The early lean would have to be on the visiting Bears coming into the NCAAB Baylor at Texas Tech pick. Scott Drew brings his 11-0, 2nd ranked Baylor squad into Lubbock as -4 road favorites on Saturday. The Red Raiders are no slouch though, ranked #15 in their own rights at 10-3 on the year.
The Red Raiders showed how good they can be last time out, handing #4 Texas their first loss of the season 79-77 on Wednesday as +1 point underdogs in Austin. That game was physically and mentally exhausting though, and TTU has a quick turnaround vs. a rested Baylor team that had their meeting with West Virginia on Tuesday was postponed.
Baylor Seems to Be in a Great Spot
Most people would expect this meeting to be a dogfight, but Texas Tech is under extreme circumstances with the quick turnaround after the dramatic win over the Longhorns on Wednesday. Baylor resting since last Saturday’s 67-49 throttling of TCU as -12. favorites wouldn’t seem to help things either.
The Red Raiders win over the #4 Longhorns should make the Bears alert heading into the NCAAB Baylor at Texas Tech pick. A trip-up game seems almost inevitable for Baylor, but they showed great resiliency in coming back from a 28-27 halftime deficit last week against TCU to win by 18. The Bears have now won three straight conference games by double digits.
Oddsmakers definitely respect Baylor – or their competition is inferior – as the Bears have been at least a 12-point favorite in eight straight games. They did great in what could be considered their only test so far this season with an 82-69 win over #14 Illinois as -4.5 favorites in neutral site Indianapolis. Competition aside, Baylor still has two of the better scorers in the Big 12 in Jared Butler (17+ in four of five) and MaCio Teague (12+ in seven straight).
Can Texas Tech Get Up Again?
Ideally the Red Raiders would get 2-7 Iowa State or 5-8 Kansas State in their first game after the dramatic win over Texas on Wednesday, but instead the undefeated #2 team in the country comes to Lubbock. Texas Tech should use that to their advantage however, keeping the momentum going in the quick turnaround.
Chris Beard’s team is at home after a two game road stint, and they were permitted 3,500+ fans in a January 5th win over Kansas State. The Red Raiders lost by just one at home to Kansas on December 17th, but as -3.5 favorites. They also stumbled to an 82-77 loss to Oklahoma State in Lubbock as -8.5 favorites on January 2nd. TTU is no sure thing at United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders have the #5 scoring unit in the Big 12, but they’re also up against a Baylor team that is 5th in the entire nation in points/game. Mac McClung has gone for 16+ in six of the last seven, while Terrance Shannon and Kevin McCullar should be good for about a dozen each. This betting total is just 136 though.
Free NCAAB Baylor at Texas Tech Pick
The betting total has been in the 120s for three of the last four times these teams have met, and it’s gone over in each of those matchups. The number rises a bit for Saturday, but with a high powered Baylor offense against a Texas Tech defense coming off a big win just a couple days ago there should be some points scored.
The line of Baylor at just -4 also hints at Texas Tech keeping this one closer than expected which is good for points.
Baylor 74 – Texas Tech 71
Free Pick: Over 136
