The Baylor Bears take on the West Virginia Mountaineers. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Baylor West Virginia prediction and pick. Find how to watch Baylor West Virginia.
The future of West Virginia men's basketball is highly uncertain. Life without former coach and basketball legend Bob Huggins — whose off-court behavior left the school with no choice but to dismiss him — has been predictably rough. The basketball program was entrusted to a 40-year-old interim head coach named Josh Eilert. Asking a young coach to serve in an interim capacity after Huggins led the program to the Final Four and guided the Mountaineers to a number of other successes in a tenure which lasted close to a decade and a half was a huge request. One could say that Eilert has failed, with WVU languishing near the bottom of the Big 12, but this is less about Eilert himself, more about the program simply needing an accomplished head coach. West Virginia was not in position to hire an elite head coach this past offseason. The timing within the cycle was not ideal. The coaching carousel's prime openings had already come and gone.
It was always likely that West Virginia would need to eat one very tough season in 2024 — and it has. Now the school can make preparations to conduct a complete coaching search and start fresh for the future. Meanwhile, the team — which did beat the Kansas Jayhawks at home — will try to score another home-court upset or two to build confidence and momentum heading into an offseason marked by big changes.
Here are the Baylor-West Virginia College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Baylor-West Virginia Odds
Baylor Bears: -7.5 (-114)
West Virginia Mountaineers: +7.5 (-106)
Over: 146.5 (-110)
Under: 146.5 (-110)
How To Watch Baylor vs West Virginia
Time: 6:00 pm ET / 3:00 pm PT
TV: ESPN2
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Baylor Could Cover the Spread
West Virginia just isn't a team to be trusted or relied on. The Mountaineers are near the bottom of the Big 12, along with Oklahoma State. The Big 12 is a tough conference, and West Virginia has competed hard this season, but the Mountaineers just don't have the depth or quality of most of the other teams in the league. They're not an easy out, but they are noticeably weaker than much of the competition in the conference. It shows. Games against WVU are not gimmies for the rest of the Big 12, but they are games the rest of the Big 12 expects to win, and the degree of difficulty is diminished to a slight extent. That degree of difference matters, and it's why a solid NCAA Tournament-level team such as Baylor can be expected to go into Morgantown and cover the spread.
Why West Virginia Could Cover the Spread
West Virginia, which has beaten Kansas outright at home, is getting over seven points on the spread at home versus Baylor. You might be skeptical of West Virginia in general, and that's fine, but even then, 7.5 points is a lot, and it underscores the possibility of Baylor winning outright but WVU playing the game close all the way and covering. There's a strong chance that will be the ultimate outcome here.
Final Baylor-West Virginia Prediction & Pick
This is a lot of points to give any Big 12 home team, but ultimately, staying away is the best course of action. Wait for a live angle to open up.
Final Baylor-West Virginia Prediction & Pick: West Virginia +7.5
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