A clash between top 25 teams from the Big 12 helps tip off the 12th week of the season, and it was a no-brainer to include Monday’s matchup between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Kansas Jayhawks on our free NCAA basketball picks lineup.
Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Kansas Jayhawks
Monday, January 24, 2022 – 9:00 PM EST at Allen Fieldhouse
Texas Tech and Kansas will be meeting for the second time in a little more than two weeks when the teams tangle in Lawrence with a national television audience looking on. The Red Raiders won the first collision, leaving the Jayhawks looking for a little revenge this time around. Adding to the online sports betting stakes, it is the first place in the conference being on the line.
Both the Red Raiders and Jayhawks have had little time to soak in victories from this past Saturday, those wins helping to maintain a tightly-bunched big 12 race where the entire conference is just 3½-games apart. Kansas is on top of the heap, with Texas Tech and Baylor knotted just a half-game back.
Teams Have Split Covers in the Last Ten Meetings
With only three ranked teams in action and this game pitting two of them against one another, there’s no question Texas Tech and Kansas are at the top of Monday’s marquee. The Jayhawks are being asked to cover the same 7-point spread they were asked to in the first meeting, with the total a little higher than before at 139½-140.
Texas Tech was shorthanded on its home floor when Kansas came to Lubbock on January 8th with its full complement of players, making the Red Raiders’ 75-67 win all the more impressive. The Jayhawks closed as 7-point favorites with YouWager (visit our YouWager Review), and Texas Tech flipped that script by using its signature defense to pull off the upset.
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Injuries kept Terrence Shannon Jr. and Kevin McCullar, the top two scorers for Texas Tech, off the floor, but Bryson Williams stepped up to net 22 points to lead the way. Clarence Nadolny also played a huge role with a career-high 17 as the Red Raiders win the rebounding battle and forced Kansas into making 17 turnovers.
The triumph halted a string of 4-straight wins for the Jayhawks in the rivalry, though Kansas still owns a 39-7 record over Texas Tech. The final got past the total with five points to spare, leaving ‘over’ bettors a very profitable 8-3 in the last 11 matchups. The Red Raiders have only won in Lawrence one time, an 85-73 upset in January 2018.
‘Over’ Cashes in Three of Tech’s Last Four
Beating the Jayhawks earlier this month was the start of arguably the greatest 2-game stretch in Texas Tech basketball history. Mark Adams and his staff certainly had the Red Raiders in a zone as they followed up the Kansas upset by going to Waco and taking down No. 1 Baylor by handing the Bears their first loss of the season.
The Red Raiders spent last Saturday at home where they toppled West Virginia, 78-65. The final margin was plenty to get past the -8 line on the college basketball odds board but might look like it was an easier win and cover than it was. The Mountaineers actually led with about 6½ minutes remaining before Texas Tech found a new gear to get the dubya. After missing a month with back trouble, Shannon Jr. poured in 23 in his third game back.
KU 5-3-1 ATS in Nine Home Games
Though the Jayhawks didn’t cover either game last week, Bill Self is just happy that they escaped with a pair of close 3-point road wins. The top-rated sportsbooks favored Kansas by 3½ in Norman, and Self’s squad enjoyed a comfortable 12-point lead early in the second half before Oklahoma turned it into a game. A Christian Braun 3-pointer ultimately decided matters in the 67-64 final.
Kansas was burdened with 6-point chalk Saturday in Manhattan and found itself trailing rival Kansas State by 16 at halftime. The Jayhawks were able to overcome the deficit by dominating the boards and ultimately outscoring their Sunflower State rivals by 10 at the free-throw line. Nijel Pack was hot from outside to lead the Wildcats with a season-high 35 points, but Ochai Agbaji scored the final three points of the game to give him 29 and the win for Kansas.
Nobody in the Big 12 plays an easy schedule, and nobody in the country is going to play a tougher stretch the next couple of weeks than Kansas with Kentucky, Iowa State, Baylor, and Texas in the next four on the slate. The Jayhawks should begin that gauntlet on the fixture with a win, but I’ll play the Red Raiders and the points in this one.
NCAAB Pick: Texas Tech +7 (-108) with Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
