Both the Baylor Bears and the Oklahoma Sooners had a tough time on the road in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday. Each team went on the road to face an SEC foe and ended up having one of their worst offensive performances of the season.
Baylor’s offense was completely stifled by the Florida Gators. Florida held the Bears to 40 percent shooting while forcing 15 turnovers in the win. As for Oklahoma, the Sooners offense was held under 75 points for just the second time all season by Alabama.
These Big 12 foes are each hoping that a return to conference play will be fruitful.
This war on the floor will go down Tuesday, January 30, 2018, at 9 p.m. ET at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Tuesday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
The Bears are sitting at 2-6 in conference play, with the two wins coming at the expense of Texas and Oklahoma State. Baylor is 7-7 ATS on the year, but has not been able to cover in each of its last two games.
Under has been a great wager to make in Baylor games. The Bears have not been able to score a lot of points because of their deliberate pace, and that has helped under cash repeatedly. In all, under is 9-4-1 on the season.
Oklahoma has been rather hot and cold over the last few weeks. The Sooners have not been able to buy a win on the road since the calendar rolled over to 2018. Their loss to Alabama was their fourth straight road loss, and third straight as a short favorite according to the oddsmakers.
Fortunately for the Sooners, this game will be in Norman, where the team has fared much better. Oklahoma has covered four of its last five at home, including a win over Kansas last week. Under has cashed in four straight OU games and six of the last seven overall.
Matchup to Watch
Whereas many teams across the country are trying to win with smallball, Baylor has gone the other way. The Bears have eight players that are averaging 20 minutes or more per game, and five of those are frontcourt players.
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. is the most prominent frontcourt player on the roster, averaging over 30 minutes a game. He is second on the team in scoring and third on the team in rebounding. Additionally, he is one of the best shotblockers in the nation with almost two blocks per game.
Conversely, Oklahoma likes to run up and down the court and heavily relies on its guards to impact the game. The overwhelming amount of scoring comes from the guards, with the frontcourt primarily tasked with boxing out on defense and getting the ball to the guards as quickly as possible.
It will be interesting to see which style prevails here.
Player to Watch
Trae Young continues to be the difference maker for Oklahoma. No player carries his team more than Young carries the Sooners. He leads the nation in points, assists, and turnovers, and OU lives or dies with how well he plays.
Opponents are well aware of this now and will constantly throw guys at Young to force someone else to beat them. Alabama threw wave after wave of players at Young, and the Crimson Tide were able to contain him that way. His production and effect on the game was relatively limited as a result.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
According to Ken Pomeroy, Baylor has been one of the unluckiest teams in the country. The Bears haven’t been bad in any one aspect of the game, but they seem to suffer quite a few bad breaks. With Oklahoma coming off of a loss, people will want to bet the Sooners at home. That will lead to an inflated line that Baylor will cover.
College Basketball Odds: Oklahoma 84, Baylor 80
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