Today, the Texas Tech basketball team needs to respond after a disappointing showing against UCF in Tuesday's Big 12 opener. To do that, they'll have to do something they've yet to even attempt this year, win in an opponent's home arena.
When the Red Raiders play at Utah this evening, it will be the first time all season that Tech has played a true road game. It will be interesting to see how head coach Grant McCasland's team responds to that challenge as well as how it responds after the 87-83 loss to the Knights to begin conference play.
After being picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll, Utah comes into this game a respectable 8-4 on the season. However, only one of their losses this year has come at home.
In early December, Utah fell 72-63 at home to Saint Mary's. Considering that the Gaels are 12-3 on the year and one of the better mid-major programs in the country, that loss is not unforgivable.
The rest of Utah's losses have come to major-conference opponents Mississippi State (78-73), Iowa (95-88), and No. 25 Baylor (81-56).
Meanwhile, the Utes have yet to secure a win over an opponent from a power conference. What's more, they are ranked just 73rd in the latest NCAA Net Rankings. Still, because Utah is in the top 75 of that ranking, this would be a Quad-1 win for the Red Raiders should they prevail tonight on the road.
What should frighten Texas Tech fans is that Utah's top two scorers are guards and both can shoot the 3-pointer. 6-foot-6 senior Gabe Madsen leads the team at 17.5 points per game and is shooting 38.7% from 3-point range thus far. Meanwhile, 6-foot-4 senior Mason Madsen, Gabe's twin brother, is averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 45.3% from beyond the arc.
In the post, the Utes have a rim-protector in 7-foot-1 Lawson Lovering. He averages 12.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game. Hopefully, he doesn't impact Texas Tech's ability to score in the paint because that's where the Red Raiders have done some damage this year, especially leading scorer JT Toppin.
It will be imperative that Tech finds a way to come out of Salt Lake City, Utah with a win tonight. That's because the next five games on the schedule are tough with a trip to BYU followed by a home game with No. 3 Iowa State, a road game at Kansas State, a home game against Arizona, and a road trip to No. 16 Cincinatti.
In fact, this could be one of the most sneaky-important games of the season for Tech. Thus, Red Raider fans will want to tune in to see how it unfolds. Let's take a look at all the game info, starting with the broadcast information.
Texas Tech vs. Utah broadcast information
Tip: 6 p.m. Central
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network
Streaming: Varsity Network
Texas Tech vs. Utah series history
Utah leads the all-time series 4-3.
Last meeting: Utah won 73-63 on Nov. 19, 2015 in Puerto Rico.
Tech is 1-1 in Salt Lake City.
Texas Tech vs. Utah Odds
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.com.
Favorite | Moneyline | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|
Texas Tech -2.5 | Texas Tech -146 | 152.5 |
Texas Tech vs. Utah game notes
All notes courtesy of TexasTech.com.
- The Red Raiders lead the conference with a 58.8 effective field goal percentage, shooting 51.1 percent from the field and at 79.2 percent from the free-throw line. Tech is currently eighth in the nation in shooting percentage and is second in the Big 12 and 20th nationally from 3-point range (114-for-291) after going 13-for-29 in the 44-point win over Lamar before struggling at 3-for-16 in the loss against UCF.
- Utah is coming off an 81-56 loss to No. 25 Baylor on Tuesday in Waco and is currently 8-1 on its home court. The Red Raiders and Utes will be meeting for the first time as Big 12 foes and for the eighth time overall. Tech is 3-4 all-time against Utah with the last matchup coming on November 19, 2015, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Utes won that game, 73-63, after Tech had won a 65-54 game back in 2003 in New York. The programs met for the first time on December 27, 1966 with the Utes winning 93-79 in Lubbock. Tech will play in Salt Lake City for the third time with the programs splitting the previous two meetings in those games. Tech last played at Utah in 1981, earning a 71-65 win.
- Tech's stretch of three straight games with 10 or more 3s ended against UCF after Tech went just 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from 3-point range in the Big 12 opener. The Red Raiders have shot over 50 percent from 3-point range in three games this season: Bethune (53.3), Wyoming (55.6), and Northern Colorado (56.5).