There’s no love lost between No. 16 Baylor and No. 8 Kansas. The Jayhawks went into Waco earlier this season and eked out a close road win over the Bears. Baylor, who suffered a tough home loss earlier in the week, will be looking to exact some revenge on Big 12 leaders this Valentine’s Day.
Which team’s hearts will get broken in this Big 12 showdown? Read on for our preview below. Speaking of heartbreak, will Kentucky’s perfect season finally end on Valentine’s Day? Check out our preview of Kentucky vs. South Carolina.
No. 16 Baylor (18-6, 6-5 Big 12) suffered its second home loss of the season as it fell 74-65 to upstart No. 21 Oklahoma State on Monday. The Bears became the third-straight ranked team the Cowboys have beaten, which also includes conference leaders Kansas.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Junior forward Rico Gathers extended his double-double streak to three games with 16 points and 16 rebounds against Oklahoma State. Meanwhile, leading scorer Taurean Prince (12.6 points per game) had 20 points off the bench.
Gathers and Prince will look to bounce back from disappointing showings in their first meeting with Kansas on Jan. 7. The two juniors combined for just 17 points on 6-for-17 shooting in the Bears’ close 56-55 home loss.
Look for Gathers, who has gathered 15 or more rebounds in his last four games, to continue cleaning up on the glass against Kansas. Gathers dominated the glass against the Jayhawks with 14 boards, nine of which coming on the offensive glass. Baylor as a team outrebounded undersized Kansas, 36-28.
Baylor’s defense is 23rd in points allowed (59.3) but it has risen to 64.2 in conference play. Guards Kenny Cherry and Lester Medford, who are both under six-feet, could have trouble covering Kansas’ much taller guards.
The over has gone 8-3 in Baylor’s 11 conference games this season, including the last four in a row.
Betting on the Kansas Jayhawks
The No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks (20-4, 9-2 Big 12) bounced back from their close 67-62 loss at Oklahoma State to trounce Texas Tech, 73-51, on Tuesday. Wayne Selden Jr. continued his very strong play of late with 16 points to lead four Jayhawks in double figures and point guard Frank Mason III added 10 points and eight assists.
Selden and Perry Ellis, third and first in the team in scoring, respectively, combined for just 13 points on 6-of-17 shooting in their first meeting with Baylor. Kansas will need better performances from those two, who have actually been playing much better basketball of late.
Selden is averaging 16 points and four three-pointers made per game in his last four games. He should get his share of looks from the three-point line against a Baylor defense which is seventh in the 10-team Big 12 in three-pointers allowed.
Meanwhile, Ellis is averaging 14 points and nine rebounds over his last four. The junior forward has also scored 19, 16, and 17 points in his last three games against ranked opposition (Iowa State, Oklahoma and Iowa State again, respectively).
Kansas is 5-0 (4-1 against the spread) at home in conference play this season. Moreover, the Jayhawks’ last conference home defeat came way back on February 2013.
Writer’s Prediction
Kansas collects another home win, but Baylor keeps it close and covers on the road. Create a betting account now and win big on all the massive Big 12 matchups ahead.
