Kentucky at Baylor: What bettors need to know
Kentucky Wildcats at Baylor Bears (+3.5)
The site of this season’s Final Four will get a test run Friday night when No. 4 Kentucky meets No. 20 Baylor in the inaugural Big 12/SEC Challenge at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Both teams are led by 6-9 forwards who can score as well as they rebound. Cory Jefferson is averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 boards for the Bears, similar to what he provided last season as a junior en route to winning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. Julius Randle, a Dallas native, is averaging 18.1 points and 12.5 rebounds in his freshman campaign for the Wildcats.
Kentucky struggled against Baylor’s zone defense alignments when these teams met last December and shot 30 percent from the field in the 64-55 loss, the lowest under coach John Calipari. Baylor still has 7-1 center Isaiah Austin manning the middle of the key, so the Wildcats will need to figure out how to counter his size, preferably with some efficient perimeter shooting. Kentucky has been hot-and-cold from 3-point range lately, shooting 3-for-16 last week against Eastern Michigan but coming back with a 6-for-8 performance Sunday against Providence.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT KENTUCKY (7-1): The Wildcats have a solid big man as well in 7-footer forward Willie Cauley-Stein, who produced 15 points, eight rebounds and nine blocked shots in Sunday’s win, the second-most blocks in program history. He has at least four blocks in the last three games and he and Randle will make it tough on Baylor’s guards to get to the rim. The other three starters for Kentucky also stand 6-6, giving the Wildcats one of the bigger starting lineups in the nation.
ABOUT BAYLOR (7-1): Brady Heslip quickly put behind a dismal performance against Dayton last week at the Maui Invitational by shooting 4-for-7 from the 3-point line the following day against No. 5 Syracuse and then making 5-of-8 Sunday against Hardin-Simmons. Heslip comes off the bench for the Bears and gives them a nice boost when he’s shooting well. The Baylor reserves combine to average 32.9 points and the first four off the bench play an average of 19.7 minutes.
TRENDS:
* Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last five vs. Big 12.
* Bears are 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.
* Under is 5-2 in Bears last seven non-conference games.
* Under is 6-2 in Wildcats last eight overall.
TIP-INS:
1. Baylor is 3-0 this season in games decided by 5 points or less after finishing 2-8 in such contests last season.
2. This marks the third straight season Baylor and Kentucky have met with the Wildcats also beating the Bears to reach the 2012 Final Four.
3. The 6-for-8 shooting from long range against Providence marked the first time the Friars shot better than 71.4 percent from beyond the arc since 1986.
Kentucky Wildcats at Baylor Bears (+3.5)
The site of this season’s Final Four will get a test run Friday night when No. 4 Kentucky meets No. 20 Baylor in the inaugural Big 12/SEC Challenge at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Both teams are led by 6-9 forwards who can score as well as they rebound. Cory Jefferson is averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 boards for the Bears, similar to what he provided last season as a junior en route to winning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. Julius Randle, a Dallas native, is averaging 18.1 points and 12.5 rebounds in his freshman campaign for the Wildcats.
Kentucky struggled against Baylor’s zone defense alignments when these teams met last December and shot 30 percent from the field in the 64-55 loss, the lowest under coach John Calipari. Baylor still has 7-1 center Isaiah Austin manning the middle of the key, so the Wildcats will need to figure out how to counter his size, preferably with some efficient perimeter shooting. Kentucky has been hot-and-cold from 3-point range lately, shooting 3-for-16 last week against Eastern Michigan but coming back with a 6-for-8 performance Sunday against Providence.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT KENTUCKY (7-1): The Wildcats have a solid big man as well in 7-footer forward Willie Cauley-Stein, who produced 15 points, eight rebounds and nine blocked shots in Sunday’s win, the second-most blocks in program history. He has at least four blocks in the last three games and he and Randle will make it tough on Baylor’s guards to get to the rim. The other three starters for Kentucky also stand 6-6, giving the Wildcats one of the bigger starting lineups in the nation.
ABOUT BAYLOR (7-1): Brady Heslip quickly put behind a dismal performance against Dayton last week at the Maui Invitational by shooting 4-for-7 from the 3-point line the following day against No. 5 Syracuse and then making 5-of-8 Sunday against Hardin-Simmons. Heslip comes off the bench for the Bears and gives them a nice boost when he’s shooting well. The Baylor reserves combine to average 32.9 points and the first four off the bench play an average of 19.7 minutes.
TRENDS:
* Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last five vs. Big 12.
* Bears are 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.
* Under is 5-2 in Bears last seven non-conference games.
* Under is 6-2 in Wildcats last eight overall.
TIP-INS:
1. Baylor is 3-0 this season in games decided by 5 points or less after finishing 2-8 in such contests last season.
2. This marks the third straight season Baylor and Kentucky have met with the Wildcats also beating the Bears to reach the 2012 Final Four.
3. The 6-for-8 shooting from long range against Providence marked the first time the Friars shot better than 71.4 percent from beyond the arc since 1986.
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