Houston vs. Texas Tech College Basketball prediction, preview
Texas Tech opened a somewhat surprising 3.5-point home underdog on DraftKings Sportsbook, considering that KenPom has the game projected as the Red Raiders winning by a point. As you’d expect, early money came piling in on Tech, and quickly moved to +2.5.
The Red Raiders are a very good team, sitting at a perfect 10-0 at home, and rounding into form of late. They are just 1-3 as an underdog this season, but 2-2 ATS — that cover in a loss happened to come against Houston. The win was a big comeback against Duke on a neutral floor, showing that they are capable of beating anybody in the country. Texas Tech also showed that pretty recently against this Houston team, playing the Cougars very tough on the road. Tech had late leads in that game, and ultimately lost by four points, hitting a late heave to help cover the spread for some (although it closed 7.5).
I thought this game had the potential to open a pick’em, and it would have been tough for me a pass on the Cougars. The market is showing a ton of respect to Houston here, and its easy to see why. The Cougs have won a ridiculous 18 games in a row in Big 12 conference play, and maybe an even more absurd 16 games in a row when playing on the road.
Texas Tech has been impressive lately, though. The Red Raiders were in a back and forth game with BYU last weekend, but pulled away and won by 13. They took that momentum on the road to Baylor on Tuesday night and blew the Bears off the floor from the opening tip. Getting more than a possession at the opener of +3.5, Texas Tech would just have to be the play. However, the Red Raiders have been bet pretty hard since this game popped on the board, and were getting close to the point I might have to consider Houston. The Cougars have practically a mythical resume since entering the Big 12, and I just trust this team more than any other in the conference.
CBB Lean: Houston ML at PK or better (-110)
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