PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* NCAAB Tuesday Tussle >> $20 Tuesday!
(NCAAB) Kansas State vs. Texas Tech,
Point Spread: -5.00 | -110.00 Texas Tech (Home)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: -5.00 | -110.00 Texas Tech (Home)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The 12-3 Texas Tech Red Raiders will host the 13-2 Kansas State Wildcats on Tuesday night, a day after the Wildcats squeezed into the AP's latest top-25 in a tie for 25th with USC. Kansas State (2-1 in Big 12 play) achieved its top-25 ranking despite having no victories over top-25 opponents so far this season. The Wildcats played rival No. 2 Kansas to a controversial two-point loss in Lawrence, Kan., and hammered struggling Oklahoma in Manhattan, Kansas last week. Meanwhile, Texas Tech (1-2 in Big 12 play) posted its first victory over a top-25 opponent this season when the Red Raiders edged then-No. 7 West Virginia (now No. 10) by a point in overtime in Lubbock, Texas.
Kansas State: With Baylor now at No. 1 after opening the season unranked, it's easy to overlook Kansas State's surprising start. The Wildcats were projected to finish ninth in the 10-team Big 12 Conference but Kansas State comes to Lubbock in hopes of a ninth victory in its last 10 outings. The Wildcats rebounded nicely off the team's hard-fought last-second loss to the Jayhawks as they never trailed en route to Saturday's 75-64 victory over Oklahoma. All Five starters scored in double digits against the Sooners and all five are averaging double digits on the season. The 6-7 Iwundu (12.5-5.3-3.3) leads the way, joined by guards Brown (12.3) and Stokes (11.0 & 4.5 APG) plus up front it's the 6-9 Johnson (11.5 & 6.4) and the 6-10 Wade (10.5 & 5.7). Add in 6-5 freshman Sneed (9.2 PPG) and Bruce Weber's got quite a team.The Wildcats are playing excellent defense as well, allowing 61.2 PPG to rank 14th.
Texas Tech: Truth be told, the Red Raiders' resume this year looks a lot like the Wildcats'. Texas Tech began conference play with a road trip to Iowa State (loss), then the home game against the Mountaineers (win in OT) and the trip to Kansas (loss). "(Kansas) Coach (Bill) Self asked me right after the game, 'Who do you play next?' and I said, 'I think Golden State Warriors,'" Texas Tech coach Chris Beard joked after the loss to the Jayhawks. "It's an 18-round fight and you want to give yourself a chance every night. We intend to be a part of the fight." In his first year as head coach, Beard led Little Rock to a 30-win season (including a win over Purdue in the Big Dance) and then came to Lubbock when Tubby Smith left for Memphis. The Red Raiders have four double digit scorers, led by guards Evans (13.6 & 3.5 APG), plus three 6-8 players, Livingston (12.5 & 4.3), Smith (12.4 & 7.9) and Ross (11.4 & 3.4). Four others contribute 4.9 to 9.1 PPG. Tech scores a little more than the Wildcats (79.0 to 76.3 PPG but shoots better at 50.9 % which ranks 7th) plus defends as well, allowing 62.7 PPG (21st) to KSU's 61.2.
The pick: Kansas State owns 12 double digit wins and its only two losses have come in heartbreaking fashion; the first on a go-ahead layup with less than 10 seconds remaining in a 69-68 setback against Maryland on Nov. 26 and then that controversila 90-88 loss at Kansas, on a tiebreaking layup as time expired when it appeared Kansas' Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk took as many as four steps without dribbling on the game-winner. That said, Texas Tech ranks seventh in the country in FG percentage (50.7), 10th in rebounding margin (plus-9.3), 16th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46), 21st in scoring defense (62.7) and 24th in three-point field-goal percentage (39.8). Texas Tech is 10-0 SU at home (outscoring opponents 84.2-to-60.3 PPG in lined games) and has beaten the Wildcats at home in each of the last two years. Make Texas Tech a 10* play.
Kansas State: With Baylor now at No. 1 after opening the season unranked, it's easy to overlook Kansas State's surprising start. The Wildcats were projected to finish ninth in the 10-team Big 12 Conference but Kansas State comes to Lubbock in hopes of a ninth victory in its last 10 outings. The Wildcats rebounded nicely off the team's hard-fought last-second loss to the Jayhawks as they never trailed en route to Saturday's 75-64 victory over Oklahoma. All Five starters scored in double digits against the Sooners and all five are averaging double digits on the season. The 6-7 Iwundu (12.5-5.3-3.3) leads the way, joined by guards Brown (12.3) and Stokes (11.0 & 4.5 APG) plus up front it's the 6-9 Johnson (11.5 & 6.4) and the 6-10 Wade (10.5 & 5.7). Add in 6-5 freshman Sneed (9.2 PPG) and Bruce Weber's got quite a team.The Wildcats are playing excellent defense as well, allowing 61.2 PPG to rank 14th.
Texas Tech: Truth be told, the Red Raiders' resume this year looks a lot like the Wildcats'. Texas Tech began conference play with a road trip to Iowa State (loss), then the home game against the Mountaineers (win in OT) and the trip to Kansas (loss). "(Kansas) Coach (Bill) Self asked me right after the game, 'Who do you play next?' and I said, 'I think Golden State Warriors,'" Texas Tech coach Chris Beard joked after the loss to the Jayhawks. "It's an 18-round fight and you want to give yourself a chance every night. We intend to be a part of the fight." In his first year as head coach, Beard led Little Rock to a 30-win season (including a win over Purdue in the Big Dance) and then came to Lubbock when Tubby Smith left for Memphis. The Red Raiders have four double digit scorers, led by guards Evans (13.6 & 3.5 APG), plus three 6-8 players, Livingston (12.5 & 4.3), Smith (12.4 & 7.9) and Ross (11.4 & 3.4). Four others contribute 4.9 to 9.1 PPG. Tech scores a little more than the Wildcats (79.0 to 76.3 PPG but shoots better at 50.9 % which ranks 7th) plus defends as well, allowing 62.7 PPG (21st) to KSU's 61.2.
The pick: Kansas State owns 12 double digit wins and its only two losses have come in heartbreaking fashion; the first on a go-ahead layup with less than 10 seconds remaining in a 69-68 setback against Maryland on Nov. 26 and then that controversila 90-88 loss at Kansas, on a tiebreaking layup as time expired when it appeared Kansas' Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk took as many as four steps without dribbling on the game-winner. That said, Texas Tech ranks seventh in the country in FG percentage (50.7), 10th in rebounding margin (plus-9.3), 16th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46), 21st in scoring defense (62.7) and 24th in three-point field-goal percentage (39.8). Texas Tech is 10-0 SU at home (outscoring opponents 84.2-to-60.3 PPG in lined games) and has beaten the Wildcats at home in each of the last two years. Make Texas Tech a 10* play.
