Baylor Bears vs Texas Longhorns Big 12 Basketball Prediction, 2–12–2018
Free College Basketball ATS Prediction by Puss Williamson of BetSheet.com
Baylor Bears vs Texas Longhorns
Odds: Texas -3
Time: February 12th, 9:00 PM EST
Baylor Bears
(15–10)
The Baylor Bears travel to Austin to for a Big 12 matchup vs the Texas Longhorns. Baylor has won three straight games and enter this matchup of the heels of beating #10 Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday. These two teams met in January and Baylor emerged victorious, 69–60.
Manu Lecomte leads Baylor with an average of 16.8 points and 3.5 assists per game, while Lual-Acuil Jr. is the Bears’ top rebounder with 9.2 rebounds per game. One area that Baylor has a defined edge is rebounding. The Bears on average grab 38.8 offensive RPG and 28 RPG on defense. Baylor was able to win the rebounding margin vs Kansas (31–25) which contributed partly to their victory.
Offensively, the Bears are averaging 77.2 points per game while allowing 69 PPG. Baylor has struggled on the road this season going just (1–7 SU) and they are (5–7) in Big 12 action.
Texas Longhorns
(15–10)
The Texas Longhorns have lost two straight since an emotional 79–74 upset of Oklahoma on Feb. 3, including an 87–71 loss at TCU on Saturday. Mohamed Bamba, 6–11 freshman forward, leads the team in scoring (13.6) and rebounding (10.6) and is a force down low. Bamba has a 7'-9" wingspan which has helped block 96 shots on the season. His presence down low forces teams to drive and kick out, or force them to take unnecessary shots from the field.
Offensively, the Longhorns average 72.4 points per game and defensively, Texas allows its opponents to score an average of 67.7 points per game.
Texas has a fantastic defense. The Longhorns are 8th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Texas will need to force Baylor to shots outside their comfort zone and defend the 3-point ball. If Baylor is cold from beyond the arc, it could be very tough for the Bears to score.
Baylor vs Texas NCAAB Prediction
What is Puss Williamson Predicting?
With a host of big men — including their traditional lineup with Bamba and Dylan Osetkowski — rebounding against Texas isn’t always easy. Baylor has the rebounding advantage but if they settle for 3-point shots, it could be tough to score the second chance shots. Texas will likely play some zone to make the Bears prove they can make shots from outside.
The Longhorns have not played well lately and Baylor is 5–0 ATS their last 5 meetings in Austin, 4–1 ATS the last 5 meetings overall and the road team is 6–1 ATS the last 7 meetings between these two teams. I think laying -3 points with Texas is a risky proposition considering Baylor seems to be playing sound basketball. I like Baylor plus the +3 points in tonight’s matchup.
Baylor vs Texas NCAAB Spread Pick: Baylor +3
