For the second straight year, the Texas Tech Red Raiders enter the national tournament as a 3 seed, while Northern Kentucky has earned its best-ever seeding at 14. Northern Kentucky is on a five-game winning streak en route to claiming the Horizon Conference tournament title, while Texas Tech is looking to rebound from a loss that snapped its nine-game winning streak. The Red Raiders are a 14-point favorite with the total Sportsbook at 137 points.
Northern Kentucky vs Texas Tech Game Center
Standout Stats
- Texas Tech had an early exit in the Big 12 Conference tournament, falling 79-74 to West Virginia in the quarterfinal, and is now 9-1 SU and 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games with an average winning margin of 18.89, winning seven games by double-digit margins over that span. Meanwhile, Northern Kentucky is 5-0 SU but 2-3 ATS in its last five games with an average winning margin of 7.4.
- The OVER has been a reliable play down the stretch for the Red Raiders as the total went OVER in six of their last seven games, with those six also going OVER 137 points. The Norse have also been a good OVER bet recently with the total going OVER in four of their last six games and only two games going UNDER 137 points over that span.
- Northern Kentucky averages 77.8 points per game to the Red Raiders’ 73.1 ppg. However, on the defensive side of the ball, Texas Tech ranks fourth in the country by restricting opponents to 59.3 ppg, while the Norse surrender 70 ppg.
- The teams are very similar in overall shooting efficiency with Texas Tech hitting 47.2 percent of its attempts and Northern Kentucky shooting 47.5 percent from the floor, with the Norse taking a few more three-point attempts per game. Once again, though, there’s quite a discrepancy defensively as the Red Raiders rank second in college hoops in opponent shooting percentage, while the Norse rank 89th.
- Northern Kentucky has a slight advantage on the glass, grabbing 36.3 rebounds per game to Texas Tech’s 34.1. However, overall ball possession may swing the momentum in the Red Raiders’ favor as they rank 15th in takeaways per game and the Norse rank 130th.
My Best Bet for Northern Kentucky vs Texas Tech
Texas Tech -14
Although Northern Kentucky has done a better job filling the basket compared to Texas Tech, it has done this with a much weaker strength of schedule, ranking 232nd, while the Red Raiders’ SOS ranked 56th. I just have a hard time seeing the Norse being able to pile on the points against the No. 4-ranked defense in the nation. Additionally, seven of Texas Tech’s last nine wins have come by double-digit margins and an average winning margin of 18.89.
