Friday night college basketball and we will see the Texas Tech Red Raiders travel to the Ferrell Center to take on the Baylor Bears. The game has a start time of 9:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN 2. Current Vegas betting odds have the Bears listed as 15.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 122.5.
Analysis: The Texas Tech Red Raiders come in off a surprising 63-62 win over Oklahoma, which snapped the red Raiders 6 game losing streak. Overall this has not been a good team at all this year as they are 13-17 overall and in last place in the Big 12 with a 3-14 record. The Red Raiders have gone 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record, but just 11-27 ATS in their last 38 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600. Texas Tech has been a very poor offensive team this year, ranking 320th in scoring (60.7 ppg), 319th in shooting (39.8%), 306th in 3 point shooting (30.9%) and 307th in FT shooting (65.1%). The defense for this team has been decent as they come in ranked 106th in points allowed (63.9 ppg), 141st in defensive FG% (42.3%) and 173rd in 3 point defense (34.0%).
The Baylor Bears had their 4 game win streak snapped on Monday night when they lost 61-59 in OT at Texas. The loss now has Baylor at 22-8 overall and 10-7 in the Big 12, while at home this year they have gone a very strong 15-2 so far. The Bears have gone 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win and 21-9 ATS in their last 30 games vs. a team with a losing S.U. record. The Bears have been a decent offensive team this year, ranking 126th in scoring (69.5 ppg), 197th in shooting (43.2%), 42nd in 3 point shooting (38.5%) and 271st in FT shooting (66.4%). Defensively the Bears have been very good as they come in ranked 22nd in points allowed (59.5 ppg), 39th in defensive FG% (39.5%) and 11th in 3 point defense (29.1%).
Pick: I will be going with the Under here. Earlier this year the teams put up just 103 points and in last year's 2nd meeting they but up just 108 points. This one may not be as low scoring, but it also may not be far off. Texas tech has been the worst offensive team in the Big 12 this year and have struggled even more on the road where they have averaged just 48.8 ppg overall and just 45.9 ppg on the road in the Big 12. How bad is this offense? Well the Cyclones may be the worst defensive team in the Big 12 and the Red Raiders could muster just 38 points in Ames. Now they face a Baylor team that knows how to play great defense, especially at home where they have allowed just 55.6 ppg this year. The Bears do aver 72 ppg and the Red Raiders have allowed 70.7 ppg on the road, but even if Baylor were to get to 70 points I just don't see the Red Raiders escaping the 40s in this one. After all they have been held to 43 or less in 4 of their 7 Big 12 road games this year. This one has 65-48 written all over it.
-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for CBB Season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!
Handicapping Tips: NBA Betting
Bryan Leonard and Steve Fezzik, from Pregame.com discuss some handicapping tips for betting the NBA.