The No. 23-ranked Texas Southern Tigers (1-10) look to end their six-game losing streak when they match up with the No. 23-ranked Baylor Bears (9-2) at Ferrell Center. The game starts at 3:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 29 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Bears beat New Mexico State 85-70 the last time they played. Taurean Prince led all scorers on the team with 34 points on 13-for-19 shooting. The Tigers are coming off an 80-67 loss to Syracuse in their last outing. Derrick Griffin had a game-high 20 points.
Prince has really been playing well as of late for the Bears, averaging 18.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.4 steals, 1.0 block, and 1.6 three-pointers over the last five games.
The high-octane offense of Baylor (20th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 118.9) will square off against the porous defense of Texas Southern (344th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 117.1), a matchup that should favor the Bears.
Baylor is a heavy 22-point favorite at home and the Over/Under (O/U) for this matchup is set at 142 points. Despite a 9-2 Straight Up (SU) record, the Bears have not fared well Against The Spread (ATS) with a 1-4 record. The Bears come into the game with the 38th-ranked scoring offense in the nation, averaging 82.6 points per game. Baylor has been steady from the free throw line, shooting a superb .743. The Bears have a distinct advantage on the boards in this matchup. They are the 29th-ranked rebounding team in Division I, averaging 42.1 per game, while the Tigers rank 275th in the nation with 34.5 per game. The Bears, sporting the fifth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.83), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team. Turning to the defensive side, the Baylor defense has been very good, only giving up 63.7 points per game. The Bears are 16th in the country in steals with 9.2 per game.
Across the court, the Tigers head into the game with records of 1-2 ATS and 1-10 SU.
This is the first meeting of the season for Baylor and Texas Southern. The last time they played, Baylor came out on top, bringing its SU record to 5-0 over the Tigers. Additionally, with a 1-0 record, Baylor has the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Baylor, ATS Winner – Baylor, O/U – Over
Notes
Baylor is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Baylor is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Texas Southern.
Texas Southern scores an average of just 69.6 points per game (ranked 254th). Baylor ranks 37th in points allowed, giving up 63.7 points per game.
Texas Southern scores just 67.5 points per away game (ranked 205th). Baylor ranks 61st in points allowed at home, giving up 60.8 points.
The Baylor Bears have a defensive rating of 91.6 (ranked 25th), while the Texas Southern Tigers have an offensive rating of 101.0 (ranked 236th).
Texas Southern has an average field goal percentage of 44.3%. Baylor is a winning 3-1 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Baylor Bears and the Texas Southern Tigers both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Baylor is 81st and 48th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Texas Southern ranks 170th and 158th in these categories.
The Baylor Bears top the nation in assists, earning 22.6 per game this season. With their 13.2 assists per game, the Texas Southern Tigers rank just 200th.
Baylor, the 29th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 42.1 rebounds per game. Texas Southern does worse, ranked 275th with 34.5.
Baylor makes an average of 9.2 steals per game, ranked 16th in the country. Texas Southern has not won a game this season when it has given up 9 or more steals (0-2).
