Wildcats Will Beat Down Baylor

Arizona vs. Baylor, 10:00 ET

After a busy weekend of college basketball, you almost always see a drop off in the quality of games. I mean there are always some good matchups, but the marquee names usually aren't playing until tomorrow. This season has actually had a pretty good balance of good teams taking the floor on Monday's though and I'm extremely thankful for it. I love basketball and am very happy that we get a really nice matchups to start our work week. Tonight Arizona travels to take on Baylor in a Big 12 battle.

Arizona has had a bit of an up-and-down season, fluctuating in the rankings most of the year. They currently reside as the #13 ranked team in the country. For the season, they are 17-8, but they've done very well in conference games. Their three losses in conference play have either been on the road or to a team that you'd expect to lose. They dropped a game at Texas Tech, and then they lost to Kansas State on the 11th. Saturday they fell for the first time at home in conference play as they dropped the game to Houston, losing 62-58. The other losses all came earlier in the season, losing on the road to Wisconsin, then at home to Duke. The other three losses came on neutral court settings as they fell to Oklahoma, West Virginia, and UCLA. Nothing really stands out as an egregious loss from the Wildcats. They have had some impressive wins too. They've beaten Cincinnati, West Virginia on the road, Iowa State, and Texas Tech at home. The team is pretty balanced overall, but the nice thing about them is they have a true go-to scorer in Caleb Love. He could be a difference-maker in this game. 

Baylor Bears guard VJ Edgecombe jams it vs. the Tarleton St. Texans at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. (Chris Jones-Imagn Images)

Baylor is not ranked, but they don't have a much worse or different rank than Arizona. They came into the season as a ranked team and were spanked instantly by Gonzaga. They had one of the hardest starts to the season as they faced Arkansas, St. John's, Tennessee, and Gonzaga. All four were ranked and they had to play all of them in the month of November. They beat St. John's something few teams in the nation can say. In the Big 12, they've lost to Iowa State, Arizona, TCU, BYU, Texas Tech, and Houston. Most of those losses have come on the road though. The only home loss to a conference opponent was against TCU. The biggest concern that I have about this team is that they've struggled against the best teams in the country. They only have two wins against ranked opponents this season, beating Arkansas early in the season and Kansas a couple of weeks ago. Baylor has quite a bit of talent, but like Arizona, they have a primary go-to scorer in Norchad Omier.

Taking a road team is always a concern in college basketball. Sure, there are some games where teams are just significantly better, but that might not be the case here. Arizona is clearly better than Baylor on a neutral court, but here Baylor is the favorite. The Wildcats have beaten the Bears by 11 in their first matchup. It came in Arizona though. I don't think this is an 11-point swing. I know there is revenge here, but I think Arizona is the better team and neither is playing great basketball at the moment. I'll back Arizona to win the game - take the points if you want, but I think they lose by 10 or win the game outright. I don't think it will be a very close one. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024