Now that the college football season has concluded, it’s really time to start focusing on NCAA basketball as March Madness will be here before we know it. The game of the night on Tuesday is a Big 12 showdown between No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 9 Oklahoma – neither team was very good last year or ranked to start this one. The Sooners are short betting favorites to cover the NCAAB spread.
The Sooners aim to once again defend their home arena, entering Tuesday’s contest with 10 straight home wins. The Sooners have not lost at home since Feb. 8, 2017. The streak is the longest for the Sooners since winning 19 in a row from Jan. 17, 2015 to Feb. 8, 2016. The Red Raiders have only allowed over 70 points in just three contests, while Oklahoma has scored over 80 points in 13 of its 14 games and is averaging 101.9 points at home.
Tuesday’s matchup is Young’s first game against Texas Tech, his father’s alma mater. Rayford Young spent four seasons with the Red Raiders (1996-2000), where he averaged 14.1 points, 3.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals. Rayford and Trae are the only father-son pair to both play men’s basketball in the Big 12 since the league began in 1996-97.
Texas Tech at Oklahoma NCAAB Spread & Game Preview
When: Tuesday, 7 PM ET Where: Lloyd Noble Arena, Norman, Okla. TV: ESPNU Stream: WatchESPN Radio: 97.3 FM (Texas Tech) / 103.1 FM (Oklahoma) Opening NCAAB Spread: OU -3Ready to go. Less than 24 hours away. #WreckEm #4To1 pic.twitter.com/ly1AOMxV3q
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 9, 2018
Last Season
These teams split – remember, they weren’t very good – last season, each winning at home. In Norman, OU prevailed 84-75. Jordan Woodard had 27 points as Oklahoma snapped a seven-game skid at the time. Woodard scored 18 of his 27 after intermission and hit 14 of 14 free throws. Rashard Odomes had a career-high 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Oklahoma made 30 of 37 free throws, outscoring Texas Tech by 19 at the line. Zach Smith and Keenan Evans led four Texas Tech players in double figures with 16 each. In Lubbock, the Red Raiders prevailed 77-69. Aaron Ross made 6 of 8 free throws in the final 2:30 and finished with 18 points. Evans and Justin Gray finished with 14 points apiece for the Red Raiders. Smith added 12 points and nine rebounds and Anthony Livingston scored 11. Kameron McGusty led Oklahoma with 16 points. Oklahoma owns a 38-23 lead in the all-time series and has won seven of the last 10 meetings. OU boasts a 23-7 advantage when playing the Red Raiders in Norman.Why Bet on Texas Tech’s NCAAB Spread?
Chris Beard, a former assistant to Bobby Knight at TTU, has done a tremendous job as his school’s only loss was to a good Seton Hall team by 10 on Nov. 30 at a neutral site. Texas Tech are off a 74-58 home win over Kansas State on Saturday. Evans delivered 16 of his game-high 27 points during the second half. Texas Tech piled up 34 of the game’s 47 bench points, and the Red Raiders have amassed a 118-33 advantage during their first three Big 12 outings. Evans surpassed the 20-point barrier for the fifth time this season and the 14th time in his career. He was an efficient 7-of-11 from the floor and knocked down 13-of-14 at the free throw line. The 27 points enabled Evans to move past Ronald Ross (2002-03-04-05) into 25th place on Texas Tech’s all-time scoring list. The Red Raiders (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) have won their first three Big 12 games for the second time in program history and remain in a first-place tie with West Virginia in the Big 12 standings. This year’s team joined the 2003-04 squad under Knight when Beard served as an assistant coach. Evans became the first Texas Tech player since Andre Emmett to win multiple Big 12 Player of the Week awards in the same season. Evans registered 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game as the Red Raiders collected wins at No. 10 Kansas and Kansas State. He joins Cory Carr (1996-97, 1997-98) and Andre Emmett (2003-04) as the only Texas Tech players to win multiple Big 12 Player of the Week honors in the same season. The No. 8 ranking is the highest for the Red Raiders since being ranked a program-best No. 7 on March 4, 1996 under head coach James Dickey. Texas Tech finished that season with a 30-2 record and a NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.Why Bet on Oklahoma’s NCAAB Spread?
The Sooners have arguably the best player in the country in freshman Trae Young, who leads the country in scoring (29.4 ppg) and assists (10.2 apg). The Sooners do come off an 89-76 loss at No. 6 West Virginia on Saturday. Young, the frontrunner for National Player of the Year was rattled almost from the tip. He managed to finish with 29 points — his season average — but he also had a season-high eight turnovers and shot 8 for 22 from the field, plus 3 for 12 from 3-point range. Young has the green light from inside 40 feet, but against WVU, a few of his decisions to shoot were frustrated heaves after struggling to get over the time line without being pickpocketed. West Virginia held the nation’s top-scoring team to its lowest total of the season while the Mountaineers extended their winning streak to 14 games, their longest since winning 22 straight during the 1988-89 season. Oklahoma (12-2, 2-1) saw its 10-game winning streak snapped.
The Sooners aim to once again defend their home arena, entering Tuesday’s contest with 10 straight home wins. The Sooners have not lost at home since Feb. 8, 2017. The streak is the longest for the Sooners since winning 19 in a row from Jan. 17, 2015 to Feb. 8, 2016. The Red Raiders have only allowed over 70 points in just three contests, while Oklahoma has scored over 80 points in 13 of its 14 games and is averaging 101.9 points at home.
Tuesday’s matchup is Young’s first game against Texas Tech, his father’s alma mater. Rayford Young spent four seasons with the Red Raiders (1996-2000), where he averaged 14.1 points, 3.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals. Rayford and Trae are the only father-son pair to both play men’s basketball in the Big 12 since the league began in 1996-97.
Latest NCAAB Betting Trends
- Texas Tech is 1-4 ATS in the last 5 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma
- Texas Tech is 5-0 SU in the last 5 games
- The total went UNDER in 7 of Texas Tech’s last 10 games on the road
- Oklahoma is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games when playing at home against Texas Tech
- Oklahoma is 10-1 SU in the last 11 games
- The total went OVER in 4 of Oklahoma’s last 5 games when playing Texas Tec
