Texas vs Baylor Basketball Predictions, Picks, Odds and Preview

Shaka Smart’s “havoc” style is slowly creeping its way into the Texas Longhorns’ game. The Longhorns were absolutely relentless in a 72-58 blowout of a bigger and taller Vanderbilt squad on Saturday. Can Texas keep up with Baylor’s blistering offense, though? The Bears have a blistering offense, powered by excellent ball movement. They were outstanding Saturday night in an 83-73 victory over Georgia.

Texas and Baylor now meet in a crucial Big 12 showdown. The Longhorns still have plenty more to do before they can catch up to the top of the division. The Bears are in second place looking for a spot to topple the conference’s best, Oklahoma.

Catch more college ball action with our complete preview for North Carolina vs. Louisville.

March Madness News & Predictions

Texas Longhorns vs. Baylor Bears Preview

Where: Ferrell Center, Waco

When: Monday, February 1, 9:00 PM ET

Line: Texas Longhorns at Baylor Bears – view all NCAA Basketball lines

Betting on the Texas Longhorns (14-7)

The Texas Longhorns played some tenacious defense and aggressive play attacking the basket to topple Vanderbilt on Saturday night. Guard Kerwin Roach Jr. and center Prince Ibeh were unforgiving under the basket. Roach finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Ibeh added 13 points and 11 boards.

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Expect Roach to remain hot. He’s just one game removed from scoring a career-high 22 points against TCU. He’ll be expected to be the main scorer in the Longhorns’ bench. Meanwhile, the starting trio of Isaiah Taylor, Cameron Ridley and Javan Felix should continue to lead the charge among the starters. They’re the only Longhorns to average more than 10 points per game this season.

Taylor leads the Longhorns with 15.5 points per game. Meanwhile, Ridley is a terror averaging in double-double figures with 12.7 points and 10 rebounds per contest. He also leads the Longhorns with a whopping 3.4 blocks per game. His strong presence inside has helped Texas rank among the best defensive teams in the nation, allowing 67.2 points per game.

Good defense should help a lot against Baylor’s strong offense. But preventing shots falling is just one part of the equation. The Longhorns will also need strong rebounding. They’re not too shabby on the boards with 36.4 rebounds per game.

The Longhorns are 4-1 ATS in their last five on the road against Baylor.

Betting on the Baylor Bears (17-4)

Baylor has been on quite a roll, going 7-2 in their last nine with their only two losses coming against No. 1 Oklahoma and then-No. 2 Kansas. Most recently, the Bears took an 83-73 win over Georgia in a break from the Big 12 on Saturday. Rico Gathers was in fine form with 17 points and nine rebounds. Al Freeman lent his hot shooting hand, making 3 of 5 three-pointers as he finished with 14 points.

The team’s leading scorer, Taurean Prince (15 points per game) was cold from the floor. He made just 3 of 10 shots, but was a perfect 7 of 7 from the charity stripe. Don’t expect him to remain cold at home against Texas; he’s averaging 16.2 points in his last six home games, including a season-high 34 points against New Mexico State on December 23.

The trio of Gathers, Freeman and Prince are all sublime scorers. But they may not be as efficient if not for the solid playmaking of Lester Medford, who leads the team with 7.1 assists per game. Texas has a pretty tough defense, which makes it difficult for opponents to score. It’ll be important for Baylor to keep the ball moving on offense to unravel the Longhorns’ defense. The Bears are the best team in the nation in sharing the ball, with 20.2 assists per game.

While Medford may have several dishes to the Bears’ top scorers, he can still take shots of his own. He’s a pretty solid shooter, making 42 percent of his field goal attempts and 39 percent of his three-pointers this season. Expect an all-around performance from Baylor’s point guard.

The Bears are 3-0 ATS in their last three games against Texas.