The Baylor Bears travel to Rupp arena this Saturday for an early afternoon showdown with the 8th ranked Kentucky Wildcats.

Baylor is 4-2 on the season and are coming off a surprising 63-59 loss at the hands of a feisty College of Charleston squad. Baylor got 21 points from guard Pierre Jackson but it was pretty much a no show from the rest of the supporting cast. Baylor miraculously lost the rebounding battle despite being one of the larger frontcourts in college basketball and only one other player, Isaiah Austin, scored in double figures (12). The loss in Waco was the Bears first against a non-conference opponent in nearly 4 years. Baylor’s two losses this season are by a total of 6 points. If they can make the effort to regain their focus quickly, they may be just the type of team that can go toe to toe with Kentucky in Lexington.

Kentucky returns home after getting pummeled on the road in South Bend, IN by Notre Dame 64-50. Kentucky was blown out in this game – something John Calipari has not been a part of in quite some time. The young Wildcats struggled with Notre Dame’s slow down tempo and strong, veteran backcourt presence. Notre Dame built an 11 point halftime lead and the Wildcats never recovered. Nerlens Noel had 10 points and 7 rebounds and Julius Mays chipped in 16. All of the Wildcats other go to players were nowhere to be found as Kyle Wiltjer, Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress combined for 12 points – something the Wildcats are not built to overcome at this point. With the loss, the Wildcats have matched their win total from last season through only six games.

Some trends to consider – Baylor is 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games and Kentucky is 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 games versus the Big 12.

It is quite obvious that Kentucky is taking longer to gel than some of their past few teams.  This team lacks a true facilitator and until they can find someone to step up and be that guy, they will continue to be tested by quality teams.  Baylor has the size to match Kentucky down low and I expect this game to be a dog fight.  I like Kentucky to win but both of these teams have been struggling to shoot the ball.  I think the under is a strong play here.