Baylor Bears (5-0) vs VCU Rams (3-2)
Game Info: Thursday, November 25, 2021 at 5:00 pm (Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort)
Betting Odds: Baylor Bears -12.5 -- Over/Under: 130.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The 6th ranked Baylor Bears & VCU Rams will square off at Imperial Arena this Thursday night in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis.
The 6th ranked Baylor Bears improved to 5-0 on the season after defeating the Arizona State Sun Devils, 75-63, last night. Baylor was outstanding defensively against Arizona State and had no trouble pulling away for the victory after taking a 55-36 lead with 14:31 left in regulation. Baylor shot 42.3% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc while holding Arizona State to 35.7% shooting from the field & 37.0% from beyond the arc. Baylor won the turnover battle by a 15-8 margin and outrebounded Arizona State by a 43-36 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Bears was Adam Flagler who had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 steal.
Coming into their game against Arizona State, Baylor was averaging 88.5 ppg on 50.5% shooting from the field. The Bears were averaging 8.8 three-pointers per game on 35.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Baylor has been led by LJ Cryer (17.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.0 spg), Kendall Brown (14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.8 spg), Matthew Mayer (11.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 2.2 spg), & James Akinjo (10.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 7.8 apg, 2.6 spg).
Defensively, prior to their game against Arizona State, Baylor was holding their opponents to an average of 53.8 ppg on 37.9% shooting from the field. The Bears had a rebound margin of 12.8 and a turnover margin of 9.8.
The VCU Rams improved to 3-2 on the season after defeating the Syracuse Orange, 67-55, last night. VCU trailed by a 27-23 margin at halftime, however, the Rams dominated Syracuse on both ends of the field in the 2nd half and pulled away after taking a 59-51 lead with 4:43 left in regulation. VCU shot 42.1% from the field & 38.9% from beyond the arc while holding Syracuse to just 29.0% shooting from the field & 21.7% from beyond the arc. VCU was outrebounded by Syracuse by a 43-38 margin, however, did win the turnover battle by a 16-14 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Rams was Levi Stockard III who had 15 poitns, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, & 1 steal.
Coming into their game against Syracuse, VCU was averaging 50.8 ppg on 40.4% shooting from the field. The Rams were averaging 3.8 three-pointers per game on 26.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, VCU has been led by Vince Williams Jr. (10.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg), KeShawn Curry (9.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.2 spg), Jayden Nunn (7.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.8 spg), & Hason Ward (5.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.2 spg, 3.4 bpg).
Defensively, prior to their game against Syracuse, VCU was holding their opponents to an average of 51.2 ppg on 32.7% shooting from the field. The Rams had a rebound margin of -6.0 and a turnover margin -0.2.
The Bears are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games overall & 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games as a favorite. The Rams are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win & just 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games following a ATS win.
VCU was able to pick up a nice win against Syracuse, however, despite being solid defensively to start the season, it’s hard to image that the Rams will be able to do enough on that end of the court to overcome an offense that ranks just 350th in scoring offense, 287th in FG%, t-325th in 3P-FG%, & 321st in rebound margin. Baylor has been outstanding on both ends of the court to start the season and as I just don’t see VCU scoring more than 50-55 points in this one, I think Baylor does enough to offensively to be able to cover this double-digit spread. Good Luck!
Brett’s Pick Baylor Bears -12.5
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05