NCAAB Saturday February 5th #8 Baylor at #10 Kansas Betting Preview
Both Teams Fighting Through Absences
The February 5th Baylor at Kansas betting matchup is really about who is going to play for each team. These are the top two teams in the Pac 12 with the Jayhawks (7-1) holding a slight lead over 7-2 Baylor but each could also be without their leading scorer yet again.
Kansas is a -2.5 favorite which makes sense as they are 10-1 at Allen Fieldhouse this season. BU is one of the best road teams in the country (5-1) although did just lose at Alabama last weekend. The Jayhawks also fell in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge last Saturday at home against Kentucky so this matchup is all over the place. Public bettors still like Kansas in this contest.
Bears Need This One
Two of Baylor’s three losses on the season have come in conference play, so they need a win on Saturday afternoon to get back on top of the Big 12. The Bears took a loss in their last road game, falling 87-78 at Alabama as a -3 point favorite. That was the first time an opponent had scored 75+ points against BU all season, and it was also the most points given up by the Bears (in regulation) since 2018.
To their credit, Baylor did bounce back with an 81-77 win over West Virginia on Monday back in Waco. That was a second straight poor defensive performance though with the Mountaineers shooting 54% from the floor, and it was a much closer game than expected with Baylor being a -12 point favorite.
Some Baylor struggles can be forgiven considering LJ Cryer has been out since January 25th with a foot injury and is questionable on Saturday. Cryer leads the Bears with 13.9 ppg. Adam Flagler (12.7 ppg) also missed the West Virginia game and is questionable vs. Kansas with a knee injury.
Kansas Getting Agbaji Back
Even though the Bears could be down a couple key players in the February 5th Baylor at Kansas betting contest, they are still a very deep team as evidenced by James Akinjo scoring 25 points on Monday while two players scored 13+ off the Baylor bench.
Kansas is deep too, but they’ll still take Ochai Akbaji back after he has reportedly tested negative for COVID and is eligible to play in this matchup. Akbaji leads the Big 12 with 20.9 ppg and has big game potential after dropping 37 last week against Texas Tech (in OT).
Akbaji missed Tuesday’s 70-61 win at Iowa State after a positive test but four different starters scored 13+ in his absence. That includes a 14 point/14 rebound performance from David McCormack who is very inconsistent but does have those huge upside games like his 11/15 line in a win over Kansas State last month. Christian Braun also adds 15.1 ppg for Kansas, who leads the Big 12 and is 20th in the country with 80.0 ppg.
February 5th Baylor at Kansas Betting Preview
This contest really does look like it could go either way, but you have to give Kansas the edge at home. Baylor is a great team everywhere including on the road, but we also saw them fold under the pressure a bit last weekend at Alabama. The Bears possibly being without two of their top three scorers doesn’t help matters either.
Baylor 70 – Kansas 77
Free Pick: Kansas -2.5
