It has been a struggle at times this season for defending national runner-up Texas Tech, and the Red Raiders wouldn’t be an NCAA Tournament team as things stand. They look to pull the upset of No. 12 West Virginia on Wednesday in Big 12 play with TTU as a slight college basketball odds favorites.
How to Bet West Virginia vs Texas Tech 2020 College Basketball Spread & TV Info
- When: Wednesday, 8 PM ET
- Where: United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock
- TV: None national
- Stream: ESPN+
- Radio: West Virginia / Texas Tech
- Opening College Basketball Lines: Texas Tech -2.5 (total 128.5)
Last Meeting
West Virginia was a 66-54 home winner over Texas Tech on Jan. 11. Miles McBride scored a season-high 22 points, fellow freshman Oscar Tshiebwe added 17 rebounds for WVU. Brandon Knapper added 10 points for West Virginia, which never trailed but allowed the Red Raiders to keep it close thanks to 21 turnovers and 12 missed free throws. West Virginia had a 43-30 rebounding advantage over Texas Tech. Davide Moretti led TTU with 16 points. Aside from Moretti, the rest of the Red Raiders went 15 of 56 (27%) from the floor. Texas Tech was forced to take an abundance of 3-pointers but made just 6 of 28 (21%).
This will be the 20th meeting between West Virginia and Texas Tech with WVU leading 14-5. The Mountaineers have won 11 of the last 15 meetings, including the last two.
Why Bet on West Virginia?
The Mountaineers (16-3, 4-2 Big 12) won a second in a row in blowout fashion Saturday, 74-51 over Missouri in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. With Missouri’s Jeremiah Tillman missing his sixth straight game because of a stress fracture in his left foot, the Tigers had no answer for the Mountaineers’ inside game and were outrebounded 50-30. West Virginia used its rebounding and several Missouri turnovers to pull away.
Senior Jermaine Haley and Miles McBride led another balanced Mountaineer scoring attack with 15 points each. Oscar Tshiebwe contributed 14 points and eight rebounds while Gabe Osabuohien (12) and Derek Culver (11) helped dominate the glass for the Mountaineers. West Virginia shot 50 percent in the second half (17 of 34) to finish the game at 41.5 percent for the game.
Coach Bob Huggins earned his 876th win to tie Adolph Rupp for seventh place on the NCAA Division I coaching list. North Carolina’s Dean Smith is now three victories away at 879, and Huggins is also on the heels of Tar Heels coach Roy Williams who is at No. 880. Huggins is the fourth-winningest active Division I coach behind Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Williams.
WVU ranks second nationally in offensive rebounds per game (15.1), second in 3-point FG% defense (25.7), second in FG% defense (35.8) and fourth in rebounds per game (42.3). Tshiebwe (9.4) and Culver (9.3) rank second and third, respectively, in Big 12 Conference rebounding. The only two Big 12 teammates to rank first and second in rebounds was Texas’ P.J. Tucker & LaMarcus Aldridge (2006). Tshiebwe is first in the country in offensive rebound percentage, rebounding 19.3% of WVU’s missed shots.
The Mountaineers have won 97 of their last 105 games when holding opponents to 69 points or less. West Virginia is 73-5 under Huggins when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 73.26
- Field Goals: 43.96%
- Three Points: 30.38%
- Free Throws: 63.62%
- Rebounds: 42.05
- Average Score Against: 60.11
- Field Goals: 35.98%
- Three Points: 25.73%
- Free Throws: 70.05%
- Rebounds: 32.37
Why Bet on Texas Tech?
TTU (12-7, 3-3 Big 12) lost a second in a row Saturday, 76-74 in OT at home to No. 15 Kentucky in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Nick Richards scored the last five points in regulation for the Wildcats, and their first five in overtime before his two game-deciding free throws with 10 seconds left. Kentucky built a 10-point lead in the second half, and still led by eight when Richards made a jumper with 6:15 left. They missed their last six shots in regulation.
Texas Tech, which had won 54 consecutive non-conference home games since December 2013, had one last possession in OT. But Davide Moretti was stripped when starting a drive in the lane. Tech is currently 1-3 against ranked opponents this season with its win coming against Louisville with a score of 70-57 on Dec. 10 when the Cardinals were at No. 1.
Kyler Edwards led Tech with 18 points vs. Kentucky, while Moretti went for 15 and Terrence Shannon, Jr. added 12. The Red Raiders, who are now 0-3 in overtime this season, finished the game shooting 42.2 percent but were just 3 of 19 on 3-pointers while Kentucky shot 43.6 percent and knocked down seven. Kentucky finished the game with a 38-32 rebounding advantage and was 21 of 25 at the free-throw line, while Tech finished at 17 of 23 from the line.
The Red Raiders are led in scoring by freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey (14.9 ppg.) who is eighth in the Big 12 and graduate transfer Chris Clarke who is at 7.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game which both rank in the top-10. Clarke is currently 48th nationally in assists (105 total) and 42nd with a 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Moretti is sixth nationally with a 90.9 percentage at the free-throw line.
Coach Chris Beard has helped lead the Red Raiders to a 59-7 record at home in his four seasons, including starting this year with a 9-2 record with Big 12 home wins over Oklahoma State and Iowa State. Tech has gone 17-1 at home in the past two seasons in conference play on its home court.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 72.74
- Field Goals: 44.30%
- Three Points: 32.32%
- Free Throws: 75.58%
- Rebounds: 35.26
- Average Score Against: 62.53
- Field Goals: 40.27%
- Three Points: 32.45%
- Free Throws: 67.81%
- Rebounds: 33.53
College Basketball Betting Trends for West Virginia vs Texas Tech
- West Virginia are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 9 of West Virginia’s last 12 games.
- West Virginia are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games against Texas Tech.
- Texas Tech are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas Tech’s last 6 games.
West Virginia vs Texas Tech Expert College Basketball Prediction
Texas Tech 65, West Virginia 62
