No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners 3, 157 O/U (23-1) 11-8 ATS, 14-5 O/U at Baylor Bears + 3, 157 O/U (15-8) 6-9 ATS, 7-6 O/U Wednesday, February 11, 2009 Ferrell Center (10, 284) Waco, Texas 9:00 EST, TV: ESPN2, Radio: KRXO FM 107.7 in Oklahoma City, KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa
By Wilson of Predictem.com
The Sooners are enjoying their best start to a basketball season in school history. Oklahoma is 23-1 and 9-0 in conference play, andare winners of 11 consecutive games. In the Sooners last game they recorded a home win over Colorado 77-72, now they look forward to keeping their winning ways in check by adding to Baylors recent collapse. The Bears have lost five games in a row and it may be six if they cant stop the Sooners tonight. In Baylors defense they have played some stellar programs during this current tumble which includes Texas Tech, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, and it all started with a loss to the Sooners on January 24, 95-76.
Baylor burst out of the gates this season by tallying up a 15-3 record and cracking the top 25 before the losing streak crept up to five games. It doesnt get much easier for the Bears as they now face the No. 2 team in the land coupled with the fact that they havent beat Oklahoma since December 6, 1977 and have dropped 29 straight to the Sooners.
Bears seniors Henry Dugat, Kevin Rodgers and Curtis Jerrells account for nearly 50 percent of the teams offense. The trio has also collected 55 victories which is just 8 shy of the being the winningest class in school history. But will they be enough to hang with the Sooners?
Oklahoma is lead in scoring by sophomore forward Blake Griffin, who, at 610 251lbs is averaging 22.3 ppg along with 14 rebounds. Sooner freshman guard, Willie Warren has been a great addition as he is putting up 15 ppg and is shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point land. But all of the Sooners starters can fill it up as three of the five average double figures in points while the other two put in 8.6 and 8.9 respectably.
The Sooners are one of five teams in the country that remain undefeated in conference play. The other four undefeated squads are Gonzaga (West Coast Conference), Memphis (C. USA), Princeton (Ivy League) and Utah State (WAC).
This game will be another laugher for Oklahoma as they are simply too talented for Baylor to handle. OU won by 19 points just a couple of weeks ago which should be fair warning for a potential upset but probably not. The Bears will have to somehow contain Blake Griffin who is one of the nations top players and producers as he has racked up 11 20-point/15-rebound games this season already!
Most online sportsbooks have the total at 157 which is consistent with the output of both teams as they both average 80 ppg, but OU has the advantage on defense by holding their opponents to 66 ppg. Therefore the under might be the smart play here unless OU blows up the scoreboard. If it comes down to free throws and the game is on the line, then Baylor may have the edge as they are 70 percent from the stripe. But I seriously doubt OU will let that happen, even on the road!
The last time these two teams met OU scored their second highest total of the year (95 points). Curtis Jerrells went off for 26 points for the Bears but it was not enough to stop Blake Griffin (20 points, 17 rebounds) and the high powered Sooners.
Baylor is no stranger to ESPN coverage, tonights game will be their tenth appearance on the network this season, and OU may bump the Bears ESPN record to 4-6 if they can win at the Ferrell Center.
Wilsons Pick: Oklahoma 3. Luck to ya.