Baylor at Oklahoma State Spread, Pick & TV Info

If No. 6 Baylor wants to win the Big 12 regular-season title and earn a top seed in the Big Dance, it likely can’t afford a loss at NCAA Tournament bubble team Oklahoma State on Wednesday night because the Bears already are a game behind conference-leading Kansas. BU will be a short college basketball betting favorite vs. the Pokes.

Baylor at Oklahoma State Spread, Expert Pick & TV Info

When: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 7 PM ET Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater TV: ESPNU Stream: WatchESPN Radio: Baylor / Oklahoma State Opening NCAAB Lines: Baylor favored TBA

Why Bet On Baylor?

The Bears were one of a handful of Top-10 teams upset this past weekend, falling 56-54 to Kansas State. The last time the Wildcats beat an opponent so highly ranked on the road: 1994 at No. 1 Kansas. Until last week, the Bears were 5-0 in games decided by five points or less and had come back from second-half deficits to win 10 out of 11 times. But, for the second time in four days, the Bears couldn’t pull one out in the final seconds. Baylor was down big pulled to within one point in the final minute and forced K-State to make free throws to win. Senior D.J. Johnson made 1 of 4, leaving the door open. But he redeemed himself on the final two plays by contesting a pair of shots from Baylor center Johnathan Motley. Motley missed his first attempt, but Baylor retained possession when the ball bounced out of bounds with 1.6 seconds left. Baylor sent the ball back into Motley for one more game-tying shot, but Johnson blocked it and ran up the court in celebration. “Home losses are the worst,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team fell to 20-3 overall and 7-3 in the Big 12 with its first home-court loss of the year. “Give them credit, because they outplayed us for 30 minutes. Finally, the last 10 minutes, we started to get some rhythm and got back in the game and had opportunities down the stretch. . . . K-State punched us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond until the last 10 minutes of the game.” Motley (17 points) scored in double figures for the 18th time this season, 6th game in a row, and 43rd time in his career. Motley (14 rebounds) tallied double figure rebounds for the 10th time this season and 15th time of his career. Motley registered his 9th double-double of the season, 2nd in a row, and 14th of his career. Baylor lost back-to- back games for the first time since losing to Kansas (70-66) in the 2016 Big 12 Championship second round in Kansas City on March 11, 2016 and then losing to Yale (79-75) in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament on March 17, 2016. Baylor’s 13-game home winning streak in the Ferrell Center ended — it was longest in single season history. BU’s last home loss was to West Virginia (69-58) on March 5, 2016. BU has two giant problems on offense. First, they turn the ball over too much. Baylor is turning it over on 23.5% of possession in conference play, which ranks last in the Big 12. Second, Baylor is shooting poorly. The Bears are 9th in effective field goal percentage.

Why Bet On Oklahoma State?

The Cowboys (15-8) upset No. 7 West Virginia 82-75 on Saturday. Jawun Evans put up 18 points, four rebounds and five assists in the win. The Cowboys have the league’s longest current win streak at five after Baylor and Kansas both lost on Saturday. The last time OSU won five straight games overall was to open the 2014-15 season. The victory halts West Virginia’s five-game winning streak over Oklahoma State. The Cowboys had lost in their last two trips to Morgantown. The victory snapped OSU’s 12-game losing streak to ranked opponents (AP or Coaches). OSU’s last ranked win came on Jan. 19, 2016 in an 86-67 victory over No. 3 Kansas in GIA. OSU’s last road win over a ranked team was on Feb. 9, 2015 when the Cowboys took down No. 16 Baylor, 74-65. Phil Forte scored all 13 of his points in the second half, including nine points over the final 5 minutes. Jeffrey Carroll led the Cowboys with 20 points, and Davon Dillard added 8. Evans’ driving layup put Oklahoma State ahead for good, 71-69, with 4:17 left, and Lindy Waters’ 3-pointer and four free throws by Evans put the Cowboys up 78-74. Forte sealed the win by making all four of his free throw attempts in the final minute. OSU’s 62.5 field goal percentage was its second highest in a game in the last 10 seasons, only behind a 63.3 percent performance against Nicholls State in 2010. It was also the third time this season Oklahoma State shot better than 60 percent from 3-point range as a team – They are 3-0 in those games. The Cowboys had a dominant, 30-16 edge on the boards. On the defensive side, OSU rebounded 22 of 29 missed shots, giving the fourth-best offensive rebounding team in the country few chances for second-chance points. Though Oklahoma State committed 20 fouls, no one fouled out and the Cowboys kept West Virginia off the free-throw line. OSU had 27 attempts to West Virginia’s 15. The 15 were the fewest for WVU since Jan. 7 against TCU. They were the fewest Oklahoma State has surrendered to an opponent since Dec. 22 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Baylor at Oklahoma State Expert Pick: Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Pokes are starting to come together. Take them on NCAA basketball odds.