The No. 2 Baylor Bears (22-1) are headed for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, and two more wins likely gets them the second overall seed. Standing in their way in the Big 12 tournament semifinals are the No. 12 Oklahoma State Cowboys (19-7) and freshman star Cade Cunningham.
Friday’s game tip off at 6:30 pm ET at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., and will be televised on ESPN2.
The Bears beat the Cowboys 81-66 in January and 81-70 last week. Baylor has won four in a row against Oklahoma State, and it is 9-1 in the series since the start of the 2016-17 season.
Cowboys Streaking Toward Tournament
The Cowboys are 16-9-1 ATS, and the over is 17-8-1 in their 26 games. They are 9-4 away from home this season.
The defense has struggled at times, allowing 72.3 points per game despite ranking 55th in the country by allowing 41 percent shooting.
Oklahoma State made some big plays down the stretch to knock off ranked West Virginia in the quarterfinals 72-69 after trailing by six at the half. Cunningham had 17 points and is averaging 19.7 on the season to go with 6.3 rebounds per game.
The Big 12 Freshman of the Year is likely to be a top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and is a player to keep an eye on in the NCAA Tournament.
Guard Avery Anderson III had 17 points against West Virginia and averages 11.1 points per game. Guard Isaac Likekele leads the Cowboys at 6.9 rebounds per game to go with 9.8 points, while forward Kalib Boone averages 9.9 points per game.
Cunningham missed the first Baylor loss and scored 24 against the Bears on March 4 despite not earning a trip to the free-throw line. The Cowboys were outrebounded by Baylor 32-27 and turned the ball over 18 times in the loss.
Bears Looking to Make History
The Bears are 15-8 ATS, and the over is 14-9 in their 23 games. They are 4-0 in neutral-site games this year and 11-1 outside of Waco.
The Bears are third in the nation at 85.3 points per game and the best three-point shooting team in the country at 42.9 percent.
Baylor has never won a Big 12 tournament title, and it has only won at the semifinal stage three times. The Bears didn’t look sharp in a 74-68 quarterfinal win against Kansas State after being favored by 19.5 points. MaCio Teague led the way with 24 points, while Davion Mitchell added 23.
Guard Jared Butler is averaging 17 points per game and 5.1 assists per game while shooting just under 50 percent from the field. The Big 12 Player of the Year scored 22 in the win over Oklahoma State last week, while Teague and Matthew Mayer both added 19.
Teague is averaging 15.8 points per game this season, while Mitchell averages 13.8 points per game. Forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua leads the Bears at 5.4 rebounds per game, and Mitchell leads the way with 5.7 assists per contest.
Betting Analysis and Pick
Baylor is the better squad, but it is tough to beat a team three times in conference play, and both teams are playing on consecutive days. Oklahoma State has to control the board and avoid the turnover bug that cost them in Waco last week.
This game has plenty of star power, but Butler has the better supporting cast than Cunningham. Look for the Bears to win a high-scoring affair and reach the Big 12 tournament title game.
Pick: Take the Over.
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