Both the Baylor Bears and Oklahoma State Cowboys have had their ups and downs in recent weeks and look to pick up momentum to close out the regular season when they battle it out in Stillwater on Monday.
Baylor Bears (-1.5, 142.5) vs Oklahoma State Cowboys
Losers of four straight games, the Cowboys will look to their defense to return to form as they have allowed at least 73 points in all four games in this skid after allowing 73 points or fewer in each of their previous five games.
Overall, Oklahoma State is 36th in the nation in points allowed on a per-possession basis and is allowing 11.1 points fewer per 100 possessions at home than away from home.
Turnovers have been Oklahoma State’s undoing this season, with the team ranked 321st in the country in turnovers per possession on offense while the defense is more predicated on defending shots, ranking 16th in America in opponent field goal shooting percentage.
The Cowboys look to hold down a Baylor unit that overall is 14th in the country in points scored on a per-possession basis on offense but register 12 points per 100 possessions fewer in games away from home.
Baylor is also playing at a slower tempo since the first time these teams met as they have played their last 13 games with an average of 5.6 possessions fewer than their first 16 games of the season, going from 75th in the nation in possessions per game to 168th.
When these teams played on January 14, Baylor picked up a 74-58 win in which Avery Anderson III was the only Oklahoma State starter to score at least 10 points.
Oklahoma State has not had Anderson III in the lineup for the past seven games and the offense has had issues with 71 points or fewer scored in four of their last six games.
With the tempo shift Baylor has undergone, coupled with Oklahoma State’s turnover issues, Monday’s showdown figures to mirror the first meeting from a scoring standpoint.
The Play: Baylor vs. Oklahoma State Under 142.5
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