The only team hotter than Texas Tech in the Big 12 right now is Kansas. The two square off Saturday at The Phog with the Red Raiders looking to postpone the Jayhawks conference title celebration by winning their sixth straight league game.
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HOW THE TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Texas Tech continues to reach new heights in the Big 12. The Red Raiders won their fifth straight league game Tuesday night, beating TCU. The Raiders climbed above .500 in Big 12 play and improved to 18-9 overall. It also marks the longest winning streak in conference play since they went undefeated in the Southwest Conference in 1995-96.
It will be a difficult task to extend the streak with a win over Kansas, but coach Tubby Smith says his team always talks about overachieving and playing harder and playing smarter than its opponents. The Raiders have been doing that lately.
The foundation for success was laid last year by Smith. The Raiders were just 3-15 in the Big 12 last season, but they did so playing with a group of talented freshmen in Keenan Evans, Justin Gray, Norense Odiase and Zach Smith. The four sophomores have become the backbone of the program.
It’s a sharing approach that has helped the Raiders achieve lofty heights. Seven players average between 8.6 points and 10.9 points per game. That unselfishness has helped Tech pull out close games, starting with an overtime win over No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 10. Then alarms went off with a 65-63 win over Oklahoma on Feb. 17.
HOW THE KANSAS JAYHAWKS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Jayhawks are on a serious roll and staring at another conference title following Tuesday’s comeback win against an inspired Baylor club. The only way the Jayhawks lose this game is if they look past Tech to their showdown with Texas on Monday. But the Red Raiders recent surge isn’t something to be overlooked.
Winning eight straight in the Big 12 is no easy task, but for coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks, that’s the expectation. KU is playing with a passion and swagger that seems unstoppable, but this hasn’t been the case all season.
Kansas hit a lull in conference play early on in the season, playing with no intent. Now the Jayhawks are playing with a purpose and a fire that seems impossible to extinguish. After a 13-point loss to Iowa State, KU hit a drought that cost them three out of five games. Since then the Jayhawks have rebounded, playing with a new energy level that no team has matched.
In late January, Self inserted Landen Lucas into a starting role; A change that has reversed KU’s fortunes. Lucas does all the dirty work, freeing up Perry Ellis to do what he does best. The backcourt play of Wayne Seldon and Frank Mason has solidified as well.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Here’s the deal: Kansas, now 24-4 overall, unbeaten in the month of February, and playing the most well-rounded, comprehensive basketball of any team in its league, would have to finish the regular season 0-3 to lose its share of the Big 12. Two of their last three games are at home. In the last 12 years, the Jayhawks have lost at home 10 times. So, in other words, it ain’t gonna happen. But this could be much closer than most expect with the Red Raiders playing pretty well themselves with five consecutive wins. And Tech will be playing with an edge, having been left out of the national rankings following wins over the Nos. 3, 18 and 22 teams in the RPI. The Raiders have nothing to lose – they’re expected to anyway – and everything to gain. Knocking off another conference heavyweight only validates the work Smith is doing in Lubbock.
Kansas 83, Texas Tech 78
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