The Colorado Buffaloes travel to play the Baylor Bears on Wednesday night in a Big 12 showdown on Peacock. Colorado snapped a six-game winning streak on Sunday with a win over TCU, while Baylor picked up a victory over West Virginia on Sunday as well. Here’s a preview, prediction, key storylines and updated odds to keep an eye on in this match up as we get set for the game tonight in Waco, Texas.
Colorado vs. Baylor Basketball Odds
Baylor opened up as a 7-point favorite, with an over/under of 161 total points. As of Monday afternoon, the Bears were up to 7.5 or 8-point favorites, with an over/under coming down to 158.5.
Key Storyline: Turnover Margin?
Baylor has the third-worst turnover margin in the Big 12, ahead of only Utah and Kansas. If Colorado wants to pull off the upset on the road, they need to keep their hot shooting in tact from Sunday, and force some early turnovers against the Bears who have been prone to this all season long.
Match Up to Watch: Baylor on the Boards
Baylor is a sizable home favorite in this game, and one of the reasons why is due to the disparity on the boards. Baylor is third in the Big 12 in rebounds, while Colorado ranks 14th. If the Buffaloes want to compete and try and pull off the upset, they’ll have to hit the boards hard, and also shoot well. In their win over TCU on Sunday, Colorado shot 56% from the field, while TCU only made 33% of their shots. As a result, CU won the rebounding battle 41-36. If Colorado is playing like it did on Sunday, they can win this game.
Prediction: Baylor 75, Colorado 64
Baylor has had a terrible first half of Big 12 play, but on pure talent, they are the best 2-7 team in the country. Obi Agbim has played three-straight very solid games (15, 14 and 16 points) and continues to become a more efficient scorer after a rough start to league play. Add his consistency with Cameron Carr and Dan Skillings and you have a solid scoring trio in Baylor, which has been their Achilles heel at times this season. Back home off a win, I expect the Bears to pick up a comfortable win in this game by also keeping Colorado’s offense, which can have hot streaks, in check.
