Washington State Cougars vs Baylor Bears Prediction, 12/18/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington State Cougars vs Baylor Bears

Date: Sunday, December 18, 2022

Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX

TV: ESPN2

The Washington State Cougars (4-5) are traveling to American Airlines Center on Sunday where they will try to defeat the Baylor Bears (7-2).

The Washington State Cougars took the court against UNLV and went home with a loss by a final score of 74-70 in their last contest. Washington State walked away from the game with a 54.2% FG percentage (26 out of 48) and converted 13 of their 23 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Cougars made 5 of their 8 attempts for a rate of 62.5%. When discussing hauling in rebounds, they compiled 30 with 6 of them being offensive. They also distributed 16 assists in the game while forcing 7 turnovers and earning 1 steal. When discussing defending, Washington State let their opponent shoot 50.9% from the field on 28 out of 55 shooting. UNLV distributed 13 assists and had 12 steals in this contest. On top of that, UNLV collected 19 rebounds (4 offensive, 15 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. UNLV ended up going 68.8% when shooting free throws by making 11 of 16 shots. They also converted 7 of their 23 tries from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Cougars finished with 16 while UNLV recorded 12 personal fouls.

TJ Bamba is a guy who came through in this contest. He walked away with 20 points on 7 out of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 32 minutes and pulled down 4 rebounds. He finished the contest at 63.6% from the field and dished out 2 assists.

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Washington State comes into this one with a mark of 4-5 for the year. They are giving up possession 14.0 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 17.0 personal fouls every game. As a team, Washington State is snagging 36.0 boards per contest and is sitting with 111 dimes on the year, which is 334th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Cougars are connecting on 38.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (84 of 216) and 71.3% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 71.6 points per outing (201st in college hoops) while hitting 45.7% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 11.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.9 personal fouls. They surrender 31.5% from 3-point land while they are 73rd in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (63.8). Cougars defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 43.8% (215 of 491) and they concede 29.3 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are 55th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 105 relinquished this season.

The last time they took the court, the Baylor Bears walked away with a victory by a final of 80-57 when they faced Tarleton State. The Bears collected 22 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 36 for the game. They turned it over 18 times, while getting 8 steals for the game. Tarleton State committed 26 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Bears to the free throw line for a total of 29 attempts. They were able to knock down 21 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 72.4%. When talking about three-point attempts, Baylor made 7 of 20 tries (35.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Bears went 26 out of 56 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.4%. The Bears allowed Tarleton State to make 19 out of their 46 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 41.3% in this game. They finished 27.3% from three-point range by going 3 of 11 and finished the game at 16 of 29 from the free throw line (55.2%). With respect to team rebounding, Baylor allowed Tarleton State to collect 20 in all (6 on the offensive side).

Keyonte George ended up being a factor for the Bears in the matchup. He made 6 of 15 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and earned 7 rebounds. He scored 22 points in his 36 mins of playing time and accumulated 6 dimes in the game.

Baylor has a record of 7-2 this season. The Bears have committed 19.2 fouls every game and they hit 71.4% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 18.1 times per contest (15th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 13.6 times per game. Baylor has tallied 761 points on the season (84.6 per game) and they pull in 36.4 boards per game. As an offense, the Bears are hitting on 48.4% from the field, which ranks them 45th in D-1.

The Baylor defense allows 37.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter (62 of 167) and opponents are converting on 70.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 14.7 dimes and 30.3 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 299th and 24th in college basketball. The Bears on the defensive end are ranked 193rd in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 69.1. They have forced 17.2 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.1% from the floor (255th in Division 1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Baylor

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