West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Baylor Bears Predictions, Picks, Odds and NCAA Basketball Betting Preview – March 5, 2016

West Virginia claimed sole possession of second place in the Big 12 standings with a 90-68 rout of Texas Tech on Wednesday night. They now face a pretty tough challenge on the road Saturday, taking on No. 19 Baylor.

The Bears should be fired up for their regular season finale with their seniors playing at home for the final time. Taurean Prince, the team’s leading scorer, will be hell bent on giving Baylor fans one final game to cheer for in Ferrell Center.

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West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Baylor Bears Preview

Where: Ferrell Center, Waco

When: Saturday, March 5, 2:00 PM ET

Line: West Virginia Mountaineers at Baylor Bears – view all NCAA Basketball lines

Betting on the West Virginia Mountaineers (23-7)

Jaysean Paige made sure that his senior night will be memorable. He led the team with 15 points to lead West Virginia to a 90-68 blowout of Texas Tech. He added five rebounds and five assists. Paige, a sixth man, is averaging a team-high 14.3 points per game this season. No reserve had led the Mountaineers in scoring. Having Paige entrenched in the secondary unit should help West Virginia hold on to or chip away at leads.

Paige was once again solid in a home victory over then No. 15 Baylor in early February. He finished with 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He had plenty of help as starters Daxter Miles Jr. (20 points), Devin Williams (16) and Nathan Adrian (11) also scored in double digits. Miles was red-hot from downtown in that game making 4 of 5 three point attempts.

West Virginia could have a big day shooting from downtown against Baylor. The Bears have allowed their last three opponents to shoot a combined 44 percent from three-point territory. The Mountaineers made 7 of 14 threes in the first matchup at home.

While the Mountaineers can light up the scoreboard, they can also keep their opponents from scoring with some lockdown defense. They’re ranked 53rd in the nation allowing just 66.4 points per game. Rebounding has been an advantage for West Virginia with 40.1 boards per game (30th in the nation). Williams and Jonathan Holton lead the way with 9.1 and 7.9 rebounds per game respectively.

The total has gone over in seven of the nine games since 2011 between West Virginia and Baylor.

Betting on the Baylor Bears (21-9)

It’s going to be senior night for Baylor on Saturday. The Bears’ seniors have to be fired up in the final home game of their college careers. None more so than Taurean Prince, who leads the team with 15.3 points per game. Prince is ready to go after scoring a team-high 17 points in Baylor’s last outing, a 73-71 loss to Oklahoma on Tuesday night.

Prince has been excellent recently. He’s scored 16.4 points per game in his last five outings. But he could be in for a disappointing outing. He had one of his worst games against West Virginia in February, scoring just 10 points on 5 of 17 shooting. He missed all five of his three-point attempts in that game. If the senior struggles again, then freshman guard King McClure could have another chance to shine.

McClure scored a career-high 17 points in the loss to Oklahoma off the bench. Having a solid bench player could help the Bears keep up their production when the stars are off the court. Another senior, forward Rico Gathers, could have a big impact in this outing. He’s averaging 11.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game this season. But he had one of his worst shooting outings in the February loss at West Virginia, making just 1 of 9 field goal attempts.

Having Gathers and Prince in the Bears’ frontcourt could help negate one of West Virginia’s strengths, rebounding. The Bears won the battle on the boards 41-34 in the first matchup between the two teams. Prince and Gathers combined for 15 rebounds in that game.

The Bears are 3-1 SU/ATS in their four home games against West Virginia.

Writer’s Prediction

Baylor ends the regular season on a good note with a big win at home.

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