Houston (+5, +183) is playing Baylor (-5, -210) at 5:15 PM EDT today. The over / under is set at 134.5.
Each squad is playing for a trip to the National Championship, and such success would be historic. Baylor has not made the Final Four since 1950, while Houston has not made it this far in the big dance since 1984.
Houston’s approach in this matchup will be to slow the speed of the Baylor Bears. Specifically, the three-headed monster in MaCio Teague, Jared Butler, and Davion MItchell will put Houston’s defense to the test. Baylor is usually efficient on offense and has only turned the ball over an average of 6.3 times in each of the last 3 games. Another interesting note – Baylor has the top three-point shooting percentage in the country, hitting at a 41.06% clip.
A few additional trends worth noting – Baylor is 33-16-2 against the spread in its last 51 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600. In other words, Baylor has performed extremely well when matched up against worthy opponents. Don’t sleep on Houston, however, as the Cougars have been 20-10-0 against the spread this season.
We see this one going down as a dog fight, and are therefore favoring Houston +5. Though Baylor may come out on top, the Cougars and their stifling defense should keep the Bears in check.