Hartford vs. Baylor Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
Oddsmakers aren’t giving Baylor Bears supporters any breaks in the club’s NCAA Tournament opener. The Bears are set as 26-point favourites against the Hartford Hawks on Friday, which is the largest spread on the NCAA odds board. Baylor, the No. 1 seed in the South region and the No. 2 overall seed in the Tournament, is coming off a loss to Oklahoma State in the semifinals of the Big 12 conference tourney.
Hartford vs. Baylor NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Hartford and Baylor have been solid bets this year with the Hawks checking in at 14-8-1 against the spread (ATS) and the Bears at 15-9 ATS. Hartford’s defence will have to be the difference here. The Hawks rank 32nd nationally allowing just 64.2 points per game, which has helped the under cash in 15 of their 23 games, but they’ll have their work cut out for them against Baylor. The Bears put up 85.3 points per contest, good for third overall in the country.
(16) Hartford Hawks
This is Hartford’s first trip to the Big Dance in school history after the Hawks earned an automatic bid by winning the America East title. The Hawks are led by a couple of senior guards – Austin Williams and Traci Carter. Williams puts up 13.7 points and grabs 6.7 boards per game, while Carter leads the club in assists and steals. They will have to have the games of their lives to keep this one close.
(1) Baylor Bears
This is the first time Baylor has been awarded a No. 1 seed and this club can fill up the cup in a lot of different ways, but they’re most lethal from beyond the arc. They lead the nation shooting 42.9 per cent from outside. Jared Butler averages 17.1 points and hits 44.4 per cent of his treys, while MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell can be just as dangerous. COVID-19 forced Baylor to miss about three weeks of action in early February but that hasn’t seemed to slow down the Bears much. Baylor is 5-2 since then, taking down three Top 25 teams in West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
