No. 5 Kansas vs No. 14 Texas Tech

No. 5 Kansas vs No. 14 Texas Tech | 2020 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

Written by on December 16, 2020

The marquee matchup on Thursday’s college basketball schedule – and there is no college football that night – features No. 5 Kansas visiting No. 14 Texas Tech in the Big 12 opener for both, and both are contenders to win the league title this year. It could be a pick’em on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet Kansas at Texas Tech NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

  • When: Thursday, 7 PM ET
  • Where: United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock
  • TV: ESPN
  • Stream: ESPN app
  • Radio:com
  • Opening NCAAB Lines: TBA

Last Meeting

Kansas swept last year and they closed the regular season against one another at Texas Tech, with the Jayhawks prevailing 66-62 when they were ranked No. 1 in the nation. Devon Dotson scored 17 points while Udoka Azubuike had 15 points and 11 rebounds as KU clinched the Big 12 title. Both those guys are in the NBA now. Texas Tech (had a chance to tie the game with 2.8 seconds left. But Davide Moretti, who made a 3-pointer only seconds earlier, missed another one from long range. Moretti had 18 points, while TJ Hoyfield had 11 points for Texas Tech.

Kansas leads the overall series with Texas Tech, 37-6, which began in 1959. The Jayhawks have won 19 of the last 21 meetings in the series.

Why Bet on Kansas? | 2020 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

Kansas (6-1) last took the court on Dec. 11 and beat Omaha 95-50. Kansas was led in scoring by four players in double figures. Ochai Agbaji (18 points) led the Jayhawks, followed by Mitch Lightfoot (14 points), Tyon Grant-Foster (13 points) and David McCormack (11 points).

Lightfoot’s 12 points was a new career high, previously set in November of 2017 against Oakland. All five starters for the Jayhawks scored before any Omaha player did, as Kansas got out to a 17-0 lead. It was the largest scoring run to start a game of this season and the longest since starting 18-0 against Kansas State on January 13, 2009, at Allen Fieldhouse.

All 13 active players for Kansas played and scored. The 13 players scoring was the most for the Jayhawks since January 2015 when 13 Jayhawks scored against Texas Tech.

As a team Kansas shot 48% (34-of-71) from the field, including 39% (12-of-31) from beyond the arc. The Jayhawks set or tied a season high in offensive rebounds (20), total rebounds (54), assists (18), blocks (7), bench points (47), points in paint (42), points off turnovers (22), and second-chance points (28).

As for this game, Kansas has won 29-straight conference openers dating back to the 1991-92 season, with 12 of those at home and 17 on the road. The last time KU lost a league opener was at Oklahoma, 88-82, on Jan. 8, 1991. Kansas is 15-5 against Texas Tech in games played in Lubbock, including a 11-4 record in United Supermarkets Arena.

Why Bet on Texas Tech? | 2020 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

Texas Tech (6-1) is 0-1 vs. ranked schools this season, losing 64-53 to then-No. 17 Houston on Nov. 29. The Red Raiders come off a 77-57 rout of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday. Terrence Shannon, Jr. led the team with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Micah Peavy and Marcus Santos-Silva added 12 points each for the Red Raiders who had only four turnovers and forced 20.

The last time Texas Tech had only four turnovers in a game was in a loss against Kansas State on Feb. 5, 2013. The four against Corpus Christi were the lowest since five against TCU in the 2015-16 and a low in the Chris Beard era. Defensively, Tech has now forced 20 or more turnovers in four straight games.

Shannon, who missed the previous game against Abilene Christian with an ankle injury, returned to the starting lineup against the Islanders and went 5-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. He was one point shy of his season-high. Santos-Silva finished the game with three blocks and six rebounds to go along with his 12 points, while Mac McClung led the team with six assists and three steals.

In the win, Chris Beard reached the 100-win milestone at Tech faster than any coach in the program’s history, and he is the 17th coach at Tech. Beard won his first game as the Red Raider head coach with a 93-67 victory over Houston Baptist on Nov. 11, 2016, and is 100-45 at TTU.

The Red Raiders are 5-0 at home this season coming into the matchup and 68-9 on their home court under Beard. The program is 28-8 in Big 12 home games under Beard after going 6-3 last season. Tech is 3-1 in Big 12 openers under Beard and 11-13 all-time in the first game of the conference slate. The Red Raiders have opened Big 12 play with wins the past three seasons.

Expert College Basketball Prediction

Texas Tech 68, Kansas 66

 
 

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?

Bet College Basketball Today
MyBookie Odds for the Games
 
 

College Basketball Betting Center


College Basketball Odds | Online Bookies with Vegas Odds