Texas vs. Baylor prediction and odds for Saturday, February 25 (Longhorns will get the job done)

The Big 12 always gives us a great game and this is the best one today. The No. 8 Texas Longhorns and the No. 9 Baylor Bears. Texas is tied atop the conference standings at 22-6 overall and 11-4 in conference play. Baylor is a few spots back with a record of 20-8 (9-6). The Bears have dropped two games in a row after leading at halftime in both. They’ll need a full 40 minute performance to knock off the Longhorns at home today.

These teams met in Austin back on January 30 and Texas got the win, 76-71 with 21 points from Jabari Rice off the bench. Baylor is the favorite in Waco today, let’s check out the odds.

Texas vs. Baylor odds, spread and total

Texas vs. Baylor prediction and pick

I love Scott Drew’s Baylor team. I’m always going to trust a team with multiple ball-handlers and veteran shot creators. Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer give them that experience in the backcourt and then Keyonte George, the freshmen, is their leading scorer averaging 16.9 points a game. The issue is their lack of depth and lack of production out of the front-court. That’s a big reason that they’ve blown halftime leads in back-to-back games. They only go seven deep and against Kansas State last time out, those three starting guards combined for 109 minutes.

Texas has the exact opposite problem. The Longhorns have Marcus Carr and Tyrese Hunter in the back-court with Jabari Rice coming off the bench, but they are much more loaded in the front-court with Timmy Allen, Dylan Disu and Dillon Mitchell.

With the guard-heavy construction, Baylor is 12th in offensive efficiency, but 148th on the other end. They are 307th in opponent two-point percentage at 53.1%, while Texas is 32nd in two-point field goal percentage, 54.6%. They will dominate the paint and, unless Baylor has a barrage from three, the Longhorns will come into Waco and leave with a win.