Baylor Bears vs Texas Tech Red Raiders: Predictions, Odds, and Roster Notes

Where: United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, TX

When: Tuesday, January 7th at 9pm EST

How (TV): ESPN2

Baylor Bears (Away)

??#️⃣4️⃣ in @AP_Top25❗️

7th straight week Bears have climbed in AP poll – https://t.co/cGVty5X0O4

✌️ #Big12MBB road games this week:
Tuesday at #️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ Texas Tech
Saturday at #️⃣3️⃣ Kansas pic.twitter.com/kkmvYTTfM0

— Baylor Basketball (@BaylorMBB) January 6, 2020

Head Coach: Scott Drew {Overall: 11-1 | Conference: 1-0, T-1st in Big 12}

One of the hottest team’s in the nation, the Baylor Bears have quickly emerged as top contenders for the national title. Coach Scott Drew’s squad has proven themselves against established programs such as Arizona, Villanova, and Butler. Outside of a neutral site loss to Washington, the Bears have been close to perfect in large part to their knack for taking care of the ball, ranking tenth in the country in turnovers per game. Baylor has also excelled on defense, limiting opponents to 58.9 points per game and a 37.8% success rate on field goals.

The Bears will hit the road for the first time this season, having played at the Ferrell Center and neutral sites up to this point. They will also look to stay unbeaten in Big 12 play after taking down Texas 59-44 last Saturday. Junior guard MaCio Teague led the way with 21 points, while leading scorer Jared Butler chipped in 13 points on a poor overall shooting night for the Bears who shot 31.3 percent from the field.

?straight Big 1️⃣2️⃣ wins.

?#4To1 | #WreckEm⚫️https://t.co/jmfhcQHtge

— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 4, 2020

Head Coach: Chris Beard {Overall: 10-3 | Conference: 1-0. T-1st in Big 12}

The Texas Red Raiders head into their second Big 12 conference game hoping to finish on top of the league standings for the second straight year. The Red Raiders hit a rough patch earlier in the season, losing three straight to Iowa, Creighton, and DePaul, with the latter being their only road trip in non-conference play. Texas Tech has since redeemed themselves, winning five straight including a resume-building victory over Louisville on December 10th.

Texas Tech opened up their Big 12 slate with a bang last weekend, blowing out Oklahoma State 85-50 in Lubbock. Freshman guard Jahmi’us Ramsey was Tech’s top scorer with 18 points, followed by senior forward T.J. Holyfield’s 17 points. Davide Moretti, the lone returning starter from last season’s title game run, added 13 points and five assists.

Baylor vs Texas Tech All-Time Series

These two intra-state rivals have met 134 times dating back to 1953, with Texas Tech winning 78 of those matchups. Baylor dominated TTU for most of the past decade, going 14-6 in that span. Tuesday’s game will be just the second time both schools will face each other while ranked in the AP Poll, with the first such meeting taking place two seasons ago in a 77-53 Texas Tech win.

There are no injuries or roster changes to report for Baylor.

Texas Tech Roster Notes

Sophomore forward Joel Ntambwe will miss the entire season as he must sit out after transferring from UNLV in the offseason.

Freshman forward Tyreek Smith is out indefinitely with a foot injury that has sidelined him for the whole season thus far.

Head-to-Head: Jared Butler (BAY) vs Jahmi’us Ramsey (TTU)

Jared Butler

Shooting Guard | 6-3, 185lb | Riverside Academy | Reserce, LA | Sophomore

17.3 PPG | 3.0 APG | 2.9 RPG | 1.5 SPG | 0.2 BPG | 2.3 TOV | .447 FG% | .422 3P%

After a solid freshman season where he averaged 10.2 points per game, Jared Butler has stepped up to become the top-scoring option in Waco. The Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection has been a reliable source of points for the Bears, failing to reach double digits just once (December 10th against Butler). He has displayed a solid stroke from beyond the arc, hitting at least one three-pointer in each game this season, while putting together five games with four or more made threes.

Jahmi’us Ramsey

Shooting Guard | 6-4, 195lb | Duncanville HS | Arlington, TX | Freshman

17.4 PPG | 1.6 APG | 5.3 RPG | 1.7 SPG | 0.8 BPG | 2.0 TOV | .504 FG% | .489 3P%

One of Texas Tech’s best recruits in recent years, Jahmi’us Ramsey has been doing his part to keep his team in the Final Four conversation. The in-state prospect has not missed a beat since returning from a minor hamstring injury in mid-December, hitting 10 of 18 three-point attempts in those three games. Ramsey has also quickly become a contributor in other areas, namely on the glass where he has been a key rebounder despite being just six-foot-four. He has also been a pest on defense, as he has tallied at least two steals in seven of his nine games played.

Baylor at Texas Tech Predictions and Odds

The odds will be updated as they are made available by the sportsbooks. Visit DraftKings Sportsbook, Caesars NJ, or SugarHouse NJ for more NCAAB odds.

Good luck!

Money Line