The postseason has finally arrived for the Texas Tech basketball team as tonight, the No. 2 seeded Red Raiders take on No. 7 seed Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals. The winner will face either No. 3 seed Arizona or No. 6 seed Kansas in Friday's semifinals.
Texas Tech won the only other meeting between the two teams this season. Back on February 4, Tech secured a 73-59 victory over the Bears in Lubbock.
That night, Chance McMillian led all scorers with 19 points. He was 5-11 from 3-point range including three makes from beyond the arc in a 69-second span in the middle of the second half to blow open a tight game.
Meanwhile, Tech saw star forward JT Toppin play only 21 minutes and score just eight points while grabbing eight rebounds. In fact, Federiko Federiko played more minutes than Toppin (28) that night as he scored eight points and pulled down four rebounds.
Tonight's test will be tougher, though, because Baylor is healthier than it was in early February. The Bears were without star freshman forward VJ Edgecombe (who averages 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game), and point guard Jeremy Roach was making his return after missing four games because of a concussion. Tonight, both are expected to be at full strength.
Also missing the first meeting of the season between Tech and Baylor was Langston Love (8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds per game), who is also back in the lineup for the Bears.
Baylor likely comes into this game as the more desperate team. While Tech is hoping to play its way to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Bears are simply trying to ensure that they get an invite to the Big Dance. Squarely on the bubble, they did themselves a world of good by beating Kansas State 70-56 on Wednesday night, but they would ensure their tournament inclusion by taking down the No. 9 Red Raiders tonight.
Meanwhile, Tech has to balance the desire to play well in Kansas City with its need to stay healthy and fresh for next week's NCAA Tournament. Thus, it will be interesting to see how head coach Grant McCasland handles his eight-man rotation tonight.
Red Raider fans know that Tech has historically struggled in Kansas City. Thus, some will be watching this game expecting the worst.
However, this Red Raider team has a legitimate shot at cutting down the nets this weekend so there will be plenty of intrigue as these long-time rivals square off once more. So, let's take a look at all the game information that fans need to have prior to tip-off.
Texas Tech vs. Baylor broadcast information
Tip: 6 p.m. Central, Thursday, March 13, 2025
TV: ESPN
TV: Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), King McClure and Sean Farnham (analysts), Kris Budden (reporter)
TEXAS TECH SPORTS NETWORK: Geoff Haxton (play-by-play), Chris Level (analyst)
Texas Tech vs. Baylor series history
Texas Tech currently holds an 84-65 edge in the all-time series which began in 1937. Tonight's game will be the 150th meeting between the two programs.
Texas Tech vs. Baylor odds
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.com.
Favorite | Moneyline | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|
Texas Tech -6.5 | Baylor +225 | 140.5 |
Texas Tech vs. Baylor game notes
Notes courtesy of TexasTech.com.
- This is the third time in Texas Tech history that the Red Raiders have been the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. The Red Raiders, who were picked seventh in the preseason poll, were also the second seed in the 2018 and 2019 tournaments.
- Texas Tech will be playing in its 28th Big 12 Championship, where it is 17-27 all-time. The Red Raiders were the fourth seed in last year’s tournament, earning an 81-67 quarterfinal win over BYU before falling to Houston in the semifinals.
- Tech picked up a 68-65 win over Baylor on March 13, 2003 in the only other meeting in the Big 12 tournament between the programs. Andre Emmett led the Red Raiders with 23 points and eight rebounds in the 2003 first-round matchup at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas.
- Texas Tech enters the postseason after matching a Big 12 and program record with only two turnovers at Arizona State. Tech leads the Big 12 and is 11th nationally this season with a 1.65 assist-to-turnover ratio this season after adding 17 assists in the regular-season finale in Tempe… The Red Raiders have had 10 or less turnovers in 18 games this season and eight or less in the last three games of the regular season. The two turnovers were the second time the program has accomplished the rare feat, the last time coming in 2021 against West Virginia.