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

Where: United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, TX, USA.

When: Saturday, February 16th at 2pm EST.

How (TV/Radio): ESPN |

Baylor Bears (Away)

Head Coach: Scott Drew {Overall: 16-8, .667 W-L% | Conference: 7-4, T-3rd in Big 12}

The injury riddled Baylor Bears hit the road after a two game home stand to take on a Texas Tech team whom they beat earlier this year, 73-62. Having lost their second leading scorer, Tristan Clark, for the season, the Bears may be without another top scoring option, King McClure, who did play in the first leg of the series. McClure’s absence could make a win much more difficult to achieve in Lubbock.

Baylor recently came out victorious in a 59-53 home win over Oklahoma at the Ferrell Center on February 11th. Junior guard, Devonte Bandoo came off the bench to lead the Bears in scoring with 19 points. Leading scorer, Makai Mason, returned from his foot injury but struggled all night with his shooting stroke on a poor 2-14 performance which led to just 6 points.

Texas Tech Red Raiders(Home)

Head Coach: Chris Beard {Overall: 20-5, .800 W-L% | Conference: 8-4, T-2nd in Big 12}

The 15th ranked Red Raiders return home after a two game road trip in the state of Oklahoma. In their most recent action, Texas Tech shelled the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 78-50 on February 13th in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Red Raiders were led by sophomore guard Jarrett Culver who dropped 19 points, while senior guard Matt Mooney contributed 15 points while shooting a perfect 5-5 from three point land. The win was a display of total dominance on both ends of the floor as Texas Tech shot over 50% as a team, and held Oklahoma State to under 40% shooting.

The Red Raiders will look to avenge their January 19th loss to the Bears, where they were plagued by 17 turnovers. Tech will have their work cut out for them to rid themselves of the turnover bug, as they currently rank 193rd in Division I basketball in total turnovers. The biggest key to victory for them will be their defines, which ranks 2nd in the country in points allowed at just 57.3 per game. Having home court advantage will certainly aid in meeting this objective.

Baylor Roster Notes

Forward Tristan Clark is out for the season with a knee injury. Clark has been out of action since January 12th.

Guard King McClure is listed as day-to-day with a knee injury. McClure did not play in Monday’s game against Oklahoma.

Texas Tech Roster Notes

Texas Tech has no injuries to report.

Head-to-Head: Jared Butler vs Davide Moretti

Jared Butler

Shooting Guard | 6-3 185lb (190cm, 83kg) | Riverside Academy | Reserce, LA | Freshman

8.7 PPG | 2.6 APG | 2.7 RPG | 1.0 SPG | 0.1 BPG | 1.7 TOV | .383 FG% | .330 3P%

Davide Moretti

Shooting Guard | 6-2 175lb (188cm, 79kg) | Treviso Basket | Bologna, Italy | Sophomore

10.7 PPG | 1.8 APG | 1.8 RPG | 1.2 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 1.3 TOV | .482 FG% | .417 3P%

This matchup includes two underclassman perimeter players who have stepped up their production for differing reasons. The development of these players has allowed their teams to be less reliant on just a single star, and consequentially harder to gameplan against.

Ever since taking over Tristan Clark’s spot in the starting rotation, Jared Butler has been a steady source of offense despite being a freshman. His in-conference scoring high of came against the Red Raiders. His 2-8 showing from three point range, left a lot to be desired, however his versatility shined via 5 assists and 3 steals.

After starting just one game as a freshman, Davide Moretti’s role has expanded immensely. The Italian sophomore has provided steady scoring production since the start of conference play, failing to reach double figures just twice. His ability to set teammates up has also been a nice asset, as evidenced by his 8 assists in the Oklahoma State game. Moretti’s presence on the perimeter, will force Baylor to not put too much defensive pressure on Tech’s top scorer, Jarrett Culver.

Baylor at Texas Tech Predictions and Odds

Oddsmakers favour Texas Tech by 6.5 points, while the over/under total for the game is pegged at 128.5.