Norfolk State vs Baylor Game Information

Norfolk State vs Baylor Preview

No. 15 Baylor (6-3, 4-0 at Home) hosts Norfolk State (6-4, 3-3 on Road) in an MEAC-Big 12 conference mismatch in the Lone Star State early on Wednesday. Note the early 12 pm noon EST and 9 am PST tip off times if you plan on betting on this game. The Spartans head in here losers of 3 of 5, falling to Hofstra (80-67), Grand Canyon (91-73), and Stanford (70-63) and beating Stony Brook (77-66) and UC-Davis (76-55). After beating St. John’s in a thriller (99-98, 2OT), the Bears lost 2 of 4, falling to heavyweights and new No. 1 Tennessee (77-62) and the two-time defending national champions Connecticut (76-72) and crushing New Orleans (91-60) and Abilene Christian (88-57). Baylor’s biggest wins last season were by 59 points to Mississippi Valley State (107-48) and by 51 points vs Northwestern State (91-40) while this season its three biggest romps have been by 63 vs Tarleton State (104-41), and by 31 vs both New Orleans (91-60), and Abilene Christian (88-57). This one is likely to be one of those blowout types of mismatches.

Norfolk State Closest Loss to Baylor Was 17 Points

Norfolk State (6-2-0 ATS, 5-3-0 O/U) has been a good team to back at the betting window so far, but the Spartans will be tested here against a talented team from a Power 4 conference who already has 3 blowouts and 3 losses which is sure to fuel their fire. Norfolk State is led by G Brian Moore Jr. (20.2 ppg), G Christian Ings (13.3 ppg, 4.2 apg), F Jalen Myers (12.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg), G Sin’Cere McMahon (6.8 ppg), G Terrance Jones (6.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg), and F Kuluel Mading (5.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and this team averages 77.9 ppg (tied-#144) and gives up 67.4 ppg and averages 13.6 Assists Per Game (Tied-#226) and 32.7 Rebounds Per Game (#352). Norfolk State is 0-4 SU lifetime vs Baylor losing by 28 in 2009 (88-59), by 41 in 2014 (92-51), by 36 in March of 2022 (85-49), and by 17 in November of 2022 (87-70), covering as 24-Point Road Underdogs in Waco.

Norfolk State Betting Trends

• Norfolk State 6-2-0 ATS the last 8 games
• The Spartans won 5 straight games ATS from November 16-December 1
• The Over 2-0 in Norfolk State’s last 2 games
• The Spartans played 6 straight Road games November 12-December 1
• Norfolk State is 1-1 ATS the last 2 meetings with Baylor

Baylor in Position for Another 31-Point Blowout?

Baylor (4-5-0 ATS, 7-2-0 O/U) has been a solid Over team to start the season, and averaging 83.9 ppg (Tied-#37) and allowing 71.6, you can see why. The Bears went 24-11 (11-7 in the Big 12) and made it to the 2024 NCAA Tournament last season where they beat Colgate in the First Round (92-67) before losing to Clemson in the Second Round (84-72). Baylor did have a strong recruiting class and saw two players transfer in this season. The Bears have five players in double-digits in F Norchad Omier (15.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg), VCU Transfer G Jayden Nunn (12.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg), G Jeremy Roach (12.8 ppg, 4.1 apg), G Robert Wright III (12.6 ppg, 4.6 apg), and high-flying G VJ Edgecombe (11.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.0 apg). Head Coach Scott Drew saw some pivotal players from last year’s team leave including Keyonte George (NBA ‘s Jazz), Adam Flagler (NBA’s Thunder), Dale Bonner (transferred to Ohio State), Jordan Turner (transferred to Louisiana Tech), and talented G LJ Cryer, who transferred to state rivals Houston.

Baylor Betting Trends

• Baylor was 20-12-2 ATS last season (62.5%)
• The Bears have played 6 Overs in their last 7 games
• Baylor is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games overall after covering 3 straight
• The Over is 3-0-0 in Baylor’s last 3 games at Home
• The Over is 7-3-0 in the Bears last 10 games overall

Norfolk State vs Baylor Prediction

Baylor has laid a large lumber in non-conference mismatch games 3 times this season, giving 31.5 points to Texas State and covering in a 63-point slaughter (104-61), giving 37.5 points to New Orleans but failing to cover ATS in a 31-point romp, and in its last game vs Abilene Christian where the Bears won by 31 (again) and laying 24.5 points (88-57). Baylor is 4-0 SU in the last 4 vs Norfolk State and last covered ATS on March 17, 2022 when it was laying 20.5 points in a 85-49 win here in Waco. This Norfolk State vs Baylor NCAAB pick will look for the Home Favorites to win in the 30- to 36-point range and backing the Bears in the First Half may be wise. In Baylor’s last four games vs the Wildcats at Halftime, they have led by 21 (48-27), by 5 (32-27), by 16 (43-27) and by 8 (42-34), so it will all depend how focused the hosts are and how awake they will be at 10 am local time.

Kevin’s Pick: Baylor -25.5