Can Baylor Find Its Three-Point Shooting Against BYU?
Our BYU vs Baylor Betting Preview Has The Answers!

There are many terrific conference matchups in college basketball on Tuesday. But none will be more anticipated than this Big 12 game between the BYU Cougars and Baylor Bears.
BYU and Baylor are both 12-2 to begin the season. Both teams are also ranked in the top 25, with BYU 18th in the nation and Baylor sitting at 14th in the AP Poll.
Baylor has won three straight games but has losses to Michigan State and Duke before those three wins. Those two teams are ranked in the top 20, like BYU.
On the other hand, the Cougars fell to Cincinnati at home on Saturday, 71-60. That was BYU’s second loss of the season. The Cougars haven’t been tested as much as Baylor. Their best win came against San Diego State earlier in the year. The rest of BYU’s wins were pretty much expected.
With Baylor at home, the books have the Bears as favorites in this Big 12 matchup. The Bears are sitting at -3.5, with the total currently at 154.
Is the spread closer than expected?
We’ll discuss that in this BYU vs Baylor betting preview.
BYU Cougars vs Baylor Bears 
Location: Foster Pavillon, Waco, TX.
Day/Time:
Streaming: Big12 Network
BYU vs Baylor Betting Trends
Over the last 30 games, BYU is 7-3 against the spread. However, its most recent loss against the spread came against Cincinnati as a 10-point favorite. Instead, BYU lost by 11 at home in a Big12 conference game.
Meanwhile, the Under has hit in six of the last ten games for BYU. After the Cougars only scored 60 points against Cincinnati, their most recent game also went Under the total.
Meanwhile, Baylor covered seven of their last ten, going 7-2-1 against the spread. The Bears have covered in three straight games despite being favorites in all three games. Baylor also added at least 75 points in those three games and added at least 98 points in two of those three matchups.
Therefore, the Over hit in six of their last ten games.
Baylor and BYU haven’t played a game against each other since April 2013. A lot has changed in almost a decade. However, Baylor won and covered in all three of its games since 2011 against BYU.
Trevin Knell’s Career Night Has BYU Fans Optimistic
BYU’s most recent loss to the Bearcats on Saturday wasn’t ideal. At home, in an early conference game, no team wants to lose by double digits after being projected to win by double digits in that game.
While the loss was ugly, BYU got 27 points out of Trevin Knell. He nailed nine three-pointers, which was the second-most threes made in program history in a single game.
Knell only averages about 13 points per game. But seeing him explode from downtown has fans believing in the Cougars.
The rest of the team just struggled to score in the second half and couldn’t string together stops to stay in it after a poor shooting display.
Baylor Also Shot Poorly Last Time Out
BYU would’ve loved to escape Cincinnati despite a poor shooting night. The Cougars couldn’t.
However, despite lousy shooting, Baylor escaped their matchup against Oklahoma State on the road in overtime.
Baylor shot 13.3% from downtown on only 15 attempts. Even inside, they shot 50% from the field, which was unlike the Bears.
Because of that, Baylor found themselves trailing for most of the second half, only to come back, force overtime, and win the game outright in overtime.
Baylor put together a scrappy win. The Bears did what BYU hoped to do. Baylor is ultimately a level above the BYU program in that regard.
Will There Be More Poor Shooting?
The BYU Cougars and Baylor Bears are typically outstanding shooting teams. However, both teams struggled from the field in their first conference matchups.
Baylor found a way, while BYU couldn’t scrape themselves back into the game.
However, it’s likely both teams get back on track offensively in this one.
The Cougars have shot a 57.5% effective field goal percentage while shooting 37.1% from deep and 59.4% from inside the arc. It might be difficult to get good looks from three for BYU. However, Baylor has allowed over 50% from inside the arc.
The Cougars have added 36.5% of offensive rebounds. They’ll be active around the glass and likely earn second chances around the rim. That should help BYU score, although the Cougars look to shoot the three-ball a lot.
BYU has also allowed only 14.5% of turnovers. The Cougars have been strong with the ball and don’t turn the ball over recklessly.
On the other hand, Baylor’s offense has shot a 59.4% effective field goal percentage. The Bears have nailed 45% from downtown, despite their last game against Oklahoma State. Baylor’s the best three-point shooting team in the nation, but doesn’t shoot it with volume like BYU does.
The Bears will take more shots inside the arc and still shoot nearly 55% from the field. Baylor will have trouble earning second chances and might not get the easiest looks from three, with BYU allowing teams to shoot only 26.4% from downtown.
Ultimately, the Bears can’t do any worse from three than that Oklahoma State game. Even though the game went into overtime, the Bears still found a way to score 75 points.
BYU has been very consistent on both ends of the floor this year. However, Baylor has had its struggles on defense this season. They only rank 71st in KenPom rankings adjusted efficiency on defense. BYU will take advantage, but even with Baylor’s slightly above-average defense, the Bears have found ways to win with their offense.
Both teams have high odds to win March Madness. Baylor actually won the tournament a few years back. However, analytically, at this very moment, BYU’s numbers look more compelling for a March Madness run when looking at the NCAAB stats.
After reviewing the BYU vs Baylor betting preview, our college basketball prediction is that the game will go Over the total of 154.5.
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