The Texas Tech Red Raiders are getting set to meet up with the UCF Knights for a Saturday afternoon matchup in Orlando, Florida. And this is such a fascinating chance for Texas Tech to go out and be able to build on its resume.
While the Red Raiders already have a solid and very respectable resume, they’re currently in second place in the Big 12 standings and are facing a team that is 16-4 overall. Plus, this game is on the road. It’s a chance to show that Texas Tech can win road games against solid competition ahead of a home game against some solid competition.
As Texas Tech gets set for this matchup against UCF, I have a few questions that I’d like to see the Red Raiders answer as they take on the Knights this weekend.
Will the Red Raiders finally get a little revenge against the UCF Knights?
It’s been a while since Texas Tech had a chance to play the UCF Knights. The last meeting between the two teams came back in December 2024. And unfortunately for the Red Raiders, Texas Tech has had to just sit and deal with the fact that the Knights have won the past couple matchups against them.
Does that change this weekend?
I think this Red Raider men’s basketball team is more than capable of beating the Knights, but there’s a complicating factor in that the Red Raiders haven’t exactly thrived in road games this season.
And that includes their three point shooting. Which leads me to my next question.
Will Texas Tech’s 3 point shooting translate when playing in Orlando?
It’s not that Texas Tech is bad or underwhelming when it comes to shooting from behind the three point line, but the Red Raiders have seen a couple of rough road losses (by really close margins) in games where their three point shooting evaporated against good teams.
Like the Illinois Fighting Illini, who managed to clamp down on Texas Tech’s shooting and held the Red Raiders to 27.3 percent from three point range in that 81-77 loss for the Red Raiders. Or the Houston Cougars, who also beat Texas Tech by four points as they limited the Red Raiders to 32.1 percent shooting from deep.
How will the Red Raiders shoot this weekend? Will Texas Tech be able to go out and score a bunch of points from behind the three point line in Orlando?
And then how will Texas Tech handle the turnaround after this game?
After playing the UCF Knights in Orlando, Grant McCasland and the Texas Tech Red Raiders will head back to West Texas to welcome the Kansas Jayhawks on Monday. Neither UCF or Kansas look to be the most imposing foes ever, but both could pose problems (especially if the Red Raiders don’t rotate effectively).
I admittedly don’t love the fact that Texas Tech doesn’t utilize a deeper rotation or the fact that the bench hasn’t been all that productive at times. And I’m curious as to how that might impact Texas Tech over the next couple games.