The Arizona Wildcats will host the Baylor Bears at the McKale Memorial Center on Saturday night in tough matchup for both programs. Arizona is still figuring some things out, leading to their recent Alabama loss, but playing at home does give the Wildcats an upper hand.
The Bears will be coming into this contest off a loss as well. After losing at Wichita State, Arizona gives Baylor another chance at a notable road win to help their NCAA tournament bid later in the year. Arizona, meanwhile, will use this game as its last major test before Pac-12 play.
Can the Bears get their premiere road win in this one? Or, will the Wildcats defender their home floor well enough to get their eighth win of the season?
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Baylor Bears vs. Arizona Wildcats
Date and Time: Saturday, December 15, 2018, 11 p.m. ET
Location: McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, Arizona
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Bears vs. Wildcats TV Coverage: ESPN2
The Bears were a bubble team last year that fell short in March and could be in a similar situation this season, making a road win against a Pac-12 team like Arizona an important accomplishment to add to the resume.
Baylor will be motivated to get the win coming off a loss at Wichita State were they scored just 63-points for the second consecutive game. The Bears, in fact, haven’t topped 21-points in the last four contests. Overall, the team is 5-3 at the moment, with losses also coming against Mississippi and Texas Southern.
This Baylor team is one that lost quite a bit of talent last year, but has some interesting players, too with King McClure along with new transfers Mario Kegler and Makai Mason, the latter of which missed the first three games, but is averaging 13.2 PPG over his five games.
Until this year, Mason had just 21 minutes on the floor over the previous two college basketball seasons and he’s knocking some rust off with each minute on the court. Kegler is in a similar spot. He’s played just two games this year, his first two since the 2016-2017 season when he was with Mississippi State.
Kegler has 12 points and six rebounds in each of his first two games. He had three blocks against South Dakota State.
With Mason and Kegler getting up to speed, the backcourt continues to improve and that doesn’t even consider McClure who leads the team in scoring with 13.6. The senior guard is instrumental to the team’s success. Over the last six games, McClure has scored 17.25 PPG in the team’s four wins and just five PPG in the two losses.
While the Bears certainly have some talent outside; inside the paint, Baylor has Tristan Clark posting some good numbers, but the team generally defaults to a shorter set.
Across the floor, Arizona has a better record this year than Baylor though they’ve lost the three games as well, they’ve just played—and won—two more.
The Wildcats’ first two losses came against Gonzaga and Auburn, understandable losses. Most recently, however, the team lost to Alabama. Arizona tried to come back in the second half, but wasn’t able to get the job done after shooting poorly in the first half.
In spite of losing a good chunk of last year’s top players and struggling to recruit due to the program’s recent turmoil, the Wildcats have been able to minimize the growing pains.
On the outside, Brandon Randolph leads the team with 17.1 PPG while shooting well from the floor. Brandon Williams, meanwhile, is leading the team in assists and putting up 12.8 PPG despite a below average shooting percentage from the floor. Justin Coleman, despite a diminutive stature, is an excellent athlete and sharp shooter from beyond the arc, knocking down 43.2-percent of his shots from three.
Those three outside can compete with McClure, Mason and Kegler while Chase Jeter is the prime threat under the basket. The 6’10” center gives Arizona some size down low with the ability to rebound and the ability to know down shots in the paint.
Live Betting
Arizona is the slightly better offensive team based on PPG and the Wildcats do have a marginally better percentage from the floor, but where the Wildcats really stand out is their shooting on the perimeter. They’re sinking more of their shots from three than Baylor.
If Arizona is able to continue that trend head-to-head and own the outside, they’ll be in an excellent position to cover the spread at home against the Bears. Both teams are guard heavy and lack size save for Jeter’s 6’10” frame for the Wildcats. This game is being played by shooters and guards and should be decided by such, though it is interesting that the Bears are the better blocking team with Clark averaging as many blocks himself as the Wildcats have as a team.
As the game progresses, there will be a plethora of live betting opportunities for this game and the resto of the Saturday slate of college hoops action at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
This game is going to be primarily played by athletic guards, but the difference maker could be Chase Jeter inside the paint.
Jeter has the size and talent to make a difference inside and given the Wildcats a sizeable advantage. More athletic than a number of big man underneath, Jeter is getting plenty of playing time and the center has certainly stepped up outside of the spotlight at Duke.
Jeter’s got at least nine rebounds in three of his last four games and has improved in blocking over those last four games with 1.5 per game. He’s still shy of Clark’s three BPG, but its closing in there, too.
Jeter couldn’t put it all together with the Blue Devils and is seemingly getting better and better as the season progresses. He’s got an excellent defensive rating and is the key to diversifying the team’s strengths beyond just a loaded backcourt.
Bears vs. Wildcats Live Betting
The returns of Mason and Kegler have helped strength the Bears roster of late, but even as both players have looked solid in their first few games—or two in the case of Kegler—the team scored just 63 and lost to Wichita State by eight with both in the fold. Of course, Arizona recently lost to Alabama, too.
Count on Arizona to outshoot the Bears outside as Baylor struggles to facilitate shots and provide assists. This team thrives on offensive rebounding and second chances on offense, but Jeter will cause some challenges to that for Baylor and that could eat into the Bears chances.
In the end, look for Jeter to be a difference maker defensively inside and the strong backcourt of the Wildcats to out produce the Bears, shooting more efficiently from the perimeter.
Be sure to check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Arizona 73, Baylor 69
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