Baylor Bears vs West Virginia Mountaineers Odds
| Baylor Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Point Spread | Over/Under | Moneyline |
-7.5 -110 | 147.5 -110o / -110u | +270 |
| West Virginia Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Point Spread | Over/Under | Moneyline |
+7.5 -110 | 147.5 -110o / -110u | -350 |
Baylor is set to travel to Morgantown to face a West Virginia team that has been spiraling. These two teams are headed in opposite directions in terms of their postseason aspirations.
Baylor is still very hopeful to catch Houston in the Big 12 standings, which could result in the Bears earning a 1- or 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
West Virginia, meanwhile, has lost three consecutive games to fall to 8-16 and 3-8 in the Big 12 this season.
If Baylor mounts an early advantage, this one could get ugly fast.
Baylor Bears
Baylor lost a very "winnable" game against Kansas a week ago. Despite an incredibly tough offensive night full of turnovers and missed shots, Ja'Kobe Walter and Jayden Nunn both had wide-open looks to tie the game and send it to overtime in Allen Fieldhouse.
The missed opportunities did not snowball into Baylor's following performance, as the Bears soundly defeated Oklahoma three days later in Waco.
Earning road victories in the Big 12 has proven to be extremely difficult. As the season moves along, it seems the rest advantage for home teams is creating an even larger margin to overcome for road teams forced to simultaneously travel and recover their bodies.
Baylor has had a full 72 hours to recover from the Oklahoma win Tuesday.
Langston Love (ankle) is still considered day-to-day, meaning we may not know his status for this one until just prior to tip. At this juncture, Scott Drew doesn't have too many bodies healthy and available to him, even if his Bears are expected to emerge victorious.
Love would provide an additional sharpshooting perimeter weapon for Drew to have at his disposal. Prior to his injury, he was the presumed frontrunner to earn Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year honors.
The latest NBA mock drafts project both the aforementioned Walter and his teammate Yves Missi to be top-10 picks in 2024. Missi has the quickness to excel in the pick-and-roll game both offensively and defensively in drop coverage against West Virginia's Jesse Edwards. Walter will not see an equal on the defensive side of the Mountaineers.
Although both are true freshmen, Walter and Missi both have the poise and skill to lead the Bears to a road win, which has been tough to come by.
West Virginia Mountaineers
Since beating Cincinnati on the last day of January, the Mountaineers have been trounced in their three contests to begin the month of February. This seems to be the time of year when bad teams get even worse as motivation depletes. And a typically raucous home crowd like the one in Morgantown may be slightly more sparse.
With interim coach Josh Eilert unlikely to return next year, it's worth continuing to question the Mountaineers' motivation in this game.
It's not as if Eilert's roster lacks talent. On paper, West Virginia has a roster that presumably would be very competitive when all the pieces are actually on the floor.
Unfortunately, this roster wasn't given much of a chance to gel in the early going.
RaeQuan Battle was denied eligibility until late November. Edwards, Kerr Kriisa and Akok Akok have also only played about half of West Virginia's games because of their own injury and eligibility issues. Consequently, Eilert was forced to hope his team could gel while playing a schedule within the country's top conference. The results have been fruitless.
West Virginia's offensive inefficiencies have been prevalent, especially on the road in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers have scored at a much higher rate on their home floor, where turnovers haven't been as much of an issue.
They will be happy to be hosting Baylor, but the Bears present quite a challenge for a defense that hasn't been a source of pride either. In West Virginia's last three games, opponents have totaled 81, 94 and 86 points.
Baylor is potent from the outside and should thrive against a careless Mountaineer perimeter defense.
Baylor vs West Virginia
Betting Prediction, Pick
I'm going to buck the trend of this year's Big 12 and take a road team to get it done. I think Baylor can break West Virginia's spirit early with its potent offensive attack.
Take the Bears to cover, and also consider Baylor as an attractive piece for any moneyline parlays you may consider placing on Saturday.
Pick: Baylor -6.5 (Play to -7)
