Texas Tech basketball: Louisville game preview and broadcast info
Here is everything you need to know about tonight’s Texas Tech basketball game against No. 1 Louisville at Madison Square Garden.
Tonight, the Texas Tech basketball program will get its first-ever shot at one of the most well-respected programs in the nation, Louisville. Part of the Jimmy V Classic, which raises money for the V Foundation for cancer research and is named after the late Jim Valvano who led the N.C. State Wolfpack to the national title in 1983, the Red Raiders and the Cardinals will do battle at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night at 6 pm CST.
This is the third-straight year that Tech has played at the legendary MSG. In 2017, Chris Beard’s team lost to Seaton Hall 89-79 and last season, No. 2 Duke took down the Red Raiders 69-58. While this is a first-time opponent for the program, it is not the first time that Tech has taken on the No. 1 team in the nation. Unfortunately, Tech has yet to win any of its six previous games against teams sitting atop the polls.
According to ActionNetwork.com, Tech enters as a 6-point underdog with 80% of this game’s action being put on the Cardinals to cover. With an over-under of just 125, this game is expected to be played in the low-to-mid 60s, something that might play into Tech’s favor given how tough it has been to score points without leading scorer Jahmi’us Ramsey in the mix for the last two-plus games.
Beard has said that it is a game-time-decision on whether his star freshman will give it a go tonight but being how cautious Tech is with injuries, it would be a small surprise to see the dynamic guard take the court tonight.
In the current 3-game losing streak, the Red Raiders have averaged just 65.6 points per game which is no surprise given that Ramsey has missed all of that action but the first half and a few possessions of the second against Iowa. Taking his 17.3 points per game out of the lineup has been a crippling blow.
Still, Tech has had a shot to win each of its last three games but the young Red Raiders have not come up with the key plays in each game.
"“We’ve been in three really close one-possession games where a basket or a stop there and our record and our mood feels a lot different,” Beard said. “To me, you stay the course. We could be sitting here with an 8-0 record instead of three losses but we’re still the same team. The idea is to get better each game and I think we are doing that. It hasn’t shown on the scoreboard yet, but I remain confident that it will.”"
With just four games remaining until the start of Big 12 play, it is time that this year’s squad had better start to figure out how to beat good teams in close games. Tech is now 0-3 against teams from one of the six major conferences and now they tangle with one of the best in the ACC.