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Missouri Tigers vs. Baylor Bears NCAAB Free Pick + Gambling Preview

#5 Missouri Tigers (17-1) vs #Baylor Bears (17-1)

What a great matchup, although it would have been better if both teams were still undefeated.  

Saturday January 21
Ferrell Center – Waco, TX
2:00PMMoneyline: no money line currently posted
Spread: Baylor -3.5
O/U: 146

Missouri

Mizzou may have an advantage because they have had more time to lick their wounds from their setback at Kansas State, plus their loss was a bit lower profile than Baylor’s. Either way, this is a contest of two top teams and Mizzou might be able to catch the Bears a bit off guard.  This is also a great matchup of speed vs. size.  Not that Baylor is a slow team.  Be sure to tune in on Saturday.

Since losing the K-State the Tigers have won three in a row scoring 70 or more points each time.  In the loss to the Wildcats they scored just 59 and this team needs to play at  a fast pace to be successful.  To do so they have to be able to score the ball and it usually isn’t a problem with so many perimeter weapons.  

They are 4th in the nation scoring just over 83 points per game and have 4 scorers averaging more than 12ppg.  Seemingly everyone can shoot as they are  amazingly making more than 50% of their shots.  They are also money from the stripe – 4th best in the country.

 When this team shoots it well they are going to be very tough to beat, even though they lack any discernible inside presence.

Baylor

If you subscribe to the adage that it isn’t about getting knocked down but how you pick yourself back up then it will be interesting to see how Baylor responds to being whipped by Kansas back on Monday.  [soliloquy id=”82219″]

The Jayhawks really did a number on the Bears so coach Scott Drew may have to do a lot of ego stroking to get the club ready for another top opponent this weekend.  This team definitely has championship quality talent but they need to do a better job of playing to their strengths to get there.  Mizzou wants you to play their way but it s a trap so this will be an interesting challenge on a variety of fronts.

Baylor has had a long 4 days to think about how things went wrong against Kansas and I am confident they will be well prepared.  The key will be going inside to score as they settled far too often against KU.  The Bears have a huge size advantage and should be able to get lots of good looks around the basket against a small Mizzou team.  They should also be able to dominate the boards with their length.  Baylor is by no means a slow team but they will want to slow down the pace against Mizzou.  That will mean they will have to increase the defensive effort from what we saw on Big Monday.  This is a great game of contrasts.

P.S. The home team has won the last 5 matchups between these programs.

Spread Pick: Baylor -3.5
O/U Pick:  Over
Score Prediction:  Baylor 79 – Missouri 71

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By The Wiesguy

The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.