Norfolk State Spartans vs Baylor Bears Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/17/2022

Game Time: 2:00 pm ET, Thursday, March 17, 2022

Venue:  Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX

Where to Watch:  TBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Norfolk +21.5, Baylor -21.5; Over/Under:  137.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Norfolk +21.5, Baylor -21.5; Over/Under:  137.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Norfolk +21.5, Baylor -21.5; Over/Under:  137.5 points

 

Norfolk State Spartans:  24-6 (1st place, MEAC)

Baylor Bears:  26-6 (2nd place, Big 12)

 

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Norfolk State Spartans:  5-0 last 5

Baylor Bears:  4-1 last 5

 

 

 

Norfolk State is coming into this game with a 24-6 record overall and they are 6-0 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 9 of their last 10 games and are coming into this one on a 6 game winning streak. Their last loss was against the Morgan State Bears while their 6 wins since then have come against the South Carolina State Bulldogs, the NC Central Eagles, the Howard Bison, the Delaware State Hornets, Morgan State, and the Coppin State Eagles in their last game. Joe Bryant Jr. led the team in points in that game with 23 while Jalen Hawkins was next on the team with 17 points. Kris Bankston led the team in assists in that game with 3 while Dana Tate Jr. and Bankston both led the team in rebounds with 8. They are 46.6% from the field, 34.8% from 3-point range, and 69.8% from the free throw line with their shooting this season. Their offense is averaging 75.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 63.7 PPG against them. Norfolk State has an ATS record of 17-19-1 this season and their O/U record is 12-15.

 

 

Baylor is coming into this game with a 26-6 record overall and they are 3-1 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 5 of their last 6 games and are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game which snapped a 5 game winning streak that they were on. Their 5 wins in that span were against the TCU Horned Frogs, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Kansas Jayhawks, the Texas Longhorns, and the Iowa State Cyclones while their loss came against the Oklahoma Sooners in their last game. James Akinjo led the team in points in that game with 16 while Jeremy Sochan off the bench was next on the team with 13 points. Adam Flagler led the team in assists in that game with 4 while Sochan led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 38.5% from the field, 13.6% from 3-point range, and 87.5% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 76.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 63.6 PPG against them. Baylor has an ATS record of 16-15-1 this season and their O/U record is 17-14-1.

 

Norfolk State is coming into this game as a 21.5 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Norfolk State has been playing very well recently and they had a very good season as they owned most of their conference for the season. They have really been heating up in their last few games though as they blew through their conference tourney and have been winning a lot of their recent games by double digits. They are going up against a Baylor side that still has their own problems to fix coming into this game and they have not been playing the greatest recently. Baylor had a great season but they started to fade near the finish line with some wins in closer games but it was in the Big 12 tourney where their real problems came out. They were shocked in their first game as Oklahoma knocked them out with a 5 point win. They have not been playing great on defense recently which is something that they were doing well during the season but recently they have been winning closer games because they are letting their opponents hang around in games and giving them opportunities to try and come back. Baylor is still the better team here and should win this game but with the way they have been playing on defense recently, they will leave room for Norfolk State to creep back in a little and Norfolk State should end up covering the spread here.

 

Norfolk State Baylor Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, March 17, 2022 (2:00 pm ET start time) is Baylor 74 Norfolk State 60.

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Norfolk State Spartans: 13-18 ATS off a win by 10 points or more over a conference rival. 10-3 UNDER in all neutral court games. 8-2 UNDER in all tournament games.

Baylor Bears: 12-5 ATS in all neutral court games. 26-19 ATS in a neutral court game where the total is 130 to 139.5. 40-22 UNDER after a game committing 8 or less turnovers.

 

 

Norfolk State Spartans:  None.

Baylor Bears:  K. Brown (G) Ques Thurs - Lower Body injury. L. Cryer (G) Late March - Foot injury. J. Tchamwa Tchatchoua (F) out for season - Knee injury. L. Love (G) out for season - Knee injury.

 

 

“Winning the MEAC last year, that meant a lot because it was my first time going dancing. Now I have the experience, and I’ve been here before.” - Joe Bryant on the team making it into this game.

 

 

"I was proud of the way our guys competed at the end, where we pressed and cut it to a one-possession game, but how we started both halves was probably a key to the game. I probably did a bad job of preparing our guys." - Scott Drew on his team’s loss against Oklahoma in the Big 12 tourney.

 

 

 

D. Anderson 

K. Bankston 

J. Bryant 

N. Chambers 

C. Ings

 

J. Akinjo 

K. Brown 

A. Flagler 

M. Mayer 

F. Thamba

 

 

PPG: J. Hawkins (17.7)

APG: J. Bryant Jr. (2.7)

Reb/G: D. Tate Jr. (8.7)

 

PPG: A. Flagler (13.8)

APG: J. Akinjo (5.8)

Reb/G: J. Tchamwa Tchatchoua (6.8)

 

Coaches:

Norfolk State Spartans: Robert Jones (9th season)

Baylor Bears: Scott Drew (19th season)