Baylor Bears vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Preview
Where: WVU Coliseum — Morgantown, West Virginia
When: Tuesday, January 10, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Baylor Bears (+6) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (-6) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN2
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Betting on the Baylor Bears (15-0, 3-0 Big 12)
Point Spread: +6
Baylor rose to No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time in school history partly thanks to a Villanova loss, and despite a pair of shaky, down-to-the-wire victories versus Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
The Bears, who are one of only two remaining undefeated teams together with Gonzaga (15-0), displayed incredible resiliency and solid chemistry, especially in crunch time, in those hard-fought wins. But arguably two Baylor players have been the ultimate catalysts of Baylor’s overall success: Manu Lecomte and Jonathan Motley.
Manu Lecomte, a transfer from Miami, sank a cold-blooded jumper with eight seconds remaining in the win over the Cyclones, which fully compensated for his horrible shooting percentage (4-of-12). He’s averaging 11.8 points and a team-best 4.9 assists.
Motely, meanwhile, leads the way in scoring (15.8) and rebounding (9.4), and aims for his fifth-straight double-double against No. 10 West Virginia tonight. This matchup could potentially turn out to be this season’s Big 12 title game.
Betting on the West Virginia Mountaineers (13-2, 2-1 Big 12)
Point Spread: -6
West Virginia is a team that almost has no weaknesses. The Mountaineers have dominated both ends of the floor this season, averaging at least 90 points per game and conceding just 61.4 points.
They have three reliable weapons in Esa Ahmad, Daxter Miles Jr. and Jevon Carter, all of whom are scoring in double figures on a consistent basis. Ahmad leads the way with 12.9 points per contest, while the other two are putting up 11.1 and 10.1 points, respectively.
The Mountaineers don’t exactly boast a tall, vaunted front court, but they communicate very well and have pesky hands to turn defensive possessions into easy points. They currently force a nation-best 24.3 turnovers per game.
However, experience is what West Virginia still lacks. Its two setbacks this season—versus Temple and Texas Tech—were games where the Mountaineers just couldn’t get the necessary stops and buckets down the stretch. It’s going to be a lot harder to do so versus No. 1 Baylor, which owns the fourth-best scoring defense in the country and, most especially, knows how to deliver under pressure.
Writer’s Prediction
Baylor (+6) stays unbeaten, eking out another nail-biter against the Mountaineers, 75-73.
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