Texas Tech Red Raiders at Kansas Jayhawks Pick

The no. 11 Kansas Jayhawks will host the no. 16 Texas Tech Red Raiders Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. ESPN is giving Kansas a 65% chance to win this Big-12 matchup, as the race for first in the conference is tight. Texas Tech is in 3rd place with an overall record of 17-4 and a conference record of 5-3. Kansas is currently 5th with a 16-5 overall record and a 5-3 record in the conference. The Jayhawks have dropped two games in a row to Kentucky and then Texas, as Bill Self’s team is in danger of losing a third straight. The Red Raiders have won two consecutive games over Arkansas and TCU after they were on a three-game losing streak. This is Chris Beard’s third season as head coach for Texas Tech, as he looks to take down one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all-time.

Jayhawks Much Better at Home

Kansas is a very different team when playing at home, as they have yet to lose at a perfect 12-0. When they play on the road is when they run into issues, as they’re just 1-5 away from home. A home game may be exactly what this Jayhawks team needs after losing back-to-back road games. Texas Tech has gone 2-2 on the road this season, as they’re led by sophomore guard Jarrett Culver. In Texas Tech’s last game against TCU, Culver finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. On the season the future NBA prospect is averaging 18.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, and 3.9 apg. Matt Mooney (10.7 ppg) and Davide Moretti (10.4 ppg) are the two other players on this team that average double-digits, but this team runs through Jarrett Culver.

Red Raiders Want to Repeat Last Season

What Texas Tech has in Culver, Kansas has that in Dedric Lawson. The junior forward for the Jayhawks leads the team in scoring with 19.2 ppg and rebounding with 10.9 rpg. In their last win against Iowa State, Lawson was an absolute monster dropping 29 points and 15 rebounds. Lagerald Vick averages 14.5 ppg, which is second-most on the team, and then Devon Dotson fills out the other guard position averaging 10.7. Udoka Azubuike is the other big man down low averaging 13.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, and 1.6 bpg.