After a strong start to the season, ACU will travel to Waco on Monday to face Baylor University. It is the team’s first matchup against a Power Four opponent since last season when the Wildcats faced the University of Arkansas.
The Wildcats went 1-2 against Power Four opponents last season, winning against Oklahoma State 64-59 and losing to Arkansas and North Carolina State.
Monday’s matchup will be the first time the Wildcats and the Bears have seen each other since 2012, a game that Baylor won 103-75.
Both teams are similar on paper, however, the Wildcats will be fighting an uphill battle as the underdogs on Monday.
ACU has a 6-3 record this season and is coming off a 78-70 victory over New Mexico State. Baylor has played one less game with a 5-3 record and is coming off a 76-72 defeat at the hands of the defending national champions, the University of Connecticut.
The Bears fell from the national rankings in Monday’s poll after the loss to UConn.
This season the Wildcats are scoring 78.2 points per game and allowing 70.2. On the other side, Baylor is scoring 83.4 PPG while allowing 73.4.
The two leading scorers for the Wildcats this season are Leonardo Bettiol, junior forward from Roncade, Italy, averaging 15 PPG and Quion Williams, junior guard from Jonesboro, Arkansas, averaging 14.1 PPG.
Baylor’s standout players this season have been Norchad Omier who is averaging a double-double with 15 PPG and 10 rebounds per game and freshman Robert Wright III who is averaging 13.1 PPG and shooting 47% from three.
Both teams are averaging 36 rebounds per game, however, ACU is outrebounding its opponents by an average margin of 7.6. The Wildcats have outrebounded opponents all season and won every game that they have won the rebound battle.
An area that ACU has struggled in this season is three-point shooting, as a team the Wildcats shoot 34%. If ACU wants to beat Baylor, then the team will need to shoot the ball well from three as Baylor is allowing opponents to shoot 39% from three.
The Wildcat’s best three-point shooter, Hunter Jack Madden, senior guard from Sydney, Australia, shot 5-8 from three in Wednesday’s matchup against New Mexico State. Madden is shooting 40% from three this season and will be a key player to watch in Monday’s game.
ACU has struggled with turning the ball over this season, averaging 14.3 per game and allowing opponents to score 12.7 PPG off turnovers. The Wildcats will need to limit turnovers against a Baylor team that is forcing 15.3 turnovers per game and scoring 18.5 PPG off those turnovers.
Monday’s game will show ACU where they stand against one of the top teams in college basketball and gauge how ready the team is for conference play next month.
