The Daily Sweat: After first losses of season, can Baylor bounce back vs. WVU?

Sam Cooper
·College football writer
·5 min read
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After a weekend dominated by the NFL, it’s time to turn our focus toward basketball for a few days.

There are only two NBA games on tap for Tuesday night, but college basketball is full of intriguing matchups. Leading the way is Baylor’s trip to West Virginia.

A week ago, Baylor, the defending national champion, was undefeated and the No. 1 team in the country. Entering Tuesday night’s game in Morgantown, though, the Bears have lost two straight and are aiming to get back on track in one of the tougher venues in the Big 12.

Baylor, which lost back-to-back home games to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, is a 6.5-point favorite at BetMGM. The total is listed at 138.5.

Baylor, now ranked No. 5, has covered the spread just once over its past six games and is 1-4 ATS in conference play. BU has been dealing with some injuries as of late. James Akinjo has been banged up while Jeremy Sochan, a key bench piece, has been out with an ankle injury. The Bears also really struggled with their outside shooting in those two losses.

West Virginia, meanwhile, is coming off a tough road loss to No. 9 Kansas. Before that loss, the Mountaineers, now 13-3 on the year, had won 10 of their previous 11. Like Baylor, WVU has struggled ATS in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers are 1-3 ATS against conference competition and are 5-5 ATS at home this season.

WACO, TX - JANUARY 15: James Akinjo #11 of the Baylor Bears handles the ball against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the first half at the Ferrell Center on January 15, 2022 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Baylor's James Akinjo handles the basketball against Oklahoma State in the first half at the Ferrell Center on Jan. 15, 2022, in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

What are the other big college basketball games?

Elsewhere in the Big 12, No. 18 Texas Tech will host No. 15 Iowa State. The Red Raiders were riding high after upsetting Baylor and then blowing out Oklahoma State, but they came out flat on Saturday and were upset on the road by Kansas State.

TTU should be much more focused against the Cyclones, a team that they lost to 51-47 in Ames a few weeks ago. ISU opened Big 12 play 1-3, but put together a nice 79-70 home win over No. 21 Texas on Saturday.

For their trip to Lubbock, the Cyclones are 8.5-point underdogs at BetMGM. That’s a pretty big number. Perhaps an Iowa State team that has surprised in the first few months is coming back down to earth in the eyes of the oddsmakers.

No. 7 Kansas, sitting in first place in the Big 12, is just a 3.5-point favorite on the road against Oklahoma, which has lost three of its last four but is 8-1 at home.

In the ACC, No. 6 Duke is a 5.5-point favorite on the road against unranked Florida State. FSU had some slip-ups early in the year but is playing much better in recent weeks. The Seminoles have won four of their last five, including a road win over Syracuse on Saturday.

Duke forward Paolo Banchero (5) dunks against North Carolina State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Duke forward Paolo Banchero (5) dunks against North Carolina State during the second half in Durham, N.C., on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Another team in the ACC to keep an eye on is Miami. The Hurricanes went on a nine-game winning streak that included a road upset of Duke, but that streak was snapped on the road against FSU last Tuesday. Following a week off, the Hurricanes are back at it against North Carolina. Miami is a 2.5-point home underdog against a UNC team that has won four of its last five.

Miami is 4-1 ATS as an underdog and 5-1 ATS in ACC play. UNC has covered the spread in five of its last seven games and is 4-1 ATS vs. ACC opponents.

A few other point spreads that caught my eye are No. 8 Wisconsin as just a 3.5-point favorite on the road against Northwestern, and Davidson as a 2.5-point underdog at VCU.

Wisconsin, which is 11-5 ATS this year, has won six straight games and is coming off a 10-point win over Ohio State. Northwestern snapped a four-game losing streak with a road upset of No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday. And NU did it without leading scorer Pete Nance, who is dealing with an ankle injury. Before the MSU win, the Wildcats had lost their previous four games by single digits.

Davidson has the second-best ATS record in the country at 12-3, which includes a 5-0 ATS mark on the road.

What about the NBA?

As previously mentioned, there are only two NBA games scheduled for Tuesday.

The early game is the New York Knicks as 2.5-point home underdogs against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Knicks are 2-4 ATS as underdogs at Madison Square Garden. Minnesota is 13-8 ATS on the road.

Additionally, the Golden State Warriors are 15.5-point favorites at home against the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have the second-worst record in the NBA at 10-32 but have won three of their last five and are a very respectable 20-22 ATS this season. The Pistons are 9-8 ATS in the 17 games they have been double-digit underdogs this season.