On Wednesday night, a Top 25 showdown will take place inside the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas. Here’s our Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Texas Longhorns betting preview.
No. 15 Texas Tech (10-3) will travel to Austin for a chance to upset No. 4 Texas (10-1). Texas Tech is in fourth place in the Big 12 Conference at 3-2 in league play. The Red Radiers are two spots better, sitting in second place with a perfect league record of 4-0.
Texas is on a six-game winning streak. Texas Tech has won four of its last five, So this should be a very competitive matchup if you’re betting online.
The Longhorns will come into this contest as two-point favorites over the Red Raiders. The over/under for Wednesday night has been set at 132 points. Texas’ team total is 67 points, and Texas Tech’s total for the evening is 65 points.
Backcourt Strength
The Red Raiders are 10-3 on the year. They lost to No. 17 Houston and No. 5 Kansas in November and December, respectively. These were respectable losses, but they slipped up against Oklahoma State in overtime three games ago.
Texas Tech’s next five contests are brutal, so we will learn a lot about the Red Raiders’ identity and whether we can expect them in NCAA March Madness. They have No. 4 Texas followed by No. 2 Baylor and No. 13 West Virginia two games later.
Texas Tech can be successful Wednesday night against the Longhorns if it plays its typical defensive game.
The Red Raiders are only allowing 58 points per game. This defensive effort is led by senior forward Marcus Santos-Silva.
Santos-Silva leads the team in rebounds. It’s tough to drive to the basket with this 6-7 athlete in the way.
The team’s leading scorer is guard Mac McClung, who is dropping 15.3 points per game. McClung will need to have a huge performance inside the Frank Erwin Center for his team to upset the Longhorns.
Top 25 Domination
Texas has been tough to beat in 2020-21. The Longhorns are 10-1, with their only loss coming at home against Villanova by a score of 68-64. The Longhorns would be undefeated if they would’ve made a couple of crucial shots down the stretch against the Wildcats.
The team’s loss to Villanova doesn’t define the Longhorns in 2020-21. Texas is one of the best teams in the Big 12 Conference.
The Longhorns have consistently played well against brutal opponents. Texas took down North Carolina, West Virginia, and Kansas in 2020-21.
The Longhorns made college basketball news when they blew Kansas off the court, beating the Jayhawks by a score of 84-59.
Texas’ big three has propelled the Longhorns to countless victories all season long. Courtney Ramey, Greg Brown, and Matt Coleman III could be the best trio in the country.
Ramey is scoring 13.8 points per game, shooting close to 43% from three-point territory.
Brown controls the opposition in the backcourt. He’s pulling down eight rebounds per game. His physicality has given the Longhorns extra possessions that have been critical for the team.
Coleman is the Longhorns’ do-all athlete. The guard is one of the best passers in the Big 12 Conference.
Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Texas Longhorns Betting: The Matchup
The key for the Red Raiders on Wednesday night will be defense. Texas’ big three presents a lot of issues for opposing teams.
Texas Tech will need to contain all three of these athletes to have a chance to win. If the Red Raiders limit Texas’ scoring, they will be able to outscore the Longhorns.
McClung will have to be exceptional to keep his team competitive against Texas. Texas is 6-5 ATS. I believe they’ll be 7-5 when time expires on Wednesday night.
When making my college basketball picks, I’m taking Texas -2 and over 132.
