It will be a battle between Big 12 opponents when the Kansas State Wildcats (10-5) welcome the Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-3) to Fred Bramlage Coliseum. Action gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and can be seen on EFC and ES3.
The Wildcats lost to Oklahoma 86-76 on Saturday. Barry Brown finished with 19 points to lead the team. The Red Raiders, meanwhile, are coming off a 69-59 loss at the hands of Kansas on Saturday. Toddrick Gotcher posted 13 points, two rebounds, and two assists.
Kansas State, a three-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Texas Tech. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 134 points. The Wildcats come into this game 10-5 Straight Up (SU) and 9-2-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Expect to see a lot of second-chance opportunities for Kansas State in this matchup, which is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 13.3 offensive boards per game. Turning to the defensive side, the Kansas State defense has been very good, only giving up 64.7 points per game. The Wildcats prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking 15th in the nation with 81 total three-pointers allowed (5.0 per game).
Over on the other bench, the Red Raiders have records of 8-3 ATS and 11-3 SU. Texas Tech has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 7-1. The Texas Tech defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only .391 shooting from the field to its opponents.
These conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Red Raiders were winners, but the win was not enough to overtake Kansas State in their recent head-to-head series. Their record is now 1-9 SU over the most recent meetings. With a 6-4 record, the Wildcats also have the advantage ATS. Texas Tech held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers two times in the last five matchups. On the other side of the court, Kansas State never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – KanSt, ATS Winner – TxTch, O/U – Over
Notes
Kansas State is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas State’s last 6 games.
Kansas State is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home.
Kansas State is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games when playing Texas Tech.
Kansas State is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Texas Tech.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Kansas State’s last 5 games when playing Texas Tech.
Kansas State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Texas Tech.
Kansas State scores an average of just 72.8 points per game (ranked 192nd). Texas Tech ranks 69th in points allowed, giving up 66.3 points per game.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders have a defensive rating of 95.7 (ranked 52nd), while the Kansas State Wildcats have an offensive rating of 105.1 (ranked 187th).
Kansas State averages 69.3 possessions per game, scoring 1.051 points on each possession. While Texas Tech averages fewer possessions per game with 69.1, they score more points per possession with 1.085.
The Kansas State Wildcats average an effective field goal percentage of 46.7% this season. The Texas Tech Red Raiders have a fantastic 5-1 record in games where opponents have an eFG% of 46.7% or greater.
This season, Kansas State attempts 18.0 three pointers per game and Texas Tech attempts 16.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Kansas State Wildcats are 4-2 while the Texas Tech Red Raiders are undefeated at 3-0.
The Kansas State Wildcats average 7.3 steals per game. The Texas Tech Red Raiders are undefeated at 2-0 when they allow at least 7 steals.
