Game Preview: Texas Tech at No. 13 Baylor

Texas Tech blew their chances against a Longhorn team which overlooked Tech and were outplayed by the scrappy Red Raiders. Baylor is coming off a 70-60 comeback victory over Oklahoma at home last Saturday and in a game which the Bears were sleepwalking until the midway point in the second half.

Tech needs to bring the same intensity and passion to the court as they did Saturday against Texas to have a chance to beat the Bears and try to salvage any bit of this season. The hope for Texas Tech is that the Bears continue their sluggish starts and continue to be lazy on defense early on to give the Red Raiders a lead and confidence to finish the game for a win.

On offense, Texas Tech can best be described as anarchy with no real leader on the court for long stretches of the game. The Raiders need to keep playing their tough defense and try to score at least 20 points in transition to have a shot to win.

On defense, they need to keep Baylor’s frontcourt out of the paint and at least be + 5 or -5 in the rebound margin to have a chance for victory. Jordan Tolbert and Robert Lewandowski need to keep Perry Jones and Quincy Acy off the boards and them to 6 rebounds each. This is easier said than done.

Prediction: Baylor 70 Texas Tech 57.