NCAA Basketball
(1/30/23) 9:00 PM Eastern.
Spread: Iowa State -1.5 / Texas Tech +1.5
ML: Iowa State -125 / Texas Tech +105
Total: Over / Under 129.5
The Pick: Texas Tech +1.5.
The Red Raiders have yet to pick-up a win in conference play and tonight’s a prime opportunity to end that streak. Much of the Red Raiders struggles have come from a slew of injuries this year. Tech has played tough at home while the Cyclones have really struggled on the road. Iowa State is just 2-4 on the road this season and fresh off a 61-78 beatdown by Missouri. Tigers (F) Kobe Brown dominated inside, scoring 20 points. The Red Raiders leading scorer (F) Kevin Obanor is similar size and presents similar problems. The Cyclones defensive efficiency drops tremendously away from home. At Home their team defensive efficiency is .781, 3rd in the country. On the road it’s 1.021. That would rank 236th in terms of overall defensive efficiency this season. And both of their road wins were just 2-point victories.
Texas Tech is carrying momentum from a 76-68 win at LSU last time out. They’re back at home where they’ve come close to a Big 12 win. At home they’ve lost to #21 Baylor by 7, Oklahoma by 5, and #3 Kansas by 3. They also lost at #10 Texas by 2 and battled at #13 Kansas State before falling 68-58 being outscored 40-25 in the 2nd half. Simply put the Red Raiders have been very close and can compete with these teams. There’s also a good chance Fardaws Aimaq plays after missing the last 2 games with a foot bruise. The 6’11, 245-pound senior would provide additional size for the Cylcones to struggle with. He’s played just 3 games this season, averaging 24 minutes, 10 points, and 6.7 rebounds.
