Tuesday, February 22
Texas vs Texas Tech Preview
Texas travels to Lubbock tonight to take on Bob Knight and Texas Tech at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2. The #25 ranked Red Raiders (16-7, 8-4) are having a better season than most expected, having managed wins against Oklahoma and Kansas. In these teams first meeting in Austin, Texas held off Tech 80-73.
Texas needs this game far more than Tech does, but the Raiders are coming off an 85-56 blowout loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday and are sure to be sharper tonight against Texas. While Tech’s big wins, including eight in the conference, have them sitting comfortably as a lock for the tournament, Texas still needs to win two of its remaining four games to secure its own bid to the Dance. As important as road wins have become in the RPI, a victory at Tech would pretty much secure Texas’ own spot come Selection Sunday. As good as Texas is at home, they're bound to beat either Missouri or Oklahoma, so a road win against either Tech or Oklahoma State would be huge. If Texas can’t win at Tech or OSU, they're going to need to win both the home games to feel comfortable about their spot.
Tech fans love to hate Texas, so you can be sure that it’s going to be a rowdy environment in Lubbock tonight, making it tough for Texas to win. But I think we’re the better team and I believe tonight we’ll put together our first good road win of the year, 78-76.
--PB--
Texas needs this game far more than Tech does, but the Raiders are coming off an 85-56 blowout loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday and are sure to be sharper tonight against Texas. While Tech’s big wins, including eight in the conference, have them sitting comfortably as a lock for the tournament, Texas still needs to win two of its remaining four games to secure its own bid to the Dance. As important as road wins have become in the RPI, a victory at Tech would pretty much secure Texas’ own spot come Selection Sunday. As good as Texas is at home, they're bound to beat either Missouri or Oklahoma, so a road win against either Tech or Oklahoma State would be huge. If Texas can’t win at Tech or OSU, they're going to need to win both the home games to feel comfortable about their spot.
Tech fans love to hate Texas, so you can be sure that it’s going to be a rowdy environment in Lubbock tonight, making it tough for Texas to win. But I think we’re the better team and I believe tonight we’ll put together our first good road win of the year, 78-76.
--PB--
