The Texas Tech Red Raiders will play the West Virginia Mountaineers on Wednesday in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. Tip-off from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO, is at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Mountaineers are 2.5-point spread favorites and the game total is 147 points.
Texas Tech (16-15 SU, 14-16-1 ATS) lost to Oklahoma State on Saturday. The Red Raiders are 2-3 straight-up in their past five games. They will be without head coach Mark Adams, who has been suspended for a racially insensitive comment.
West Virginia (18-13 SU, 16-15 ATS) defeated Kansas State in its regular-season finale. The Mountaineers are 3-2 straight-up in their past five.
Texas Tech and West Virginia split their two meetings this season. The Mountaineers won 76-61 on January 25 and the Red Raiders won the rematch 78-72 on February 18. WVU boasted a +17 reboundin g margin in its victory and TTU outrebounded the Mountaineers 39-28 in the second matchup.
The Red Raiders finished the regular season on a three-game losing streak, dropping games to TCU, Kansas, and Oklahoma State. The three losses were by a combined eight points.
Texas Tech shot 46.7 percent from three (14-for-30) in its loss to OSU but wasn't as efficient from other areas of the court (38.3 FG%). The Red Raiders were also outrebounded 37-33, and the Cowboys collected 12 offensive rebounds. TTU trailed by as many as 13 points and only led by one but battled until the end.
Ice in his veins ??@Dmaurian | ?? ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/0CMgt7Lps0
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) March 5, 2023
Senior forward Kevin Obanor paces Texas Tech in scoring. He averaged 14.4 points (49.2 FG%) and 6.4 rebounds per game in the regular season. Other players to watch are senior guard De'Vion Harmon (13.6 PPG and 3.6 APG), senior forward Fardaws Aimaq (11.8 PPG and 8.3 RPG), freshman guard Pop Isaacs (11.3 PPG), and sophomore guard Jaylon Tyson (10.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 41.3 3PT%).
The Red Raiders score 73.7 points per game (129th) and shoot 46.2 percent from the floor (81st), including 34.8 percent from long range (153rd). They convert 71.6 percent of their free throws (187th) and average 32.6 rebounds (127th) with a +3.1 rebounding margin. Texas Tech is 60th in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom, and 76th in effective field goal percentage (52.6%).
The Red Raiders surrender 68.7 points per game on defense (139th), and t heir opponents shoot 42.0 percent (73rd) with a 32.3 shooting percentage from long distance (96th). They're 56th in adjusted defensive efficiency, 233rd in assist-per-turnover ratio, and 173rd in adjusted tempo.
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