UConn Will Get Back On Track Against Baylor In Bad Spot

Baylor vs. UConn, 6:30 ET

We had some wildness on the hardwood last night, but that's what we look forward to in college sports, isn't it? I suppose we look for it in the professional ranks as well, but it doesn't happen quite as often. It is never easy to win on the road in any setting, but specifically with college teams you see the struggle more often. Tonight we have some juicy matchups and the first one to kick us off is between Baylor and UConn.

Baylor, ranked 15th in the nation is off to an interesting start having won five of their seven matchups. They started the season with a tough opponent in Gonzaga and were blown out. As I mentioned, going on the road is difficult, but they had to try and incorporate new players while Gonzaga had more continuity and it certainly paid off that night as Gonzaga won the game by almost 40 points. Since then, Baylor has had to face three more ranked teams including Arkansas, St. John's, and Tennessee. It came as no real surprise that they lost to Tennessee after having to fend off St. John's the day before in double overtime. That takes a lot out of you, and you could see the team was a bit sluggish and never fully recovered, eventually losing by 15. Now they travel across the country to play a disappointing UConn team. More on that in a moment. On a neutral court, Baylor would have pretty much everything you need to compete with most teams. They do lack a bit of height but they find ways to rebound well enough. 

UConn is arguably the biggest story of the season so far, and not in a good way. They are on a quest for three straight National Championships and at the moment are only 5-3, falling all the way to 25th in the national ranks. Have to wonder if Dan Hurley is now kind of wishing he headed to the NBA instead of running it back. UConn probably shouldn't be ranked at this point. Here is a list of teams they've beaten this season: Sacred Heart, New Hampshire, Le Moyne, East Texas A&M, and Maryland Eastern Shore. Almost every one of those games has been 90-something to 50ish. Not exactly real competition. They lost to Memphis, Colorado, and Dayton on three consecutive days. While the first two were close, the game against Dayton was one that seemed like they didn't even want to be there any longer. Hopefully, what the Huskies took away from all of this was that they wont be able to just coast to another title this year, and they certainly have a target on their backs. In this game they will need to use their defense in order to get some stops - something they were incapable of during their tournament losses.

I think this game is a bit different than the tournament, mostly because UConn will be on their home floor. I know they haven't beaten anyone good, but it is really tough to win on the road and Baylor is going across the entire country to play this game. That stuff matters in professional basketball and certainly matters here. I do agree with the line movement as the opening number was a bit too high, but now that we are down to UConn -2.5, I think they are the correct side. Feel free to wait to see if it falls further. 

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