NCAA Basketball Betting Pick for Game of the Day: Texas vs Baylor

The Texas Longhorns (22-6) and Baylor Bears (20-8) meet on Saturday afternoon at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas, in a battle between a pair of top-10 teams in the country. Texas comes into the game as No. 8 in the AP Top 25, while the Bears are No. 9. Baylor is 13-2 at home and Texas is 4-4 on the road.

With only a handful of games left in the regular season and a few weeks away from the NCAA Tournament, these teams are tending in opposite directions. Texas has won back-to-back games against Iowa State and Oklahoma, while Baylor is coming off of consecutive losses to Kansas State and Kansas. Both teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games, however. Check out MyBookie’s College Basketball betting odds for the pick of day.

MyBookie’s College Basketball Pick of Day: Baylor at Texas | College Basketball Lines

When: Saturday, February 25
Where: Ferrell Center, Waco, TX

Time: 2:00 PM EST
TV: ESPN, ESPN2

Texas Betting Preview

The Longhorns are one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation with an average of 79.4 PPG. They’re also ranked 60th nationwide in defensive rating (98.0). They’re not a high-volume three-point shooting team, but guard Marcus Carr is a threat from deep; the Canadian, averaging 17 PPG, is shooting 39.1 percent from three and was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc in Texas’ 72-54 win over Iowa State.

The Longhorns’ offense also features complimentary pieces in forward Timmy Allen and guard Sir’Jabari Rice, who’s averaging an impressive 12.1 PPG off the bench this season. Rice scored more than 20 points in four of his last eight games, including a season-best 24 points in Texas’ 85-83 win over Oklahoma last Saturday.

Texas is tied for first in the Big 12 with Kansas. They beat the Bears at home earlier this season 76-71. Rice led the team in scoring with 21 points in that game, while Allen contributed 18 on 7-of-10 shooting.

Baylor Betting Preview

The Bears need a win to keep pace with Kansas State and Iowa State for third place in the Big 12. Second place may be out of the question, but they’d certainly give themselves a chance with a win against Texas. Baylor closes out its season with games against Oklahoma State and Iowa State.

Baylor has a balanced scoring attack with three players – Keyonte George, Adam Flagler, and LJ Cryer – averaging double digits in PPG. George is scoring a team-leading 16.9 PPG but on just 39.2 percent from the field. He scored at least 20 points in the Bears’ back-to-back losses to Kansas and Kansas State.

Baylor ranks second in the country in offensive efficiency and has an above-average defense. They’re 13-2 at home this season.

Texas vs. Baylor Betting Odds and Prediction

It’s tough to imagine the Bears dropping three in a row and losing back-to-back games against Texas, especially since they’ll have Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua available for Saturday’s game. He missed most of the season due to injury but had 11 points and 12 rebounds in just his sixth game back on Tuesday against Kansas State.

Texas was -4 point favorites in the first meeting between the two teams earlier this year. Expect the Bears to be favored by around the same margin. They should cover, too.