Baylor Bears vs West Virginia Mountaineers Prediction, 3/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Baylor Bears vs West Virginia Mountaineers

Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Location: WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Baylor (-3.5)

The Baylor Bears (18-1) are headed to WVU Coliseum on Tuesday where they'll meet the West Virginia Mountaineers (17-6). West Virginia opens this matchup as 3.5-point dogs. The over/under is set at 149.5.

Baylor comes into this game with a record of 18-1 on the campaign. The Bears are connecting on 42.1% on shots from distance (196 of 466) and 68.9% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 84.9 pts per contest (4th in Division 1) while going 49.5% from the field. They cough up possession 11.8 times per game and as a team are committing 16.8 fouls per contest. As a team, Baylor is snagging 36.9 boards per game and has accumulated 329 dimes on the year, which is 75th in Division 1 in terms of passing. Defensively, the Bears are able to force 18.2 turnovers every game while drawing 16.8 fouls. They are giving up 32.1% on 3-point attempts and they are 33rd in college basketball in PPG allowed (63.7). The Bears are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.3% (444 of 1,049) and they surrender 32.4 boards per game as a squad. They are 95th in the country in giving up assists with 230 relinquished this season.

The Baylor Bears stepped onto the hardwood against the Kansas Jayhawks and took a loss by a final of 71-58 in their last contest. Baylor walked away from the game with a 34.8% FG percentage (23 of 66) and converted 6 out of their 26 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Bears converted 6 of 16 shots for a rate of 37.5%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned 25 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 10 assists for the game while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With respect to defense, Baylor allowed the other team to go 51.0% from the field on 25 of 49 shooting. Kansas recorded 11 dimes and had 2 steals in the game. On top of that, Kansas snagged 43 rebounds (12 offensive, 31 defensive) and earned 7 rejections. Kansas finished 69.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 18 of their 26 shots. They also buried 3 of 16 tries from distance.

MaCio Teague is a player who was a major contributor for this game. He ended up walking away with 18 points on 7 out of 20 shooting. He was on the court for 36 mins played and totaled 8 rebounds. Teague ended up going 35.0% from the floor and distributed 1 assist. One more player that was a major contributor in this matchup for the Bears was Davion Mitchell. He collected 2 rebounds in 38 min on the court. He finished shooting 33.3% from the floor in the game by going 5-of-15 (13 points). When the final whistle was blown, Mitchell accounted for 3 assists.

West Virginia has a mark of 17-6 this year. West Virginia has tallied 1,773 points for the season (77.1 per contest) and they grab 38.7 rebounds per contest. The Mountaineers are committing 16.3 personal fouls per game and they go 69.9% from the free throw line. On the offensive side of the court, the Mountaineers are connecting on 43.1% from the floor, which ranks them 236th in the country. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.0 times per game (122nd in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest. The Mountaineers are ranked 198th in Division 1 in PPG given up with 70.8. They are able to force 14.5 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.5% from the field (188th in the country). The West Virginia defense allows 32.1% on 3-pointers (167 of 520) and their opponents are converting on 69.3% of their free throw attempts. They concede 13.8 assists and 35.3 total boards per game, which has them ranked 249th and 199th in the nation.

The last time they took the hardwood, the West Virginia Mountaineers got the win with a final of 65-43 when they faced the Kansas State Wildcats. The Mountaineers were able to collect 23 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 31 for this contest. They also turned it over 13 times, while recording 9 steals in the game. The Wildcats earned 19 fouls for the game which took the Mountaineers to the charity stripe for a total of 17 shots. They were able to make 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 88.2%. In relation to shooting from beyond the arc, West Virginia converted 6 out of their 20 tries (30.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Mountaineers shot 22 out of 53 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.5%. The Mountaineers allowed the Wildcats to convert 15 of their 51 attempts from the floor which had them at 29.4% for the matchup. They finished 15.8% from behind the 3-point line by going 3 out of 19 and finished the game at 10 out of 15 at the charity stripe (66.7%). When discussing cleaning up the glass, West Virginia allowed Kansas State to snag 32 in total (14 on the offensive glass).

Sean McNeil ended up being a factor for the Mountaineers in the matchup. He made 6 out of 16 for this contest giving him a rate of 37.5%, and accumulated 3 rebounds. McNeil totaled 16 points in his 36 mins on the court and added 1 assist in this matchup. Someone else that ended up playing a role for West Virginia was Derek Culver. He ended up with no assists in 18 mins on the hardwood, and he knocked down 4 of 8 from the floor. Culver ended the game having shot 50.0% from the field as well as totaling 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take West Virginia (+3.5)

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