Saint Mary’s Gaels vs. No. 7 Baylor Bears
Thursday, 12/22/11, 10:30 PM EST, TV: ESPN3
Opening Point Spread: Baylor -4
Current Betting Line: Baylor -4
Opening Total: 136
Current Total: 136
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Saint Mary’s returns to familiar territory Thursday night when it travels to Las Vegas and the Orleans Arena to take on the ranked Baylor Bears. The Gaels will be seeking to gain revenge from a dismal 72-49 loss to the Bears during the 2010 NCAA tournament. The program comes in riding a wave of momentum in winning eight consecutive games since dropping a 70-58 decision to the Denver Pioneers as seven-point road favorites on Nov. 23.
The Gaels are led offensively by senior forward Rob Jones, who is averaging 14.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. “Saint Mary’s has two outstanding players,” commented Eastern Washington head coach Jim Hayford after Wednesday night’s game. “Jones was very hard to guard.” The team’s current eight-game win streak is just one shy of the fourth-longest in school history. Saint Mary’s has dropped four straight and 11 of 14 versus ranked competition.
Baylor needs to keep its focus against its first opponent in Sin City and avoid looking ahead to playing a future Big 12 Conference opponent in West Virginia on Friday. The Bears are averaging 80.0 points on 50.5 percent shooting and are just two games removed from tallying a 86-83 win over the BYU Cougars as four-point road underdogs. The program is one of only six undefeated Division I teams remaining and is in search of only its second 11-0 season start in school history. Baylor is 5-2 all-time in Sin City and makes its first trip to the desert since 1982.
The Bears have tallied a 35-12 record in the month of December and are 80-22 against non-conference opponents during the Scott Drew era. He is tied with Kansas head man Bill Self as the second-longest tenured man on the sidelines in the Big 12 Conference, as both of them trail only Texas Longhorns head coach Rick Barnes. Sophomore forward Perry Jones III leads the team in scoring 16.2 points per game and is joined by three other starters in averaging double figures in points. He was recently named a candidate for the 2012 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year award.
Bettors will likely back the Bears due to their 4-1 ATS mark versus West Coast Conference members, while the Gaels are 2-6-1 ATS following a spread victory.
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