Getting the showcase treatment on Saturday night will be the No. 1 ranked Baylor Bears who will be venturing into unchartered territory to Gainesville where the Florida Gators have made minced meat of its recent opposition. Mike White’s kids will be taking to their home hardwood in an ornery mood as well after dropping a tough decision in Baton Rouge to the LSU Tigers last time out. That said, no team has excelled more than Baylor in the Big 12/SEC Challenge with it coming out on top five of the last six seasons. With that, you can expect Scott Drew’s side to be a popular choice of the betting markets when these team collide at online sportsbooks in prime-time!
This Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup is set to go down on Saturday, January 25, 2020. Tip-off will be at 8 p.m. ET from the Exactech Arena in Gainesville, FL. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN. So make sure to fill out your March Madness Bracket today!
CBB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
One can only sit and marvel when breaking down what Baylor has been able to do through its first 17 games of the season. Since dropping a 67-64 decision to the Washington Huskies on a neutral floor the second game of the season, Jared Butler and his mates have rattled off 15 straight victories and covered the closing number 10 times! The fact that it’s already gone into Lubbock and Lawrence and sprung upsets against Texas Tech and Kansas respectively should have it being extremely comfortable heading into unknown territory for this one. The Bears are undefeated on the true road both SU and ATS thus far.
Take the Gators out of Gainesville, and they’ve proven to be nothing short of ordinary. But insert them in front of the hometown faithful, and it’s been a completely different story. That said, the team just got done putting forth one of its best showings of the season on the true road after just coming up short against the SEC-leading Tigers. The 84-82 defeat was a tough pill to swallow considering how efficient the offense proved to be in shooting 51 percent from the field. Its inability to contain LSU’s bigs ultimately proved to be their undoing. Still, the Gators stand a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS following their last three defeats, and they’ve been destroying recent opposition at home in pummeling Auburn, Ole Miss, and Long Beach State by an average of 25.7 points per game.
Matchup to Watch
Baylor’s success to this point of the season has been predicated upon its ability to clean the glass and force its opposition into miscues. That said, the Gators currently possess one of the premiere big men in the country with VTECH grad transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. making himself nice and comfy in his new surroundings. The veteran is scoring nearly 15 points per game and backing it up with an average of 8.7 rebounds. His ability to limit the Bears second and third chance scoring opportunities by beating Freddie Gillespie (9.3 RPG) and Mark Vital (6.0 RPG) to loose caroms will go a long way in deciding who ultimately comes out on top of this matchup. Taking excellent care of the basketball will also be a priority with Baylor forcing 15.2 turnovers per game; an output that increases to 16.8 when playing away from the comforts of Waco.
Prediction
I faded the Bears on Big Monday in their first game played as the new No. 1 team in the country. The Oklahoma Sooners allowed for me to cash that ticket, and they could’ve pulled the shocker had Brady Manek’s last-second 3-pointer rung true. As impressive Baylor has been on the road to date, I’ll be fading the top ranked team in the country for a second straight time. They were lucky to come out of Monday night’s game with a win. For the first time all season, the offense stalled numerous times over the course of the game. Do that against a Gators outfit that’s thrived in front of the hometown faithful of late, and you can kiss that No. 1 ranking goodbye. And why not, it’s been nothing short of a revolving door at the top of the rankings this season. With that, I expect a new No. 1 to be anointed this upcoming Monday once the Gators keep their home win streak intact.
College Basketball Pick: Florida 67, Baylor 62
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