The Baylor Bears (+950 to win the national title) still have a shot at winning the Big 12 regular-season title, though, that’s not entirely dependent on what they can control. That being said, they are looking to finish the conference play strong before heading into the Big 12 tourney. The West Virginia Mountaineers (+5500), meanwhile, can use a win over Butler to feel better about themselves after going cold in the second half of conference play.
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Betting Preview for the Baylor Bears vs West Virginia Mountaineers NCAA College Basketball Game on March 7 2020
Where: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown
When: Saturday, March 7, 2020, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Baylor Bears (Odds) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (Odds) – view all 2020 NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Baylor Bears (26-3 Overall / 15-2 Conference)
The Bears are back on their feet again. By defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders at home in overtime, 71-68, last Monday, the Bears hope that they will no longer be having nightmares of their 75-72 road loss to unranked TCU Horned Frogs lats Saturday. Baylor won the Red Raiders game despite not being in their top form defensively, as Texas Tech shot 50 percent from the field, though, it went just 7 of 23 from deep. When at their best, the Bears are an unforgiving unit defensively. On the season, the Bears are allowing just 59.6 points per game — fourth in the nation — and limit opponents to only 39.5 percent shooting from the field. Baylor was at their peak form when it defeated the Mountaineers at home last month, 70-59. The Mountaineers were held down to only 34.5 percent shooting and committed 22 turnovers. Jared Butler led the Bears in that game with 21 points to go with a 5-of-7 line from deep.
The over is 3-0 in the Bears’ last three games.
Betting on the West Virginia Mountaineers (20-10 Overall / 8-9 Conference)
Thankfully for the Mountaineers, their three-game losing skid finally ended last Tuesday, when they beat the Iowa State Cyclones on the road, 77-71. Giard Miles McBride came off the bench and fired a team-high 17 points for the Mountaineers. The second unit came up big in that game for West Virginia, as the relievers had 39 points to just two points by the Cyclones’ bench. West Virginia’s relievers were also active in the first meeting with Baylor, outscoring their Bears counterparts by 20 points (35-15). The Mountaineers’ starters, however, need to put up a better effort in the rematch against Baylor. While Oscar Tshiebwe met his quota with 11 points and 12 rebounds, Derek Culver was radio silent, producing just three points while turning the ball over four times. Tshiebwe leads the Mountaineers this season in points (11.1 PPG) and rebounds (9.2 RPG), while Culver is second on the team in scoring with 10.5 points per contest. Culver had a great game against Iowa State, as he pumped out 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting, so expect him to feel good this Thursday.
The under is 9-1 in the Mountaineers’ last 10 games.
Writer’s Prediction
Baylor wins, 67-63.
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