Oregon Ducks vs No. 1 Baylor Bears preview, prediction, and odds

The Oregon Ducks host the defending national champion Baylor Bears at Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday evening.

Key Players to Watch

Oregon Ducks

If N’Faly Dante approaches 20 points in this one like he did against Portland, Oregon’s chances of pulling off the upset go up considerably.

Certainly nice games from Richardson, Young, and Harmon would be instrumental – you need everyone playing well to beat the top team in the country – but an efficient performance from Dante on both ends of the floor would make the biggest impact on this game’s outcome.

Baylor Bears

The Bears are led in scoring by guards L.J. Cryer and Kendall Brown, but the key player for them on Saturday is going to be 6’8 forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua. Tchatchoua is averaging 8.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.

He’ll likely be in charge of trying to stop Oregon’s bigs – Dante, Kepnang, and Johnson – plus he’ll need to have a good game offensively to help put some pressure on Oregon’s frontcourt depth.

Final Score Prediction and Betting Odds: