Texas Tech Red Raiders at Baylor Bears Betting Preview
Tuesday night will feature a Big 12 showdown as the No. 19 Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-3, 1-1 in Big 12) take on the No. 1 Baylor Bears (15-0, 3-0 in Big 12). The Bears will host this one at the Ferrell Center, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
Texas Tech is coming off a big win over No. 9 Kansas Saturday. They beat the Jayhawks 75-67 at home.
In the win, Bryson Williams led the Red Raiders in scoring with 22 points and added eight rebounds. Clarence Nadolny added 17 in the victory.
Baylor comes into this one on quite a roll, having won 15 straight games to open the season. On Saturday, they took down TCU on road 76-64.
Adam Flager, James Akinjo, and LJ Cryer combined for 57 points in the victory. After trailing the Horned Frogs at halftime by six points, the Bears outscored them 45-27 in the second half.
The Bears are heavy favorites playing at home. They are -880 to win while the Red Raiders’ moneyline sits at +580. The spread features Texas Tech +12 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 135.5 (-110).
More Odds
Baylor is currently the favorite to win the Big 12 this season at +140. Texas Tech has the fourth-best odds at +950.
In terms of winning the National Championship, Baylor has the second-best odds at +1000 despite their perfect record. Texas Tech is +5000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
Baylor has one of the best offenses in the country this season. They rank ninth in scoring averaging 82.8 points per game (88 at home). The Red Raiders rank 60th, averaging 75.7 points (62.2 on the road).
Defensively, it is Texas Tech with the edge. They rank eighth in the country in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 58.3 points per game (61.2 on the road). Baylor ranks 15th allowing 59.5 points (56 at home).
Texas Tech Looking For Two Upsets In A Row
After taking down No. 9 Kansas in their last matchup, the Red Raiders would love nothing more than to pull off two upsets in a row and take down the top-seeded Bears.
This season, the Red Raiders are led by guards Terrence Shannon Jr. and Kevin McCullar. Shannon is averaging 14.3 points this season, while McCullar is averaging 13.5 points and 6.1 rebounds.
The problem is both of these players are questionable for this game after both of them sat out of the team’s upset win over Kansas.
Without these two, the next highest scorer on the season is senior Bryson Williams. He is averaging 11.9 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Guard Davion Warren is the only other Red Raider averaging double digits with 11 points on 45.5% shooting.
Baylor Looks To Stay Perfect
For as good as the Baylor Bears have been this season, they have been even better when playing at home. Looking for the boost from the home faithful at the Ferrell Center, Baylor will try to take down a really tough Red Raiders’ team.
Leading Baylor are a quartet of guards in James Akinjo, LJ Cryer, Adam Flagler, and Kendall Brown.
Akinjo is the leader on the court, averaging 14.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.
The others have definitely carried their weight too. In fact, Cryer (13 points), Flagler (12.3 points, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals), and Brown (11.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals) have all been sensational this season.
Take Baylor To Win, But Can They Cover?
It is just incredible how talented and deep Baylor is. They are relentless on both ends of the floor, and it isn’t a fluke that they are undefeated to this point.
While Baylor is a solid bet to win this one, spotting a scrappy Red Raiders team, 12 points seems like a lot. It will really boil down to whether leading scorers Terrence Shannon Jr. and Kevin McCullar play or not.
If they do, take the points. If not, Baylor covering is not inconceivable.
