Monday night in CBB we will see the 10th ranked Baylor Bears travel to take on the Texas Longhorns as a part of ESPN's Big Monday. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 pm tipoff and will be televised live on ESPN. Currently Texas is favored by 2 points with the total being set at 138 for this game. he suddenly struggling Baylor Bears head to the state capital to face the Texas Longhorns in Big 12 play at the Erwin Center.
Free Analysis: Baylor has dropped three of its last four games and finally lost to a program not named Kansas or Missouri on Saturday as it dropped a 57-56 decision to the Kansas State Wildcats. The loss made Scott Drew's squad 22-5 overall and gives it a third-place position in the Big 12 standings with a 9-5 mark in league play. The Bears had a forgettable performance against Kansas State, as they shot just 38.5 percent from the floor and committed 18 turnovers in the loss. Baylor still is one of the top teams in the Big 12, as it has outscored its opponents by 11.1 ppg this season. The loss to KSU was a bit out of character for this team as they were 7-1 prior to the game in games decided by 5 points or less. The Bears come in averaging 73.7 ppg on 47.7 % shooting and are led by Perry Jones III, who paces a balanced attack with team-best averages of 13.5 points and 7.5 boards per game. Jones has been hurting his NBA Draft stock as of late, as he has been held to five points or less in three of his last four games. Quincy Miller, Pierre Jackson, and Quincy Acy are all averaging just about 12 points per game to give Baylor unbelievable scoring depth. Jackson is also contributing 5.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Acy is knocking down 60 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.Defensively the Bears have been tough for much of the year, allowing just 63.8 ppg overall, but they have struggled at that end in the Big 12 (67.7 ppg) and on the road (68.7 ppg). For Texas, Head coach Rick Barnes will try to rally the troops after the Longhorns' 90-78 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday. The defeat dropped Texas to 17-10 overall and a fifth place standing in the league. Texas hit 49.1 percent of its field goals and converted 8-of-16 from tree point range against the Cowboys, but lost after OSU's Keiton Page erupted for a career-high 40 points. The Longhorns have been solid on the offensive end this year as well, as they have averaged 73.9 ppg on 44.2 % shooting. Brown leads the Big 12 with 19.7 points per game. He's struggled in conference home games, however, averaging 16.6 points on 31.4 percent shooting compared to marks of 23.7 points per game and 46.9 percent from the field on the road in Big 12 play. in the first matchup a scoring duel between NBA prospects Perry Jones III of Baylor and J'Covan Brown of Texas materialized, when the Bears overcame 18 turnovers. Jones had 22 points and 14 rebounds while Brown had 32 points. Brown was efficient his last time out, as he went 6-of-14 from the field and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe to net 20 points versus Oklahoma State. Freshman Sheldon McClellan scored in double figures for the fifth straight game against OSU, as he chipped in 15 points. Myck Kabongo had an encouraging performance despite the loss to the Cowboys, as he poured in a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. Texas may be in need of a signature win to boost its NCAA tournament chances, and Monday night's meeting with Baylor represents an excellent chance to get one, but the Longhorns are 0-6 versus ranked opponents heading into the rematch tonight so it may not be that easy. Tonight will be the 238th meeting in the all-time series between Baylor and Texas, the most-played rivalry for both schools. Texas has a 157-80 record against Baylor and is 85-27 in contests placed in Austin.
Free Pick: Im liking the over in this one. The Bears have played solid defense for much of the year, but within the Big 12 they have allowed 67.7 ppg, while on the road that number goes up to 68.7 ppg. Texas is a team that can score on you as they come in averaging 73.9 ppg both overall and at home. Baylor has struggled to score of late as they have failed to score 60+ points in 3 of their last 4 games, but they still are a solid offensive club that has averaged 73.7 ppg overall and 71.6 ppg in the Big 12. Texas has played great defense at home this year (57.7 ppg), but they still allow 67.8 ppg in Big 12 play and they have allowed 77 ppg vs the 6 ranked teams they have faced this year. Both of these teams have the ability to hit 70 points in this, plus with this game being an expected close game we could have FT's at the end that will help as well. This is a huge game for both teams so I don't expect them to hold anything back as this one hits 140+ with ease.
Betting Strategies - College Basketball Home Court Value
Host Vegas Runner and Pregame Pro Bryan Leonard discuss that not all home courts created equal and every conference has different values.