Texas Tech basketball: What has to happen for the Red Raiders to win in Austin

Texas Tech must be productive from 3-point range

At first glance, these two teams appear to be similar when it comes to 3-point shooting. Texas is No. 6 in the conference at 36.9% from deep and Tech is No. 7 at 35.7%.

However, a deeper dive shows that Tech is far more reliant on the deep ball to supplement its offense. This year, the Red Raiders have shot 325 3-pointers while Texas has attempted just 263. Those averages work out to 25 per game by Tech and 20.2 for UT.

The Red Raiders are converting 8.9 times per game while Texas knocks down 7.4. That's an area where Tech has to have an edge tonight.

The problem is that road teams usually don't shoot as well from long distance as home teams do. However, in Tech's only road tilt this year, McCasland's team was 13-26 (50%). That night, Tech was able to stay in the game against Butler because of its outside shooting and that's a formula that will likely have to repeat in Austin tonight.

During Tech's current six-game winning streak, the team is shooting a collective 41.2% from beyond the arc. What's more, the Red Raiders are making an average of 10.5 3-pointers per game.

Five times this season, Tech has shot 37% or better from long range. That's likely what will need to happen again tonight for the Red Raiders to pull the upset.

The good news is that the Longhorns are toward the bottom of the Big 12 when it comes to defending the 3-ball. Their opponents are shooting 32% from distance on the year which is 10th worst in the league.

So keep an eye on how the Red Raiders shoot the 3-pointer tonight. That will be a critical aspect of their offensive game plan and it has to be an area where Tech excels.