Duquesne vs BYU Pick & Prediction for Thursday

Duquesne takes on BYU on Thursday, March 21, at 12:40 p.m. ET on truTV. Here's a Duquesne vs BYU pick and prediction. 

The first game of the East Region tips off on Thursday afternoon in Omaha, Nebraska, as the surprising Duquesne Dukes take on the BYU Cougars.

Duquesne's only way of entry into the Big Dance was to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament, and the Dukes pulled it out with four wins at Barclays Center for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1977.

BYU transitioned to the loaded Big 12 this season from the West Coast Conference, and the Cougars held their own at 23-10. However, this is just their second time in the Big Dance since 2016.

Two seasons ago, Duquesne was a bottom-feeder in the Atlantic 10 at 6-24. The Dukes showed massive improvement in the 2022-23 season by posting a 20-13 mark, which culminated in a CBI Tournament appearance.

This season, the Dukes jumped out to a 9-3 record in nonconference play before disaster hit. Then, they started A-10 action at 0-5.

Duquesne was the last team to win a conference game, but it's not how you start — it's how you finish. That much was proven by a 10-3 run over the final 13 games.

The Dukes' signature win in the A-10 Tournament came over a Dayton squad that was favored to capture the championship. Duquesne shut down the Flyers in a 65-57 triumph as a 7-point underdog, which was a nice revenge spot after losing to Dayton during the season.

Duquesne closed out the tournament by holding off last season's champion, VCU, by a score of 57-51. The Dukes extended their winning streak to eight while covering the spread seven times during this span.

Dae Dae Grant led Duquesne this season by averaging 16.7 points per game, which included a 27-point effort in the semifinal victory over St. Bonaventure.

Second-leading scorer Jimmy Clark III struggled in the A-10 Championship by shooting 2-of-17 from the floor while being held to single-digit points for the second time in 10 games.

Still, the Dukes have covered six of their last seven games in the underdog role, including three outright victories as 5-point 'dogs or higher.

Duquesne owned the best 3-point defense in A-10 play by holding opponents to 29.5% while limiting its last three opponents to 27% or worse from long range.

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BYU closed the season as the fourth-highest ranked team out of the Big 12 at 16th, according to KenPom. The Cougars lost to Texas Tech in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, which halted a 5-0 against-the-spread run.

Head coach Mark Pope's team will push the tempo, as evidenced by the 85th-fastest tempo in the country and the second-fastest tempo in conference play.

The Cougars also owned the eighth-best 2-point percentage in the nation at 58%, with Creighton, UConn and Gonzaga being the only three tournament teams that shot better from inside the arc.

Duquesne is also stellar inside the arc on the other end of the floor, ranking 30th among tournament squads in defensive 2-point percentage at 48.4%.

BYU's best win away from Provo this season came over Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in a 76-68 victory as an 8-point underdog on Feb. 27.

The Cougars won four of their five games at neutral-site locations while covering the spread in all four victories — all as a favorite.

Four BYU players averaged double figures in scoring, led by guard Jaxson Robinson's career-best 13.9 points per game. Robinson struggled from the floor in the two Big 12 Tournament games against UCF and Texas Tech, shooting 8-of-26, including 2-of-9 on 2-point attempts.

Forward Fousseyni Traore didn't see much action in the first five Big 12 games, averaging only 4.8 points per game in less than 10 minutes a contest. However, Traore stepped up down the stretch by posting 13.2 points a game in the last 13 contests, including three outputs of 21 points or more.

This line opened with BYU as an 8-point favorite and has been bet up to -9 or -9.5 at most books.

The Dukes are in the midst of a great run, but they're taking on a team that's battle-tested after facing Big 12 competition over the last two months.

Duquesne faced one KenPom top-40 team, which was Dayton. BYU took on nine teams in the top 40 this season and won six of those games.

Pick: BYU -9.5 (Play to -10)