Texas Tech basketball fans have hardly had enough time to come down off of the high they had after Saturday's 82-81 win at No. 6 Houston before having to turn their attention to another mammoth conference game. Tonight, the Red Raiders turn right around and host a dangerous Baylor team at United Supermarkets Arena looking to extend their current winning streak to seven games.
One has to wonder how Texas Tech will respond after such a monumental win just days ago. Will the momentum and the confidence gained from beating the Cougars carry over to tonight's contest or did that Herculean effort take so much out of head coach Grant McCasland's team that the Red Raiders are in danger of a letdown at home? Only time will tell.
Baylor comes into this game riding high after their own improbable win on Saturday. That's because the Bears erased a 19-point halftime deficit at home to storm past Kansas 81-70 in Waco outscoring the Jayhawks by 30 in the second half.
That was Baylor's third win in the last four games. However, the Bears still aren't playing up to expectations this season.
After starting the season ranked No. 8 in the country, Baylor sits unranked in the latest poll. They have an overall record of just 14-7 and a mark of 6-4 in Big 12 action.
Life on the road has not been too kind to Baylor this season. In Big 12 games, they are just 2-3 in opposing teams' gyms. They also have road losses at UCONN and Gonzaga this season.
That doesn't mean that head coach Scott Drew doesn't have a dangerous team, though. In fact, on paper, he still has one of the most talented rosters in the conference.
6-foot-7 forward Norchad Omier, a transfer from Miami who was their biggest offseason acquisition, leads the team with 15.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. His matchup with JT Toppin tonight should be fun to watch.
Senior point guard Jeremy Roach, a transfer from Duke, is putting up 11.9 points and 3.5 assists per game. He's a veteran leader who has been through many college basketball wars and he will be a player that Tech must contain this evening.
Also, former five-star recruit and true freshman VJ Edgecombe is a future NBA Lottery pick. Prior to playing only 25 minutes and scoring just 14 points against Kansas due to a turned ankle, he had scored 28, 21, and 30 points respectively in his three previous games as he has been playing his best basketball of the season in recent weeks. Though he didn't finish the game against Kansas, he is likely to play tonight.
What makes this game frightening for Texas Tech is that Baylor comes in confident and looking to make a name for itself. With Tech's win over Houston, the No. 13 Red Raiders are now on the national radar and while the attention is nice, it also makes them a trophy that other teams want to hunt.
Tonight, Tech can't have a letdown following Saturday's emotional win over Houston if they want to keep pace in the Big 12 regular season race. Baylor will present significant challenges and it will be fascinating to see how this game plays out.
Texas Tech vs. Baylor broadcast information
Tip: 8 p.m. Central
TV: ESPN2
TV CALL: Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play), King McClure (analyst)
RADIO: TEXAS TECH SPORTS NETWORK
RADIO CALL: Geoff Haxton (play-by-play), Chris Level (analyst)
Texas Tech vs. Baylor series history
This is the only scheduled matchup between Tech and Baylor in the regular season. The Red Raiders and Bears split last season's series with the home team winning each game. Tech earned a 78-68 win in Lubbock in the regular-season finale and now holds an 83-65 advantage in the all-time series which began in 1937. The Red Raiders are 48-22 at home against Baylor all-time.
Texas Tech vs. Baylor odds
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.com.
Favorite | Moneyline | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|
Texas Tech -8.5 | Baylor +280 | 142.5 |
Texas Tech vs. Baylor game notes
Notes courtesy of TexasTech.com.
- The Red Raiders (17-4, 8-2 Big 12) are off to the program’s best 10-game start in Big 12 history and also come in at No. 8 in the NCAA NET and No. 9 on the Kenpom ratings. Along with polls and rankings, they were also named the team of the week by Andy Katz and Dick Vitale after ending a 33-game home winning streak and 13-game overall streak by the Cougars.
- Texas Tech went 12-for-30 on 3-pointers in the win against Houston and now has made 10 or more 3-pointers in 12 of 21 games this season. The Red Raiders will come into their matchup against Baylor leading the Big 12 by shooting 48.8 percent from the field and are second in the conference by shooting 38.2 percent from 3-point range (9.4 per game) and with a 1.54 assist-to-turnover ratio. Tech is third in the Big 12 by scoring 81.4 points per game and at 76.0 percent at the free-throw line after going 24-for-34 at the line against Houston, including making 3-of-4 in the overtime session.
- Baylor head coach Scott Drew is in his 22nd season in Waco where he has a 458-251 record leading the program. McCasland was an assistant coach under Drew at Baylor from 2011-16 and also played for the Bears from 1995-99 and graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship and management.