Big 12 foes will collide when the No. 13 Baylor Bears (14-3) play the Kansas State Wildcats (11-6) at Ferrell Center. Action begins at 8:15 pm ET on Wednesday, Jan. 20 and can be seen on ESW and ES3.
The Bears enter this game hoping for similar success after barely hanging on to beat Texas Tech 63-60 on Saturday. Terry Maston was a key piece with 12 points, four rebounds, and two steals. The Wildcats, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 76-63 loss against Iowa State on Saturday. Justin Edwards led the team in scoring with 19 points.
Baylor is a nine-point favorite against Kansas State and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 137 points. The Bears have gone 14-3 Straight Up (SU) and 5-6 Against The Spread (ATS). The Bears have no trouble scoring as they rank 45th in the nation in home offense with 84.5 points per game. The Bears are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .749 from the free throw line. The rebounding edge goes to the Bears in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 40.1 boards per game. Baylor is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.71. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, it’s been a struggle for opposing teams to score on the Bears. The 60.2 points that Baylor’s defense allows per home game makes them the 29th-ranked defense at home. Baylor’s defenders rank 39th in Division I in steals with 8.0 per game.
Over on the other bench, the Wildcats have records of 10-3-1 ATS and 11-6 SU. The Wildcats allow very few three-pointers on defense with 5.0 given up per game.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between these conference foes. Their previous game was a Bears victory, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. They are also even ATS in their most recent games (5-5). Baylor held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice, while Kansas State was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Baylor, ATS Winner – Baylor, O/U – Over
Notes
Baylor is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games.
Baylor is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Baylor’s last 7 games when playing Kansas State.
Baylor is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Kansas State.
Baylor holds a 4-1 SU record against the Big 12 Conference this season, while Kansas State has a losing 1-4 SU record against the conference.
Kansas State scores an average of just 72.8 points per game (ranked 190th). Baylor ranks 60th in points allowed, giving up 66.3 points per game.
Kansas State scores just 67.8 points per away game (ranked 221st). Baylor ranks 29th in points allowed at home, giving up 60.2 points.
The Baylor Bears have a defensive rating of 96.6 (ranked 60th), while the Kansas State Wildcats have an offensive rating of 105.7 (ranked 177th).
The Kansas State Wildcats average a field goal percentage of 42.7% this season. The Baylor Bears have a winning 6-3 record in games where opponents have a FG% of 42.7% or greater.
The Baylor Bears and the Kansas State Wildcats both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Baylor is 69th and 34th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Kansas State ranks 278th and 249th in these categories.
Baylor ranks tops in the nation in number of assists per game with 21.0. Kansas State does much worse, registering an average of 13.9 per game for a rank of 153rd in the nation.
Baylor, the 47th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 40.1 rebounds per game. Kansas State does worse, ranked 143rd with 37.5.
The Kansas State Wildcats rank 39th in offensive rebounds. The Baylor Bears rank 159th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, Baylor forces a turnover rate of 20.3%. When Kansas State turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 4-1 record.
