SportsOptions.com throws their two cents on the Wednesday night basketball hardwood with two college hoop reviews. Baylor (19-2 SU/7-7 ATS) is off a 76-71 home win over Texas on Saturday as -7 point favorites. Perry Jones III scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as No. 6 Baylor held off a late rally by Texas to come away with a non-cover win.
BAYLOR at TEXAS A&M (+7, 130)
Quincy Miller added 18 points and Brady Heslip had 11 for the Bears, who won their second straight after back-to-back losses to Kansas (92-74) and Missouri (89-88). The Bears improved to 5-1 in games decided by five points or less. Heslip opened the second half with a layup to give Baylor a 40-29 lead, but Texas countered with a 9-3 run to get within 43-38. Baylor stretched its lead to 64-58 with 5:30 remaining and they converted 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win. The Bears improved to 19-3 all-time when ranked in the top 10. Baylor shot 46 percent overall (22-of-47) and made 27-of-34 free throws (79 percent. The Bears are one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the nation, connecting on 78 percent from the charity stripe.
Texas A&M (12-8 SU/7-7 ATS) comes off a 76-61 home win over Oklahoma State on Saturday as -4½ point favorites. Elston Turner finished with 23 points and five assists to lead the Aggies. David Loubeau added 13 points, while Daniel Alexander posted 11 points and six rebounds. The Aggies took a narrow 30-29 lead into halftime after they shot 57.1 percent from the field and went 0-of-6 from three-point range. Texas A&M went on a 14-1 run early in the second half to get some breathing room and coasted down the stretch. Texas A&M held the Cowboys to 37.9 percent shooting from the floor (22-of-58) and just 19 percent shooting from three-point range (4-of-21), while making 58.3 percent of its own field goals (28-of-48) and 16-of-22 free throws (72 percent).
These two teams met in Waco on January 2nd, with Baylor posting a 61-52 home win as -13½ pointy chalks. Baylor is just 3-8 ATS in Big-12 games lately and 2-6 ATS when facing the Aggies. Texas A&M is 5-1 ATS in conference games as of late and 7-2 ATS at home against winning teams and the underdog has ruled this series over recent years, going an impressive 14-3 ATS the last 17 meetings.
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ILLINOIS STATE at CREIGHTON (-11, 142)
Illinois State (14-8 SU/10-8 ATS) comes off a 60-40 home win over Southern Illinois on Saturday as -8½ point favs. Jackie Carmichael recorded a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Redbirds to a convincing win over the Salukis in a MVC tilt. John Wilkins also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to help Illinois State to its third victory in their last four games. Illinois State took a 26-17 lead into halftime after knocking down 45 percent of their shots in the opening 20 minutes. In the second half, the Redbirds pulled away as they shot 44 percent from the field and made 9-of-12 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes. Illinois State held a 40-29 edge on the boards, which helped them overcome a 5-of-16 showing from long range.
Creighton (20-2 SU/12-6 ATS) is off a 73-59 home win over Bradley on Saturday as -18½ point chalks. Doug McDermott finished with a game-high 24 points and pulled down six rebounds as No. 15 Creighton posted a non-cover win over Bradley in MVC action. Gregory Echenique recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Jones contributed 14 points and four assists for the Bluejays, who extended their winning streak to 10 games and reached the 20-win plateau for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons. Bradley jumped out to a quick 11-5 lead, but the Bluejays quickly responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead, 14-11 and eventually took a 33-28 lead into the break. Creighton opened the second half with an 11-4 run and led 56-45 with less than nine minutes to play and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way. Creighton shot 54 percent from the floor (24-of-44) and 8-of-20 from three-point range (40 percent), while Bradley shot 39 percent from the field and 6-of-17 from beyond the arc.
Creighton and Illinois State met on January 13th, with Creighton posting an 87-78 road win as -3 point favorites. Illinois State is 6-1 ATS on the road against winning teams and 8-3 ATS against winning squads overall. Creighton has played well at home, going 13-3 ATS and the Bluejays are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games overall. However, Illinois State is 9-3 ATS the last 12 meetings with Creighton and the road team is 5-2 ATS the last seven meetings.
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