January 8th Kansas at Texas Tech Betting Preview
Top 25 Battle in Lubbock
Something has got to give in the January 8th Kansas at Texas Tech betting matchup. The #6 Jayhawks have knocked out 8 in a row since a one point loss to Dayton at the end of November in the ESPN Events Invitational. That was the lone blemish of the season for Bill Self’s squad (12-1).
Mark Adams is looking for his signature win in the first year at the helm of the #25 Red Raiders ( even though TTU does have a 57-52 OT win over then #13 Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic in New York City. Texas Tech has gone 8-0 at the United Supermarkets Arena but are still +4.5 underdogs in Saturday afternoon’s meeting. 67% of public betters are backing KU.
A Revamped Kansas Squad?
The Jayhawks have started Big 12 play 1-0 after a 74-63 win over Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Tuesday to cover the -6.5 point spread. OSU hadn’t played in over two weeks prior to that game due to holiday break and COVID postponements, but it was still a nice start to conference play for Kansas and pushed their win streak to 8-0.
The win over Oklahoma State was a somewhat controversial one – in the media at least – as self opted to bench preseason All-Big 12 pick David McCormack for Mitch Lightfoot. Self blew off the scrutiny, but the move seemed to have worked with McCormack posting 17 points off the bench but also looking like a man possessed with 15 rebounds. Jalen Wilson had 15 rebounds off the bench too but Texas Tech is the #3 defensive rebounding team in the nation.
The January 8th Kansas at Texas Tech betting matchup is your classic battle between offense and defense. Kansas ranks #7 in the country with 84.3 ppg, but the Red Raiders allow a mere 57.6 points per which is the 11th fewest in Division I.
Texas Tech Defense Gets a Challenge
The Red Raiders’ calling card is their defense as evidenced in Wednesday’s 51-47 loss at Iowa State as +5 point underdogs. That’s a pretty good outing against the #11 team in the country and even Texas Tech’s 69-55 loss to Gonzaga in the Jerry Colangelo Classic on December 18th was a solid defensive performance considering the Bulldogs have the #5 scoring offense in Division I.
Playing #6 Kansas is a challenge but that’s nothing new for a TTU team that has played Gonzaga, Tennessee, and Iowa State when they were ranked #5, #13, and #11 respectively. What makes the Jayhawks such a tough matchup Saturday is that McCormack blew up last game, but he’s not even KU’s leading scorer as Ochai Akbar (20.2 ppg) and Christian Braun (16.8) usually pace the team.
While Kansas is a deep scoring team, Texas Tech has been without their best offensive player Terrance Shannon, Jr. (14.3 ppg) since December 14th while second leading scorer Kevin McCullar (13.5) missed the Iowa State game in COVID protocols and is a game time decision.
Free January 8th Kansas at Texas Tech Betting Pick
Can Texas Tech’s defense guide them to a win? That unit kept them in the game Wednesday but TTU couldn’t score either getting down 30-19 at the half to Iowa State. Kansas is too good and are a point away from being undefeated this season.
Kansas 71 – Texas Tech 59
Free Pick: Kansas -4.5
