Take The Team That Battled A Tougher Conference All Year

Baylor vs. Mississippi State, 12:15 ET

The first day has come and gone, are your brackets busted? Hopefully, that isn't the case, but if it is, at least you can focus in on the daily betting instead of worrying about all of the rounds at once. The beauty of the daily betting is that it doesn't impact other days. I mean, I suppose if you blow the bankroll then that greatly impacts the days. I don't plan on doing that here. In fact, what I plan on doing is absolutely crushing the books for March Madness. Today, we take on the Baylor Bears as they play the Mississippi State Bulldogs. 

Baylor had some pretty decent hype before this season started and they came out, but they really didn't live up to that hype. The fact that they are a 9 seed is a bit surprising in my book, but whatever. You can't change that now. Baylor had a regular season record of 18-13, and went just 10-10 in the Big 12. There are some very talented teams in the Big 12, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking it is an elite conference. They ended up going just 1-1 in the conference tournament, but to their credit, they did play Texas Tech very well and lost only by two points. Throughout the season, they had one really impressive win over St. John's, a game that they won in double overtime on a neutral court. They also beat Kansas and Arkansas at different points in the year. It wasn't that this team was garbage, but I also don't think we should praise them for any reason.

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - MARCH 22:  Head coach Scott Drew of the Baylor Bears reacts to a play in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Colgate Raiders at FedExForum on March 22, 2024 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Mississippi State was in an elite conference and didn't have the hype that Baylor received. They finished the regular season with a 20-11 record, and were just 9th in the SEC with an 8-10 record. They did do decent in the Conference Tournament, taking down a bad LSU team with ease, and then losing to Missouri in their next game. For the year, they have had a couple of impressive wins, beating Ole Miss, Memphis, Texas A&M, and demolishing Pittsburgh. If you want to find a knock on the team, it isn't overly difficult to find. They are losers of five of their past seven games, and have won just seven games in their past 18 contests. Again, most of that came against the gauntlet that is the SEC, but starting the season 14-1 and then ending the year at 20-11 is kind of brutal. 

This is probably one of the games that feels like more of a tossup than it really is. Baylor has done very little to be impressed by this season. Outside of the SEC, Mississippi State has been very good. Baylor will be locked in for this one, and it is likely to be close, but the reality is that the Bulldogs are a better team than the Bears. They've been tested more and arguably could have a more pro-Bulldog crowd in this arena. I'm backing Mississippi State to win this one at -120. 

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