The Baylor Bears and the Arizona State Sun Devils meet Tuesday in Big 12 Tournament college basketball action from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Here’s an Arizona State vs. Baylor prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Arizona State vs. Baylor pick.
Baylor Bears Betting Preview
Baylor was looking pretty good at the beginning of the calendar year with a 10-2 record, then lost seven of the next eight games (the lone win was over Oklahoma State). The Bears then hit a 2-4 stretch with wins over West Virginia and Colorado before a 3-2 run that featured wins over Arizona State, Central Florida, and Utah. Over 31 games, that gives the Bears a 16-15 record so far.
In the Utah matchup on Saturday, the Bears jumped out to a very comfortable 53-33 lead by the break. Baylor hit a 48-42 run the rest of the way and cruised to the victory 101-75. Leading the team in scoring was Tounde Yessoufou with 26 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Cameron Carr added 21 points with four assists and one rebound in 33 minutes of action.
Arizona State Sun Devils Betting Preview
Over on the Sun Devils’ side, they were 9-2 over their first 11 games and then took losses in seven of the next eight outings. Arizona State hit a 2-3 skid in the next five with wins over Cincinnati and Utah. Since then it’s been a 4-3 run with wins over Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Utah, and Kansas, among losses to Baylor, TCU, and Iowa State in that time. That makes for a 16-15 overall record in the books as well this year.
Matched up against Iowa State on Saturday, the Sun Devils were ahead 41-37 by the end of the first half. Arizona State hit a 49-24 deficit the rest of the way, however, eventually getting blasted 86-65 in a road defeat as the game came to a close. Leading the team in scoring during the futile effort was Massamba Diop with his 12 points, three rebounds, and two blocks in 28 minutes of action.
Why the Arizona State Sun Devils will win
- Arizona State has won four of its last five games played at neutral venues.
- Baylor has lost nine of its last 12 games against conference opponents at T-Mobile Center.
- Arizona State has won the first half in six of its last seven games.
Why the Baylor Bears will win
- Arizona State has lost each of its last five games against the Big 12 Conference at neutral venues.
- Baylor has won each of its last four games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
- Baylor has won the first half in each of its last four games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
Matchup/League Facts
- Arizona State ranks T30th among Division 1 teams for blocks per game this season (4.7).
- Arizona State ranks 46th among Division 1 teams for free throws made per game this season (17.5).
- Baylor ranks 31st among Division 1 teams for field goals made per game this season (29.4).
- Baylor ranks 38th among Division 1 teams for field goal percentage this season (48.1%).
Arizona State vs Baylor Prediction
I’ll lean toward the Sun Devils but it’s a coin flip. Arizona State had an awful second half against a great Iowa State team in their last game but shot well overall on 46.5 percent from the field and 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the line. The Sun Devils were out-rebounded 29-23, however, and coughed up a whopping 22 turnovers for 29 Cyclones points. Arizona State had won consecutive games over Utah and Kansas (both at home) prior to that, however, scoring a combined 143 points in that pair.
The last time these teams saw each other was on February 21 in a 73-68 road loss for the Sun Devils. In that game Arizona State shot 44.6 percent from the field with a 30-23 rebounding edge but also gave up a healthy 56.9 percent shooting on defense. The Sun Devils need to tighten up on defense for this rematch, as well as keep the turnovers low. In the end I think they’ll pull it off.