Baylor Bears at Kansas State Wildcats Pick 3/2/19

Baylor Bears at Kansas State Wildcats

Total Line: 127
Point Spread: BAY +6/ KSU -6
TV: ESPN2
Location: Bramlage Coliseum
Time: 8PM ET

Saturday night it’s No. 16 Kansas State Wildcats hosting the Baylor Bears in a Big 12 conference matchup. Kansas State is currently tied for 1st in the Big 12 with Texas Tech, who shares a similar 11-4 conference record. Baylor is tied for 2nd with Kansas, both of which are 10-5 and a game behind Texas Tech and Kansas State. This weekend could shake some things up if Baylor found a way to come out on top. These two faced off back in February when Kansas State went home with the first win of two matchups, 70-63. Kamau Stokes had 20 points, including his own 3 after Carter Diarra’s that started an 11-0 run for the Wildcats against an undermanned Baylor team. Kansas State is listed at -6 over Baylor on Saturday.

“Our effort was good enough to win, our execution wasn’t,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “As a coach, you hate it. Relating it to real life, you work really hard, you get a bad grade. You work really hard, you don’t get a paycheck. That’s how our guys feel.”

Baylor Looking to Improve

Expect Coach Drew and his squad to come out Saturday and execute better with a chip on their shoulder. The Bears enter this matchup on a three-game winning streak, with one of those wins coming on the road against No. 19 Iowa State. Junior Devonte Bandoo led Baylor with 15 points in the first matchup against K-State. Since sophomore Tristan Clark went out for the season with a knee injury, senior Makai Mason has taken over as the team’s leading scorer averaging 14.6 points. Mason was inactive in the first game against K-State and will give this team a much-needed boost on Saturday. Sophomore Mario Kegler averages 10.7 points and six rebounds for the Bears, as he looks to shoot better from the field this time around against the Wildcats.

Weber Leads Wildcats Charge

Bruce Weber is in his seventh year coaching Kansas State and has really helped turn this program around. Weber had all those years of tournament runs with the Fighting Illini and has really brought that mentality over to K-State. His team made it to the Elite Eight last season, as his team figures to make a run at it once more this season.

The Wildcats are led by 3 seniors in Barry Brown Jr, Dean Wade, and the aforementioned Kamau Stokes. Brown leads the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game and also contributes 2 steals per game. Wade is second on the team in scoring with 12.9 points and leads the Wildcats in rebounding with 6.3 per game. Stokes led the way with 20 points in the first meeting against Baylor, as he is fourth on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game. Another guy to keep an eye on is junior Xavier Snead who averages 10.3 points and 5.4 rebounds.