Texas Tech Invades Kansas
Jayhawks Take Four-Game Winning Streak into Big 12 Showdown
The Texas Tech Red Raiders go for a third straight win when they take on the Kansas Jayhawks in a key Big 12 battle on Monday night. The opening tip is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.
The Red Raiders (15-4, 5-2) are on a two-game winning streak and coming off a home win over the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday. Texas Tech is tied for second place in the Big 12 standings with the Baylor Bears. Both teams are sitting a half-game behind the Jayhawks.
Kansas (16-2, 5-1) has won four in a row after escaping with a come-from-behind win on the road against the in-state rival Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday. The Jayhawks’ last loss came against Texas Tech on Jan. 8 in Lubbock, Texas.
The college basketball lines for this contest have the Jayhawks as seven-point favorites at home, with the over/under set at 138 points if you want to make that bet online.
Bringing the D
If the Red Raiders are going to pull the season sweep on the Jayhawks, it will have to happen at the defensive end. Texas Tech is holding opponents to 59.1 points per game, second in the Big 12. Kansas has the top offense in the conference at 80.8 points per game, but the Red Raiders held the Jayhawks to 67 points and 44.7 percent shooting from the floor in their previous meeting.
Forward Bryson Williams had 22 points and eight rebounds in that contest, and he’ll be a key in this one as well. Williams is averaging 12.6 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the floor.
Leading scorer Terrance Shannon Jr. wasn’t available for the first meeting with the Jayhawks, but he’s coming off a 23-point performance against West Virginia on Saturday. The junior guard missed a month of action with a back injury, returning for a Jan. 15 loss to Kansas State. Shannon, averaging 12.8 points, had just two points in his return, followed by four points against the Iowa State Cyclones before breaking out on Saturday.
Guard Kevin McCullar is the glue for the Red Raiders, leading the team in both rebounding (5.8) and assists (3.6 per game). He’s also averaging 1.7 steals, which he’ll be looking to add to against the Jayhawks.
Narrow Escape
The Jayhawks have lost to Kansas State a few times over the years, and it looked like Saturday was going to be another one of those instances in the rivalry. But Ochai Agbaji capped a 29-point performance with a baseline jumper with nine seconds to play to give Kansas its first lead since the first half in an eventual 78-75 victory.
“They should have won today,” Kansas coach Bill Self said about the Wildcats. “They controlled the game. They were better than us today.
“We weren’t very good in the first half, but they were a lot better than we were bad. They should be 6-1 or 5-2 in the conference.”
Instead, it’s Kansas that is atop the conference standings with just one loss, which will be on the Jayhawks’ minds for this one. A little revenge will give the team plenty of motivation after an emotional win just two days ago.
Agbaji has been one of the top offensive performers in the Big 12, averaging 20.4 points to lead the conference. He’s also grabbing 4.9 rebounds per game and shooting 52.3percent from the floor, including 45.8 percent from 3-point range.
Guard Christian Braun is also capable of taking over a game with his offense, averaging 15.3 points. Braun is also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 53.1 percent from the floor. Braun had just 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting in the first meeting with the Red Raiders, so he’ll be looking for a better performance in this one.
Jayhawks Get Revenge
While the Red Raiders have Shannon back, Kansas is a different team at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are 8-0 at home and they should make that 9-0 by pulling away late for the victory.
When doing your college basketball betting, take Kansas to win and cover at home.
