March 18, 2026, 9:24 a.m. MT
No. 9 seed Texas and No. 6 seed BYU play on Thursday, March 19, in a March Madness NCAA Tournament first-round game.
The West Region game is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. MST and can be seen on TBS (stream with Sling TV).
Who will win the March Madness game and advance to the second round in the NCAA Tournament bracket?
Check out these March Madness picks and March Madness predictions for the men’s college basketball NCAA Tournament matchup.
BYU is a 2.5-point favorite over Texas in the game in March Madness odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook. The Cougars are -150 on the moneyline. The Longhorns are +125. The over/under for the game is set at 159.5 points.
March Madness picks: Ohio State-TCU | Nebraska-Troy | Louisville-South Florida | Wisconsin-High Point | Duke-Siena | Vanderbilt-McNeese | Michigan State-North Dakota State | Arkansas-Hawaii | North Carolina-VCU | Saint Mary’s-Texas A&M | Illinois-Penn | Georgia-Saint Louis | Gonzaga-Kennesaw State | Houston-Idaho | Kentucky-Santa Clara | Texas Tech-Akron | Arizona-Long Island | Virginia-Wright State | Iowa State-Tennessee State | Alabama-Hofstra | Villanova-Utah State | Clemson-Iowa | St. John’s-UNI | UCLA-UCF | Purdue-Queens | Kansas-Cal Baptist | UConn-Furman | Miami-Missouri | The Republic’s score predictions
Jeremy Cluff writes: “The Cougars played well in the Big 12 Tournament before losing to Houston by seven points. AJ Dybantsa will carry BYU to a close first-round win over the Longhorns.”
Dimers: BYU 81, Texas 75
It writes: “After extensive simulations, our model gives Texas a win probability of 41%, while BYU has a win probability of 59%”.
How to watch March Madness: Ohio State-TCU | Nebraska-Troy | Louisville-South Florida | Wisconsin-High Point | Duke-Siena | Vanderbilt-McNeese | Michigan State-North Dakota State | Arkansas-Hawaii | North Carolina-VCU | Saint Mary’s-Texas A&M | Illinois-Penn | Georgia-Saint Louis | Gonzaga-Kennesaw State | Houston-Idaho | Kentucky-Santa Clara | Texas Tech-Akron | Arizona-Long Island | Virginia-Wright State | Iowa State-Tennessee State | Alabama-Hofstra | Villanova-Utah State | Clemson-Iowa | St. John’s-UNI | UCLA-UCF | Purdue-Queens | Kansas-Cal Baptist | UConn-Furman | Miami-Missouri | Schedule | TV channels | Announcers
ESPN: BYU has a 63% chance to beat Texas
The site gives the Longhorns a 37% shot at defeating the Cougars in the NCAA Tournament March Madness first-round game.
Join the madness: USA TODAY Bracket Challenge | Survivor Pool | Printable bracket
Robby McCombs writes: “I also think BYU has turned a real corner on defense the last four games and has found an identity post Richie-Saunders, which includes length on defense and either shooting or offensive rebounding around AJ Dybantsa on offense to complement him. I’ll take BYU in a fairly close game, but I think BYU contains Texas’ offense just enough and UT can’t find enough answers to slow down Rob and AJ.”
March Madness odds: Ohio State-TCU | Nebraska-Troy | Louisville-South Florida | Wisconsin-High Point | Duke-Siena | Vanderbilt-McNeese | Michigan State-North Dakota State | Arkansas-Hawaii | North Carolina-VCU | Saint Mary’s-Texas A&M | Illinois-Penn | Georgia-Saint Louis | Gonzaga-Kennesaw State | Houston-Idaho | Kentucky-Santa Clara | Texas Tech-Akron | Arizona-Long Island | Virginia-Wright State | Iowa State-Tennessee State | Alabama-Hofstra | Villanova-Utah State | Clemson-Iowa | St. John’s-UNI | UCLA-UCF | Purdue-Queens | Kansas-Cal Baptist | UConn-Furman | Miami-Missouri | Betting odds | Title odds
ESPN: Pick Texas to win vs BYU in NCAA brackets
Jay Bilas writes: “BYU has the nation’s leading scorer in AJ Dybantsa, but the Cougars can struggle to score beyond him and Robert Wright III. BYU isn’t the same team it was earlier in the year, and I think its seed reflects what it was earlier in the year rather than late. I’m taking a flier on Texas here.”
Pete Fiutak writes: “The Cougars will start to look the part. Texas has its own go-to guy in Dailyn Swain, and Tramon Mark is coming off the game-winner over NC State, but the Cougars have a bit more overall talent as long as the starting five doesn’t get into any foul trouble. It’ll stay close late as the Longhorns keep getting to the line and keep making free throws, but BYU won’t buckle late in an entertaining game.”
Reach Jeremy Cluff at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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