Baylor vs Marquette Odds, Picks, Predictions (11/29/22)

Baylor visits Marquette in the Big 12/Big East Challenge after coming off a blowout win against McNeese. Marquette is coming off a blowout win against Chicago State. This should be an interesting matchup in the Gavitt Games. Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this game!

Baylor vs. Marquette Odds

Baylor is a 5-point road favorite against Marquette and is at -240 on the money line. The over/under is also at 155. Baylor being this big of a favorite makes sense because they’ve looked like the more impressive team compared to Marquette. The over/under makes sense too because both of these teams can score, and in particular, Baylor, plays defense very well. This spread seems about right, and should stay where it’s at even though Marquette is the home team.

Baylor vs. Marquette Prediction & Pick

The pick: Baylor -5

Baylor is one of the best teams in the country this year. They did lose to Virginia in the Main Event Tournament in Vegas, but they have still shown a lot this year so far. The key for Baylor is Adam Flagler, who’s their best player this year. LJ Cryer has also stepped up a lot and add in the true freshman, Keyonte George, and the depth for the Bears continues to grow. They also have a great sixth man in Dale Bonner.

The key for Baylor so far has been their passing. They are one of the top teams in the country when it comes to assists and average about 22 a game. That number is good for 4th in the country. They are also ranked 7th in the country in scoring with 91 points a game. They’ve been okay on defense, by allowing 68 points a game and they haven’t been great at rebounding and are grabbing 38 boards a game. Marquette has potential this year to make some noise and this is one of the first few tries they get to do it.

The Golden Eagles are lead by both Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek. Jones is the leading scorer for them and averages 14 points a game, while Kolek leads the team in assists at 8 a game. As a team, they average 80 points, and 19 assists a game on offense. Then on defense they give up 66 points and grab 37 rebounds a game, which is okay at best. Marquette has the big advantage of playing at home and home games in college basketball are a huge x-factor. Still, Baylor is the all-around better team, so take the Bears here to cover the 5 points on the road.

Baylor vs. Marquette Key Matchups

Can Stevie Mitchell contain Adam Flagler? Can Keyonte George slow down Kam Jones?

Adam Flagler vs Stevie Mitchell

This is going to be a great point guard matchup. Flagler is Baylor’s best returning player. He averages 17 points, 7 assists , and 3 rebounds for the year so far. He also averages 53.7% from 3-point range and 51.5% from the field overall. Mitchell is a very solid player for Marquette and averages 8 points, 1 assist, and 3 rebounds. The most important stat for him is that he averages 2 steals a game, which is great on the defensive end. Mitchell will be the defensive stopper assigned to Flagler here, and Flagler needs to have a good game for Baylor tonight for them to win.

Kam Jones vs Keyonte George

Kam Jones has been great for the Golden Eagles and is their leading scorer so far this year. He averages 13 points, 2 assists, and 4 rebounds a game. He also shoots 30% from 3-point range and 42% from the field overall. He’s been aggressive, but not super efficient just yet. George for Baylor has been great as just a true freshman. He averages 15 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds on the year so far. On defense, he also averages 1 steal a game, which will be big here. This matchup will be huge in deciding this game because George and Jones will be assigned to each other most of the game. Jones is the older player, but George might be more talented as a freshman.