Oklahoma vs Baylor Odds, Pick: Key Big 12 Battle

Oklahoma and Baylor are set to face off Tuesday night with both programs sitting only a 1/2 game apart in the Big 12 standings.

As has been the case throughout their road schedule in conference play, Oklahoma is likely to see another hostile crowd in Waco, considering this will be its last visit before moving to the SEC.

Baylor is looking to avoid consecutive losses after falling to Kansas in a low scoring battle on Saturday. Here's Oklahoma vs. Baylor odds and a pick.

The Sooners have been a pleasant surprise to their fanbase this season.

A main contributor to Oklahoma's surprisingly effective play has been Siena transfer Javian McCollum. Low major transfers don't always translate well to the toughest league in the country, but McCollum is the Sooners' leading scorer at 14.2 points per game.

McCollum is one of Porter Moser's best offensive options, but he's a mediocre defender — at best. The challenge for Moser will be coming up with a game plan to hide his weaknesses defensively against an elite offensive team in Baylor.

Otega Oweh, who's just a sophomore, may be just the defender Moser needs to cover up some of the other holes in his defensive unit.

Baylor will need a much cleaner effort than its most recent one against Kansas if it hopes to escape with a win against a well-coached Oklahoma team.

The Bears uncharacteristically turned it over 21 times at Kansas on Saturday. Yes, playing in Allen Fieldhouse can occasionally do that to even the soundest of teams, but a backcourt led by NBA lottery prospect Ja'Kobe Walter and an experienced RayJ Dennis is simply better than that.

Walter is another excellent true freshman in a long line of strong Scott Drew recruits. Walter is a 6-foot-5 combo guard known for his driving and slashing ability, yet he's already proven his shooting prowess as well.

Walter, Dennis and Langston Love present a tough trio to shut down on the perimeter when they're all healthy. Opposing teams may be able to face guard and limit one option or two, but stopping all three has proven to be a difficult task.

When all three are on the court, Baylor has proven its offensive ceiling is top-five in the country, per KenPom.

For the trio to contribute together on Tuesday, the Bears will need to get Love back from an ankle injury that sidelined him on Saturday.

Baylor is much better offensively than it showed on Saturday in Lawrence. I expect the Bears to look much more settled and calm back home in Waco, especially early.

If Love is able to play, I expect the backcourt of Baylor to take much better care of the basketball.

Oklahoma won't go down easily. It's sound defensively and doesn't tend to take bad shots to try to close a margin in one big chunk.

Therefore, I'm more inclined to take the Bears to give the Sooners their best punch early and cover the first half spread.

Pick: Baylor 1H -3 (Play to -4)