The Texas Tech Red Raiders defeated the Florida Gators, 69-66 on Saturday, March 17 in the second round of March Madness. Texas Tech covered the spread as 1.5-point favorites while the game went over the total of 134 by one point.
The Red Raiders will move on to face either Butler or Purdue in the Sweet 16. Odds for that matchup will be released late Sunday or early Monday, but we anticipate Texas Tech being favored over either opponent – probably by five points over Butler and two or 2.5 points over Purdue. The reason why Texas Tech would be favored over Purdue despite being a No. 3 seed playing the No. 2 Boilermakers is that Purdue’s excellent big man, Isaac Haas, suffered a significant elbow injury on Friday against Cal-State Fullerton. Even if Purdue advances and Haas can play in that game, he would likely be very limited in his offensive effectiveness, confined to dunks or most likely layups as his only real shot attempts. He probably would not be able to shoot jump shots to any reasonable degree.
Texas Tech star Keenan Evans scored 22 points and hit over 50 percent of his shots to lead the Red Raiders on Saturday. Teammate Zhaire Smith scored 18, also while hitting over 50 percent of his field goals. The effectiveness of those two players stood out in a game with a lot of rough-and-tumble play. Texas Tech was much better able to get to the basket in this game. The Red Raiders missed 7 of 14 free throws but watched Florida die from three-point range – the Gators settled for more jumpers, and their two most prolific shooters didn’t hit nearly enough attempts. Egor Koulechov, the transfer from Rice who was an important part of this season’s team, suffered through a two-of-eight shooting night from three-point range. KeVaughn Allen, who can get hot from three-point land, stayed cold, shooting 1-for-5. Both men missed threes in the final 10 seconds as Texas Tech held on for the win. Florida ended the night 6 of 22 from three-point range, the deciding factor in a game where both teams rebounded the ball 39 times, 13 on the offensive glass.
Texas Tech odds to win the NCAA Tournament were at +4500 at BetDSI Sportsbook before the Round of 64 began. That number should go down to around +2500 before the Sweet 16. Tech’s next opponent, Butler or Purdue, will probably have slightly longer odds.
