Texas @ Baylor preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 4, 2017 ) Baylor 75, Texas 64

Baylor hosts Texas on Saturday in a battle of bigs as Big 12 Conference play continues. The teams, battling injuries and illness, are led by strong frontcourt play.

Mohamed Bamba, Texas' 6-11 freshman forward, is averaging 16 points, 15.5 rebounds and 6.0 blocks in his first two conference games. Junior Dylan Osetkowski, the Longhorns' leading scorer, is coming off a career-high 25 points in an overtime win at Iowa State. Jo Lual-Acuil missed Baylor's league-opener but returned for a 28-point, 11-rebound performance in an overtime loss to TCU. Senior Terry Maston is also getting back in the groove after missing a six games with a broken hand, scoring 20 points his last time out.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT TEXAS (10-4, 1-1 Big 12): Osetkowski leads the Longhorns with 15.5 points while Bamba adds 11.7 points and league-bests in rebounds (10.7) and blocks (4.5). Guards Eric Davis (13.5 points in Big 12 play) and Matt Coleman (14.5 points in Big 12 play) have filled in well for Andrew Jones (13.5 points this season), who missed four games with an injured wrist and has been limited in the past two games due to an illness. "He just has not been feeling himself," coach Shaka Smart said of Jones - the team's leading scorer before his injury - during Thursday's teleconference. "He just has not had the stamina and the energy that he normally has. It's not for lack of trying."

ABOUT BAYLOR (10-4, 0-2): Manu Lecomte leads the Bears with 16.8 points but has struggled form the 3-point line in the past two games, going 2-of-11 after hitting 46.1 percent during non-conference play. Lual-Acuil adds 16.1 points and 10.1 rebounds as five Bears - including Maston's 11.3 points off the bench - average double figures. The Bears hit double-digit 3-pointers in their final five non-conference games but are 4-of-24 in two league games while allowing 17.

TIP-INS

1. Texas is 3-0 on the road after losing all 11 true road games last year.

2. Lual-Acuil's seven double-doubles - one more than Bamba - is good for second place in the Big 12 Conference.

3. Bamba's 4.5 blocks are second nationally behind Marshall's Ajdin Penava (4.7).

PREDICTION: Baylor 70, Texas 66