Baylor vs. West Virginia - 3/7/20 College Basketball Pick, Odds, and Prediction
Photo by Ben Ludeman-USA TODAY Sports
Baylor Bears (26-3) at West Virginia Mountaineers (20-10)
College Basketball: Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 1:00 pm (WVU Coliseum)
The Line: West Virginia Mountaineers -1.5 -- Over/Under: 129 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Baylor Bears (26-3, 15-2 CONF) and the West Virginia Mountaineers (20-10, 8-9 CONF) will meet on Saturday, March 7th for a Big 12 conference matchup at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV. The game will be played at 1:00 PM eastern time.
Baylor is coming off a 71-68 overtime win at home against Texas Tech in their last game. Baylor is currently ranked #4 in the country, as they fight to win a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and perhaps a Big 12 Conference Championship. West Virginia is coming off a 77-71 road win against Iowa State in their last game. That win snapped a three-game losing streak for West Virginia, who is currently one game under .500 in conference play.
Baylor scores 71.4 points per game on 42.9 percent field goal shooting this season. Baylor’s leading scorer is G Jared Butler, who scores 15.8 points per game. The leading rebounder for Baylor is F Freddie Gillespie, who earns 9.1 rebounds per game. Baylor allows 59.6 points per game to the opposition, therefore they have a +11.8 scoring differential so far this season. Baylor also earns 37.2 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 4.5 blocks, and 8.1 steals per game as a team.
West Virginia scores 70.1 points per game on 42.1 percent field goal shooting this season. West Virginia’s leading scorer and rebounder is F Oscar Tshiebwe, who scores 11.1 points per game and earns 9.2 rebounds per game. West Virginia allows 62.4 points per game to the opposition, thus they have a +7.7 scoring differential so far this season. West Virginia also earns 40.4 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 3.5 blocks, and 7.6 steals per game as a team.
Baylor is 18-11 against the spread this season and 5-5 against the spread in their last ten games. Baylor is also 7-2 against the spread on the road so far this season. West Virginia is 14-15-1 against the spread this season and 2-7-1 against the spread in their last ten games. West Virginia is also 9-6 against the spread at home so far this season.
This is not going to be an easy game for Baylor, who just lost on the road to TCU not too long ago. West Virginia would love to pull off this kind of victory in front of their home crowd, but I just do not see it. I think there is too much value to pass up taking Baylor as a road dog in this spot. If Baylor cannot beat teams like West Virginia, how can they win a national championship? I will take Baylor and the free points.
Ronald’s Pick Baylor +1.5
AUTHOR: Ronald Romanelli
Mitch's Take...
