Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Divisional Round
The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Kansas State Wildcats will take the court Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.
The Red Raiders, 10-8 SU and 6-11-1 ATS, were defeated by Baylor on Tuesday. The Wildcats, 16-2 SU and 7-11 ATS, beat Kansas in their last game. Kansas State and Texas Tech split their meetings last season. The Wildcats own a 25-23 advantage in the series' history.
Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m. ET.
The Red Raiders probably wish they had more time to prepare for Big 12 play. Texas Tech went 10-2 in non-conference play, losing to only Creighton and Ohio State. That said, its non-conference strength of schedule didn't do it any favors (352nd nationally).
It's been all downhill since the Raiders opened Big 12 competition. Tech opened conference play with six challenging games, including five ranked opponents plus an Oklahoma team ranked 38th in KenPom's NCAA rating. Now that's a loud wake-up call!
In its latest loss to Baylor, Texas Tech shot 50.9 percent from the field but didn't show the same commitment on defense. Baylor led 48-40 at halftime and led by as many as 16, shooting 28-for-58 from the floor (48.3%) with 16 assists and just three turnovers. The Red Raiders left seven points at the foul line, committed nine turnovers, and shot 12-for-31 (38.7%) from long r ange.
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— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 18, 2023
Texas Tech averages 76.1 points on 48.1 percent shooting (30th-best), including 35.2 percent from three. It converts 70.9 percent of its free throws and averages 32.6 rebounds with a +4.2 rebounding margin. Texas Tech is 79th in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
Senior forward Kevin Obanor paces the Red Raiders in scoring at 15.1 points per game with a 50.5 field goal percentage. Texas Tech also counts on contributions from freshman guard Pop Isaacs (12.1 PPG and 2.9 APG), senior guard De'Vion Harmon (12.1 PPG, 3.6 APG, and 2.1 SPG), and senior forward Fardaws Aimaq (12.0 PPG and 7.0 RPG).
The Red Raiders surrender 66.4 points per game on 41.6 percent shooting, including 32.9 percent from long range. It's 51st in schedule-adjusted defensive efficiency and 176th in assist-per-turnover ratio (0.98).