The Baylor Bears take on the TCU Horned Frogs. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Baylor TCU prediction and pick. Find how to watch Baylor TCU.
The Baylor Bears and TCU Horned Frogs have one of the more underrated rivalries in college sports. They're part of a ferocious football rivalry, but the basketball rivalry is just as contentious but doesn't get the big publicity given to Kentucky-Louisville or Duke-North Carolina. Yet, TCU-Baylor games are dogfights and are usually very tense and interesting. The most recent meeting between these teams might have been the best TCU-Baylor game of all time.
TCU and Baylor went at it in Waco for a very long time. The teams dueled through three overtimes before TCU emerged with a 105-102 victory in 55 game minutes. Just when it seemed that one team had the clear upper hand, the other side fought back until TCU had the final say in the third overtime period. How will the rematch go? No one knows, and that's why the point spread for this game is appropriately small.
TCU and Baylor are both going to be part of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. They will both represent a Big 12 Conference which is tough, deep, and balanced. Each win in the Big 12 feels like an achievement, given the strength of the league. TCU and Baylor hope that more wins lead to a higher NCAA Tournament seed and a greater chance of being able to make a run in the brackets during March Madness.
Here are the Baylor-TCU College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Baylor-TCU Odds
Baylor Bears: +2.5 (-110)
TCU Horned Frogs: -2.5 (-110)
Over: 148.5 (-110)
Under: 148.5 (-110)
How To Watch Baylor vs TCU
Time: 9:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT
TV: ESPN
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Baylor Could Cover the Spread
Baylor will want revenge for the triple-overtime loss to TCU. That will be the central motivator for the Bears here. They don't like TCU and won't want the Frogs to sweep them in the season series. TCU is favored, though, so even if Baylor loses by two, it stil covers. There's a little more margin for error here with a Baylor bet compared to a TCU bet against the spread. Keep that point in mind.
Also realize that Baylor just lost a tough game to Houston on Saturday. The Bears will want to bounce back from that game and make sure they don't lose twice in three days. TCU is a good team but hardly a transcendent team. Baylor can play at a high level — we saw it in the second-half comeback against Houston — and if the Bears do provide that level of play, they are better than TCU.
Why TCU Could Cover the Spread
The Horned Frogs had a smooth ride on Saturday against Cincinnati, winning very comfortably. Because of that, TCU's starters are not overworked and overextended. Contrast that to Baylor, which had to play overtime against a very tough Houston team which demands total effort and total concentration. It is exhausting to play Houston. It has to be very hard to come back from a Houston game two days later on the road. Fatigue might really catch up with Baylor here. It's the best reason to pick TCU.
Final Baylor-TCU Prediction & Pick
TCU could benefit from Baylor's post-Houston fatigue, but this game is always hard to pick. The key thing to note is that if one team takes an early 10-point lead, you can make a live-game bet on the other team covering the spread, since this game always seems to be close at the end.
Final Baylor-TCU Prediction & Pick: TCU -2.5
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