Well, it sure looks like the ESPN Matchup Predictor doesn't believe that Grant McCasland and his Texas Tech Red Raiders will have much of a shot to go on the road and beat the No. 4 team in the country this afternoon.
I mean, that math magical tool that goes through ESPN analytics and such really isn’t impressed with what the Red Raiders look like right now. The numbers look a little stacked against Texas Tech at the moment. So far, the Red Raiders have just a 22.9 percent chance of coming out on top.
And that’s bad! Very alarming stuff. I think. Maybe.
It’s hard to totally blame the computers for calculating that out. Even if JT Toppin had been healthy and available for this game, the Red Raiders are matchup up with the No. 4 team in the country. Iowa State is just a flat out good opponent.
ESPN says Iowa State has an overwhelming chance of beating the Texas Tech Red Raiders, which doesn’t feel ideal
There is the obvious of how Texas Tech is missing JT Toppin. That’s very consequential. He was one of the best in the country in scoring and rebounding and he’s just a phenomenal talent that you can’t easily replace. That’s just true.
And also, we have to talk about how Iowa State hasn’t lost a single game at home. Oh, and Iowa State happens to get 8.8 steals per game, shoots at a clean 50 percent from the field, holds opponents to under 65 points per game, and manages to score 82.8 points per game. The Cyclones are frighteningly good.
Still, this Texas Tech team beat the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats on the road, the No. 6 Houston Cougars in Lubbock, and the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils in New York.
There’s potential here.
There’s plenty of questions that need to be answered, but there’s potential. We’ll see if Texas Tech is ready to meet that potential.