The No. 15 Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-3, 3-2 Big 12) travel in-state for a conference showdown with No. 4 Texas Longhorns (10-1, 4-0) at Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center for a 9 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we analyze the Texas Tech-Texas college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Texas Tech at Texas: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:45 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Texas Tech +115 (bet $100 to win $115) | Texas -140 (bet $140 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Texas Tech +2.5 (-120) | Texas -2.5 (+100)
- Over/Under: 131.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Texas Tech at Texas: Three things to know
- Texas Tech won four of its last five games, including a 27-point romping over Iowa State its last time out but, it was Texas Tech’s first time covering the spread in eight games. The Red Raiders are one of the best defensive teams in the nation; Texas Tech ranks seventh in points per game allowed (58.0) and is holding opponents to just 39.0% shooting.
- Texas has rattled off six straight wins after being defeated by one of the three teams ahead of it in the coaches poll (a 68-64 loss to Villanova Dec. 6) but, the Longhorns covered the spread in only three of those wins. Texas went into Morgantown and beat a then-No. 16 West Virginia team 72-70 as s 1.5-point underdog this past Saturday.
- Texas Tech-Texas split last year’s season series 1-1 straight up and against the spread. The Longhorns’ 68-58 win in their last meeting in February snapped a five-game losing skid to the Red Raiders.
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Texas Tech at Texas: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Texas Tech 64, Texas 60
Money line (ML)
I’ll sprinkle on TEXAS TECH (+115) for a half-unit. Texas has been flying a little too close to the sun with some of its wins and is due to regress in the Big 12 standings. The Red Raiders know how to go into Austin and beat their conference rival, as Texas Tech has won its last two visits to Texas.
Against the spread (ATS)
GIMME TEXAS TECH +2.5 (-120) for 1 unit. It’s hard to poke holes in Texas’ 2020-21 resume but there are a couple of troubling matchup stats coming into this game. Texas averages more turnovers than assists and Texas Tech’s defense has the seventh-highest turnover percentage in the nation.
The Longhorns have coasted too easily with sloppy ball movement and it’ll catch up to them against a Red Raiders team that forces opposing offenses to make mistakes.
Over/Under (O/U)
Each team has played in four consecutive games that have gone Over the total so this is a good time to buy stock in the UNDER 131.5 (-105). Both teams are also below-average in pace of play.
I’d only place a tiny wager on the Under though because it’s a small total that could go Over at the foul line with both teams below-average in opponent’s free throw rate. You’d think this would be a hotly contested conference battle so we could see some time spent at the charity stripe.
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