Kansas vs. Texas Tech Odds

Kansas’ gauntlet of a schedule continues on Thursday as it heads to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech.

Before COVID-19 cut last season short, Kansas was the clear-cut favorite to cut down the nets. It will also be one of the biggest what-ifs for Bill Self and the Jayhawk faithful.

Kansas started out this season with a blowout loss to Gonzaga and close wins over Kentucky and Creighton. The Jayhawks really lucked out in the game against Creighton, as Marcus Zegarowski missed a free throw in the final seconds that would have sent it to overtime.

What an ending 😳

The battle between No. 8 Creighton and No. 5 Kansas came down to the wire. Creighton’s Marcus Zegarowski missed the FT to tie up the game. pic.twitter.com/N9TgKRnipW

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 9, 2020

The Red Raiders, meanwhile, failed their one big test of the season, losing to Houston on a neutral court. Other than that, they’ve blown out all of the lesser competition on their schedule.

Chris Beard has a squad loaded with talent in 2020. Texas Tech boasts a fantastic mixture of veterans, highly sought after transfers, and talented freshmen. The only question that now remains is whether or not the Red Raiders can put it all together to win the Big 12 over Kansas and Baylor.

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Kansas Jayhawks

Self has a lot of work to do with this Jayhawk team. He loses his main three contributors — Devon Dotson, Udoka Azubuike, and Isaiah Moss — from last season, but other than that, he has everyone coming back.

Marcus Garrett will be the heart and soul of this Kansas squad. He is one of the best defenders in the nation and has the most experience of any Jayhawk currently on the roster.

Five-star recruit Bryce Thompson will be the key for Kansas’ offense this season. He will be taking over for Dotson at the point and will need to replicate somewhere near the same numbers if Kansas is going to be considered among the nation’s elite.

However, the strength of the Jayhawks is going to be on the defensive end of the floor. Last season, Kansas finished as the second-best team in the nation in terms of defensive efficiency, per KenPom.

So far this season, it’s ranked as the sixth-best team in terms of defensive efficiency. However, for the Jayhawks to win as short underdogs on Thursday, their offense is going to have to go to another level.

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Texas Tech Red Raiders

Chris Beard’s squad’s success this year starts on the defensive end of the floor. The Red Raiders are the No. 1 team in the country in terms of defensive efficiency, per KenPom. In fact, the game against Houston is the only game in which they have given up over 60 points.

Chris Beard had some major roster turnover in the offseason, but it appears to be for the better. The Red Raiders brought in five-star guard Nimari Burnett to take over for Jahmi’us Ramsey and run the offense. Texas Tech also snagged former Georgetown guard Mac McClung on the transfer market, which should help make up for the loss of Ramsey and Davide Moretti in the backcourt.

The key for Texas Tech this season is going to be on the offensive end of the floor. It’s currently below the NCAA average in almost every shooting category, so it’ll need to improve if it wants to be considered among the elite teams in college basketball.

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Betting Analysis & Pick

This game is going to be a good old fashioned rock fight between two of the top six defensive teams in the country.

The key to this game is going to be pace. Texas Tech plays at a snail’s pace (317th in AdjTempo, per KenPom), while Kansas wants to play fast (64th in AdjTempo). Whichever team controls the tempo will control the game.

I have 131.73 points projected for this game and Texas Tech projected as -2.17 favorites. So, given the opening lines, I do no think there’s much value on this game as it stands.

But you can follow me in The Action Network App to see any bets I make on this game if the line moves.