The Bears are Rolling - Baylor vs. Auburn

Auburn Tigers 7:00 ET

NIT Tournament sports betting action picks back up Tuesday evening when Head Coach Scott Drew and his Baylor Bears (22-14, 11-17 ATS) invade SEC territory to take on the upstart Auburn Tigers (24-11, 21-7 ATS). Fresh off its Championship Game run in the Big 12 Tournament, Baylor has won each of its first two CBB betting contests in the NIT. They struggled to get past a feisty Georgetown Hoyas outfit in their first game, but rolled to the impressive road win and cover as 4.5-point underdogs against Virginia Tech their last time out. Auburn dropped just its seventh game against the closing BetUS pointspread in their first round meeting with Tennessee Martin, but then trounced Tulsa 74-55 as 5.5-point chalks in Round 2. As a visitor this season, Baylor was horrible. They managed to win just two of their 10 true road games; those two victories just so happened to be their only two ATS road wins as well. As for Auburn, it’s been one of the most dominant home teams throughout the 2008-09 season compiling 18-3 SU & 11-3 ATS marks.

college basketball wagers this season. They went 12-3 SU & 11-4 ATS when installed the favorite, and they’re a stellar 10-2 ATS their L/12 as a home chalk.

After crushing CBB bettor’s hearts by failing to cover against Georgetown in Round 1 of the NIT, the Bears took care of business bright and early in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech last Saturday. They bombarded the Hokies early and often storming out to a 22-5 first half lead that blossomed into a dominating 41-21 lead at the break. When it was all said and done, the Bears shot just under 62% for the game which was the worst FG% allowed by the Hokies this season. Seniors Kevin Rogers and Curtis Jerrells scored 16 apiece to lead the team in scoring, but a total of six players scored in double-figures.

The Tigers sauntered their way into the NIT Quarterfinals for the first time in the programs history after demolishing the Tulsa Golden Hurricane by 19-points their last time out. They took out Tulsa’s stars, and hit the Golden Hurricane where it really hurt throughout the entire game. Auburn’s “D” limited Tulsa’s Ben Uzoh and James Jordan to 13 and four-points respectively. They also managed to convert 8-of-21 3-point attempts (38%) against a Tulsa “D” that came in ranked 2nd in the country allowing opponents to convert at a 27% clip on the year. The effort was one of the Tigers best overall performances this season; save for the 14 turnovers.

I’ve been riding the Baylor Bears since their first round meeting with Nebraska in the B12 Tournament, and I’m not going to stop now. Yes, this veteran team performed well below expectations during the regular season but it’s not effecting their current play. It’s tricky to fade such a dominating home team in this spot, but the SEC was down this year and Big 12 rep Baylor certainly has the tools at hand to exploit younger Auburn. "We have a senior-laden group and they provide great leadership," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "They've been playing well and they want to keep playing. I’m looking for them to continue doing so, and that’s why we’ll be backing Baylor rather large this evening. Grab as many points as you can and play them smaller on the $$$-Line for an added value punch!

Rose’s Recommendation: 4* Baylor (+3) / 1* Baylor +140

(Grading scale = 1* to 5*)