The South Carolina Gamecocks square off with the #25 Baylor Bears in an early Tuesday bout at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. The game has a start time of 3:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN. Vegas odds have Baylor listed as 14 point favorites.
Analysis: Frank Martin's tenure as the Gamecocks' head coach got off to a flying start last season, as the team went 10-3 out of the gate, but it was ultimately outmatched by its league rivals (4-14) and finished a disappointing 14-18 overall. The bad news is that they lost four players in the offseason that averaged at least 20 minutes per game last year. With a remade roster featuring seven freshman and eight total newcomers, the Gamecocks started out this season by securing their 13th straight season-opening victory, with a 82-44 beatdown of Longwood on Saturday. Villanova transfer Tyrone Johnson, had a career-high 18 points in the win, while Mindaugas Kacinas pulled down a personal-best 14 rebounds as South Carolina owned a 50-27 advantage on the boards. Frank Martin went 4-4 against the Bears during his five-year stay at Big 12 rival Kansas State.
Baylor looks locked and loaded for another huge season after they showed off their talent and depth, in their first game since claiming the NIT title last season, by beating Colorado 72-60 on Friday. Kenny Chery scored a team-high 14 points, while sophomore forward Taurean Prince added 10 points and eight rebounds. Isaiah Austin had a rough outing (5 points and 4 rebounds) after averaging 13 points and 8.3 rebounds as a freshman, while Cory Jefferson – Baylor’s leading returning scorer – shot 3-of-9, but still posted his 12th career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Baylor is now 24-7 when Jefferson scores in double figures and 9-3 when he records a double-double. In addition to holding Colorado to 33.3 percent shooting, the Bears’ bench outscored the Buffaloes’ reserves 31-8.
Pick: I was wrong about the Bears in the game vs Colorado, but I will go with them in this one. South Carolina Crushed Longwood. So What. This is still a very young team with 7 freshmen and 8 total newbies so there will be some growing pains for them, especially when taking on Top 25 competition. The Baylor Bears are loaded with talent and athleticism and should have no trouble in beating up on this young team today. I say Bears by at least 18 in this one.
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