi on the call and Fran Fraschilla providing analysis. Expect a raucous environment in Provo-this isn’t just another regular-season game. This is a statement opportunity for both programs.
And the stakes don’t end Monday night. Arizona has a stacked February ahead, including a return game against BYU, a home matchup with Texas Tech on February 14, and a home-and-home series with Kansas. The Wildcats are in the thick of a brutal Big 12 stretch, and how they navigate it will say a lot about their national title hopes.
Elsewhere in the conference, Kansas hosts BYU later in the week in a game Katz ranks sixth nationally, while Texas Tech visits Central Florida in the 10th-ranked matchup. But make no mistake-Arizona at BYU is the headliner.
Two top-15 teams. A conference race heating up.
A national No. 1 trying to stay perfect. And a young star in Dybantsa looking to lead a program-defining upset.
This is what college basketball in late January is all about.