The Oklahoma Sooners will attempt to become the first team to beat the second-ranked Baylor Bears when they square off in their mid-week Big 12 battle on Wednesday night.
Oklahoma will look to build on its stunning upset win over the weekend while Baylor will look to subdue its latest opponent after winning every game this season by double digits. With both ballclubs going all out for the win on Wednesday night, let’s find out which team is offering the best value against their College Basketball odds in this contest.
College Basketball Predictions – Oklahoma at No. 2 Baylor
Why Bet On Oklahoma
Oklahoma stunned ninth-ranked West Virginia 75-71 on Saturday as Umoja Gibson scored a season-high 29 points while draining nine three-pointers in the win. The Sooners had to hold off a furious second half comeback attempt by the Mountaineers after going into the break with a commanding 38-20 lead. Head coach Lon Kruger praised Gibson’s performance afterward.
“He made big shots,” Kruger said. “We needed every one of them, obviously, in the second half down the stretch there… when the game was tied. He stepped up there. He was great. He works as hard as anyone in the country on putting extra time into the gym and when a young guy does that, it’s easy to cheer for him and I’m happy to see him rewarded.”
Oklahoma averages 81.8 points per game on 46.4 percent shooting from the field and 35.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Sooners allow 70.9 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting from the field and 39.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Why Bet On No. 2 Baylor
Second-ranked Baylor man-handled Iowa State in its 76-65 road win on Saturday as Jared Butler scored a team-high 21 points and three teammates scored in double figures. The Bears recorded their ninth straight win by double digits, although the 11-point margin of victory was their lowest of the season.
“It’s been a long time since we played some stiff competition,” Baylor’s Jared Butler said after that win. “We said in the locker room, these are the games that make basketball fun, not the blowout wins. It was good for us to get a rubber-meets-the-road type of game.”
Baylor averages a phenomenal 92.9 points per game to rank third nationally in scoring. The Bears shoot a blistering 51.6 percent from the field (13th) and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc to lead the country in three-point shooting.
“Most people just know us as a team that showboats and makes a lot of threes,” center Flo Thamba said. “But we have the grind, we have the grit, we have the mentality of going 1-0, just being persistent and fighting through adversity. That’s in our DNA.”
Defensively, Baylor limits the opposition to just 62.6 points per game on 42.2 percent shooting from the field and 32.5 percent from downtown.
Oklahoma Sooners (6-2) Vs Baylor Bears (9-0)
- When: Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 at 9:00 PM ET
- Where: Ferrell Center, Waco, TX
- TV: ESPN2
- NCAAB Odds: TBD
Expert Analysis and Prediction
With Oklahoma ranking last in the Big 12 in three-point field goal defense and not having nearly the mount of quality players as Baylor, I’m expecting another double-digit victory for the Bears in this mid-week matchup.
The Sooners have gone an uninspiring 1-5 ATS in their last six games following an SU win while Baylor has gone a polar opposite 5-1 ATS in its last six home games and 7-2 ATS in their last nine games overall. I know the road team in this Big 12 rivalry has gone 3-0-1 ATS in the last four meetings, but I don’t see it happening for Oklahoma in this meeting. Baylor wins and wins big!
Pick: Baylor 87 Oklahoma 75
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