Texas Tech basketball vs. Oklahoma: How to watch, game notes, and prediction

The Texas Tech basketball team faces another tough Big 12 test today on the road at No. 11 Oklahoma. Sitting atop the conference standings, the Red Raiders will be looking for their second true road win of the season to move to 16-3 overall and 5-1 in league action.

Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma broadcast information

Tip: 1 P.M. CST

TV: ESPN+

RADIO: DOUBLE T 97.3 FM

ONLINE: TEXASTECH.COM

Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma game notes

(All game notes courtesy of TexasTech.com)

Texas Tech and Oklahoma have met 74 times with the first game coming on December 27, 1944, in Oklahoma City. The Sooners won that game 61-31 and bring a 42-32 all-time advantage into Saturday’s game. Tech has won seven of the last 10 games in the series, including taking a 74-63 win in the last matchup coming on February 21, 2023, in Norman. The teams have split the regular-season matchups the past two seasons with the road teams winning both times last season.

Tech has been led in scoring by six different players in its 18 games with Isaacs leading the way with his 32 against BYU after Walton scored 18 at UH for his second team-high scoring performance… Isaacs had a streak of four straight game-high-scoring games before Toussaint's team-high 12 points against K-State… Isaacs has now led Tech in scoring eight times this season, including with his 24 points against Oklahoma State and 21 points at Texas.

The starting lineup of Pop Isaacs, Joe Toussaint, Warren Washington, Darrion Williams, and Kerwin Walton is currently 9-1 together with their only loss coming at Houston.

Isaacs is coming off a career-high 32 points against BYU where he went 6-for-9 on 3-pointers and also added four assists and three steals. He leads Tech with 16.9 points per game this season after also going for 12 points with three 3-pointers at Houston where he also had a team-high five assists. Isaacs has scored in double figures in a career-high nine straight games after having a streak of seven last season as a freshman. He currently has scored in double figures in 15 games this season and in 31 of his 43 career games.

Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma prediction

This is a game that is tough to pick. Most give the Sooners a slight edge because they are playing at home. However, the Lloyd Noble Center is one of the least intimidating environments in the Big 12. The OU fans don't have near the same fervor for hoops that they do for football and the student section in their arena is one of the smallest in the Big 12.

The Red Raiders have won three of their last four games at OU including last year's 74-63 win. What's more, playing at home didn't help the Sooners much in their last game, a 15-point loss to rival Texas.

On the court, OU will be the bigger and more athletic team. They will look to get shots on the glass and crash the offensive glass against a poor rebounding Texas Tech squad.

It's probably good that they are good at rebounding because the Sooners struggle to shoot the ball, especially from outside. Against Texas, they shot only 39.9% overall and 21.1% from 3-point range.

Of course, one game can change all of that as any team can get hot, especially at home. Thus, Tech will have to be the more physical and aggressive team (as is usually the case with the Red Raiders this year).

The free-throw line might be massive in this game because these are the top two teams in the Big 12 in regard to team free-throw percentage. If either one earns a massive edge in getting the the stripe, it could tilt what is expected to be a tight game. That is concerning because the home time often gets the benefit of the calls.

Still, I like the Red Raiders in this game. Tech has had a week to rest and prepare while OU had to play a physical game against a rival mid-week. Look for Joe Toussaint to rebound after six days off and provide more scoring punch than he has in Tech's last two games.

In the end, we will see why OU's ranking is a bit inflated by a weak non-conference schedule. Their best wins have been over a massively overrated USC team and over Iowa State in Norman. If Tech can bring the intensity into this early-afternoon game in a building that often provides a sleepy atmosphere, then they will pick up an important road win and stay alone atop the league race.

Texas Tech 80 - Oklahoma 75