Streaking Baylor Still 200-1 to Win NCAA Tournament
By Chris Amberley in College Basketball
Updated: April 9, 2020 at 12:04 pm EDTPublished:
- Baylor is tied for the Big 12 lead but remain a huge underdog to win the National Title.
- The Bears started the season slowly, but have racked up six straight wins.
- Is Baylor a legitimate March Madness contender?
While most of the sports world was preoccupied by Super Bowl festivities this past weekend, the Baylor Bears were quietly trouncing TCU en route to their sixth straight victory.
Blowout in Waco!
Baylor stays tied at the top of the Big 12 with a ROUT of TCU! pic.twitter.com/Yo3gKmRLbm
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 3, 2019
The win kept Baylor tied atop the Big 12 standings, but despite their recent surge, they don’t show up in the AP Top 25 rankings, and their National Title Odds are a whopping 200-1 (or +20000), the ninth-longest among Big 12 teams.
Odds to Win 2019 NCAA Tournament
| Team | Odds to Win 2019 NCAAB National Championship |
|---|---|
| Kansas Jayhawks | +1600 |
| Texas Tech Red Raiders | +5000 |
| Iowa State Cyclones | +7000 |
| Kansas State Wildcats | +9000 |
| Oklahoma Sooners | +11000 |
| TCU Horned Frogs | +12500 |
| Texas Longhorns | +12500 |
| West Virginia Mountaineers | +13000 |
| Baylor Bears | +20000 |
Their long odds are particularly confusing when you factor in they’ve beaten five of the eight teams ahead of them within the last month.
Overcoming a Slow Start
The Bears began the season with an embarrassing home loss to Texas Southern, and then suffered another surprising home defeat to SFA a few weeks later. They opened up conference play with a loss at TCU, but ever since then they’ve been on fire, despite losing two key players including Tristan Clark.
Baylor lost two starters for the season and is tied for first place in the Big 12. If the season ended today, Scott Drew would be league’s Coach of the Year. Not close.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 3, 2019
Their defense is ranked top-26 nationally, but it’s the offense that has fuelled the turnaround. They’ve scored at least 73 points in each of their last six contests, led Makai Mason, who is a top contender for Big 12 Player of the Year.
When you score 4⃣0⃣ you get your own highlight reel ??#SicTCU ? | #1TGF ? pic.twitter.com/fT92NgOFjx
— Baylor Basketball (@BaylorMBB) February 3, 2019
They’ve also been dominant on the glass, especially at the offensive end, grabbing offensive rebounds on 50% of their misses against both TCU and Kansas.
Reason to be Optimistic
The Big 12 is wide open and the Jayhawks run of 14 straight conference titles is in serious jeopardy. They’re just 5-4 in their last nine and have suffered two key losses up front. Baylor will be favored in each of its next three games, and if they can run this win streak to nine, they’ll be in the driver’s seat in the Big 12 race.
Think this team is having fun?
Make it 6 straight wins!!!!!!#SicEm ? | #1TGF ? pic.twitter.com/bhS1pFu3Pw
— Baylor Basketball (@BaylorMBB) February 3, 2019
Is Baylor worth a Bet?
They rank first in the conference in points, assists, threes made and three point percentage. They’re led by one of college basketball’s top coaches and they’re one of only three Big 12 teams to be ranked inside Kenpom’s top-30 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Going ⬆️ on a Tuesday ? ?#SicEm ? | #1TGF ? pic.twitter.com/AqYFIO6jwh
— Baylor Basketball (@BaylorMBB) January 29, 2019
Their odds don’t reflect how well they’re playing and it feels like they still have the stench of a team that was picked to finish 8th in the Big 12 on them. 200-1 is ludicrous price for a team that could end up winning a prestigious conference title.
Sports Writer
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
