Despite the limitations of COVID-19, the early tournament season in NCAA basketball has gone on relatively smoothly. Several games have gone through last-minute changes, but the Maui Invitational, the Jimmy V Classic and the Champions Classic have all come and gone, showcasing 10 of the team’s top ranked teams. Both Gonzaga and Baylor won Wednesday in the Jimmy V Classic and now meet on Saturday. Gonzaga defeated West Virginia to push their record to 3-0. Baylor brings in an identical record after beating #5 Illinois by 13 points.
Let’s take a look at this matchup between the top two teams in the nation — possibly a preview of a national championship game, or at least a meeting well into the NCAA tournament — along with our college basketball betting prediction.
NCAAB: Gonzaga vs Baylor (Saturday, December 5)
When: Wednesday, December 2, 2020, 1:00 pm ET
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
TV: CBS
Radio: Learfield IMG Gonzaga Sports Properties / Baylor IMG Sports Network
Live Stream: Hulu
Why should you bet on the Bulldogs?
Gonzaga breathed a sigh of relief after beating West Virginia, 87-82, on Wednesday. Jalen Suggs, the Bulldogs’ star freshman guard, when down with a lower leg injury away from contact that was at first rumored to be a torn Achilles tendon, but after halftime he was able to return. Joel Ayayi and Andrew Nembhard came on strong in Suggs’ absence, combining for 40 points. Corey Kispert put up 19, and Drew Timme atoned for a dreadful first half with 17 points.
One of Gonzaga’s strengths is their inside game. Timme and Kispert have combined to average almost 46 points and over 11 boards per game. Timme had a hard time finding his shooting touch against West Virginia, so Kispert took up the slack, going 6 for 11 from the floor and 5 for 7 from the free throw line. Kispert is a perimeter big man, while Timme is more of a throwback inside scorer, who can operate with his back to the basket, but he can also run the floor.
Why should you put your money on the Bears?
Baylor rolled over Illinois on Wednesday, 82-69. Adam Flagler led the Bears with 18 points coming off the bench. Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler, and MaCio Teague, the three starting guards for Baylor, also hit double figures against Illinois. Mark Vital and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua dominated the frontcourt, so Illinois had a hard time getting things going inside or outside on offense.
Flagler has already contributed mightily for the Bears in the three games he has played since transferring from Presbyterian. He knocked down five three-balls against Illinois, but this was not his first time to put up big numbers. In 2018-19, he was the Big South Freshman of the Year. That led to his decision to transfer to Baylor, which meant he would sit out 2019-20 along with Tchatchoua. When Presbyterian took on UCLA during Flagler’s freshman season, he hung 29 points on the Bruins. During the seven-minute stretch in which Baylor would build their big lead against Illinois, it was Flagler providing the big buckets. He gave Baylor a six-point lead with a three-pointer and then nailed a mid-range jumper a minute later to push the lead to eight. Eventually, the Bears would lead by as many as 16 points. Flagler also had a dozen points against Louisiana-Lafayette and 17 against Washington. It will be interesting to see how his space-making ability and spot shooting will help him contribute against an elite program like Gonzaga.
Final Score and Prediction
Baylor has a terrific backcourt, while Gonzaga has a slight edge with their frontcourt. I like what Baylor has done to assemble an elite team, but Gonzaga has developed even more of a national reputation despite lacking the recruiting advantages that Baylor has operating in the Big 12. I see Gonzaga taking advantage of Baylor’s opportunism with their ball movement offense, and I predict a final score of Gonzaga 88, Baylor 84.
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