Kansas Will Beat Brakes Off Baylor

Baylor vs. Kansas, 6:00 ET

Friday only brought us a few games but today is the real star of the show as we have a ridiculous amount of college basketball games to choose from. As usual, there are a ton of ranked teams playing, but most of them are not playing each other. There is an exception though and we get it in this game. As Conference play winds down before the conference tournament and the NCAA tournament, we hope to grab some units and make money to bet on March Madness. Before we get there, we will take on the game between Baylor and Kansas. 

Baylor comes into this game with a strong 17-5 record and a 6-3 standing in the conference. They are just 3-2 over their past five games and have won three straight after dropping three straight. The losses came on the road against Kansas State and Texas, and then a triple-overtime heartbreaker against TCU on Baylor's home court. This is one of the tougher stretches for Baylor as this is their third straight game against a ranked opponent. They had a two-point win over Iowa State and a six-point victory over Texas Tech. The other two losses from Baylor this season were against Michigan State and Duke. Of the five losses, four of them have been by eight points or fewer. The other one, against Michigan State, was a 14-point loss. This could be a close game, but they need their combination of guards to effectively shoot from the outside. I actually like them as a deep threat, but on the road is always a bit tougher for even professional players. They will have to control the possessions and they also need to avoid the turnovers. I think that Kansas is a solid defense that can hand with these guards. 

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Speaking of Kansas, they are 18-5 and 6-4 in the conference. They are coming off of a loss at Kansas State where they fell by five points in overtime. Prior to that, they lost on the road to Iowa State. And, you guessed it, they lost on the road to West Virginia as well. In fact, all of their losses have come on the road or on a neutral court. The losses on the road have come by a total of 19 total points. They've at least remained competitive even if they didn't pull out a victory. They've only one one conference game on the road. At home, where this game is being played, they have won three of their five conference games by 10 points or more. They did struggle against TCU, but they won by two points. Against Cincinnati, they only pulled out a five-point win. Kansas has a dynamic duo with their guard Kevin McCullar Jr who averages 19.5 points per game. Hunter Dickinson is the other half, the center for Kansas, is averaging 18.9 points. He also is grabbing 11.1 rebounds per game which is huge for limiting opponent possessions and extending Kansas's opportunities. I am curious if they can find ways to stop the Bears offense completely. 

Kansas has a clear edge on the glass and probably down low altogether, that's a big deal when it comes to basketball. The outside shooting also should be bolstered for Kansas on their home court. Each team averages close to the same amount of turnovers, so there doesn't seem to be much of an edge, but on the road I'd guess that Baylor will make more mistakes. I think the best option is to take Kansas in this one to cover the spread. 

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