Texas Tech at Texas: 3/11/21 College Basketball Picks and Prediction
Photo by Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Texas Longhorns (17-7) vs Texas Tech Red Raiders (17-9)
Game Info: Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 9:30 pm (T-Mobile Center)
Betting Odds: Texas Longhorns +1.5 -- Over/Under: 135.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
The 20th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders and 13th ranked Texas Longhorns will square off at the T-Mobile Center in the Quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship this Thursday night.
The 20th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders finished their regular season with an overall record of 17-9 and earned the 6-seed in the Big 12 Championship with a conference record of 9-8. Texas Tech had a decent offense this season which currently ranks 124th in scoring offense & 151st in FG%, however, the Red Raiders were once against successful behind their defense that comes into this matchup ranked 25th in scoring defense, 43rd in defensive FG%, & 6th in turnover margin. Texas Tech had an up-and-down season in Big 12 play, however, the Red Raiders do come into this game with some momentum winning 3 of their last 4 games.
On the season, Texas Tech is averaging 73.3 ppg on 44.5% shooting from the field. The Red Raiders are averaging 6.2 three-pointers per game on 34.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Texas Tech has been led by Mac McClung (16.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.3 apg), Terrence Shannon Jr. (12.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 spg), Kyler Edwards (10.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.0 spg), & Kevin McCullar (10.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.6 spg).
Defensively, Texas Tech is holding their opponents to an average of 63.3 ppg on 40.8% shooting from the field. The Red Raiders have a rebound margin of 2.3 and a turnover margin of 5.0.
The 13th ranked Texas Longhorns finished their regular season with an overall record of 17-7 and earned the 3-seed in the Big 12 Championship with a conference record of 11-6. Texas was solid on both ends of the court this season and come into this game ranked 84th in scoring offense, 118th in scoring defense, & 49th in defensive FG%. Texas has a strong start to their conference schedule with wins against Oklahoma State, Kansas, & West Virginia, however, the Longhorns struggled a bit during the 2nd half of season and come into this game losing 5 of their last 11 games.
On the season, Texas is averaging 74.9 ppg on 45.2% shooting from the field. The Longhorns are averaging 8.6 three-pointers per game on 35.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Texas has been led by Andrew Jones (14.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.0 spg), Courtney Ramey (13.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.0 spg), Matt Coleman (12.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.3 spg), & Greg Brown (10.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.1 bpg).
Defensively, Texas is allowing their opponents to average 68.2 ppg on 40.9% shooting from the field. The Longhorns have a rebound margin of 4.2 and a turnover margin of -1.3.
The Red Raiders are 6-15 ATS in their last 21 games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss. The Longhorns are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall, however, are just 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Texas comes into this game with the better ranking, however, this is a team that lost both games to Texas Tech this season and struggled offensively in their last matchup, scoring just 59 points. Texas Tech has looked like a better offensive team since getting Kevin McCullar back from injury and as I think the Red Raiders defense is going to give Texas some trouble, I am taking the Red Raiders to cover this small spread. Good Luck!
Brett’s Pick Texas Tech Red Raiders -1.5
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
