On Saturday, the Baylor Bears had their four-game winning streak ended by the Kansas Jayhawks, while the Kansas State Wildcats knocked off the Iowa State Cyclones. Here are the best Baylor vs. Kansas State college basketball picks based on the best NCAAB odds.
Prior to Saturday's loss to Kansas, the Bears had won four consecutive games. However, only one of those victories came over a ranked opponent. That win, over the TCU Horned Frogs, is also the only road victory that the Bears have over a ranked opponent this season. They are 1-2 in such games, though they are 2-1 in neutral-site contests against ranked teams.
The Wildcats have lost four of their last six games. While many may chalk that up to a tough Big 12 schedule, their most recent two losses were to the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma Sooners. Those two teams are a combined 28-26 this season .
Here is our best Baylor vs. Kansas State college basketball pick (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
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Baylor vs. Kansas State pick
For as good as the Big 12 is, there are a lot of questions surrounding their teams. Perhaps that's because losing streaks go relatively unnoticed by teams in the conference, but is that fair? The Wildcats have struggled against the worst of the conference, but they've beaten TCU and Iowa State during their 2-4 stretch. The problem is, both of those teams are slumping as well.
Then there's Baylor. How good is this team really? They're 4-3 when facing a team in the Top 25, but they have really struggled on the road against good teams in the Big 12. They've even struggl ed against the bottom part of the league, but they've always found a way to win those games, even if by slim margins.
With the spread out of consideration, especially after these two teams played in a 97-95 overtime thriller the first time out, it's best to look at a player prop. We're going with Keyontae Johnson. The Wildcats forward has scored 16 or fewer points in five consecutive games and eight of his last nine. This is an alarming trend when taking his Over, but this is the perfect time to do so.
The price for his Over is +100, which is more than fair considering he's still averaging 17.4 points per game this year. He scored 24 points against Baylor on Jan. 7. He's scored fewer points in the second meeting against every Big 12 school this season, but his production hasn't dropped by a significant margin in most of those games. Therefore, even if he struggles in this one, he should hit 20 in what is sure to be a game played in the 70s.
Baylor vs. Kansas State best odds
| DraftKings | Caesars |
| Over 16.5 pts | Over 16.5 pts |
| +100 | -108 |
At the moment, only two of the five major sportsbooks have a total listed for Johnson. Of the two, DraftKings is offering the best price.
Keep an eye on the other sportsbooks as lines start to come out. Because of the lack of offensive production that Johnson has exhibited in recent games, the line may be as low as 15 in some instances. If you find this number lower than 16, take it as long as the price is better than -130. But for now, DraftKings is your best choice.
Baylor vs. Kansas State odds
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Baylor vs. Kansas State odds analysis
The Bears opened as 1.5-point favorites, and that's where this line has stayed. To this point, 58% of wagers have been placed on the Bears to cover the smal l spread, despite them losing at home in the first meeting between these two teams. Even if this line moves, it's unlikely it gets higher than a basket.
As for the total, the number opened at 147.5, and it's almost certainly going to go up. When these two teams met the first time, the final score was 97-95. Granted, that game went to overtime, but even in regulation, these two teams had easily cleared where the number is now. Roughly 63% of wagers are on the Over. When betting, just remember that even though the final of their first meeting was high-scoring, these are two teams allowing less than 70 points per game.
Baylor vs. Kansas State game info
- Date: Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m.
- TV: ESPN2
- Location: Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, KS
Baylor vs. Kansas State pick made 02/21/2023 at 9:37 a.m. ET.
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