Arizona vs Texas Tech Prediction 2/8/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Arizona Wildcats meet Saturday in college basketball action from McKale Center. Here’s an Arizona vs Texas Tech prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Arizona vs Texas Tech pick.

Texas Tech Red Raiders Betting Preview

The Red Raiders have posted a nice run so far this year. They’ve remained a consistent team, with no instances of consecutive losses just yet. Texas Tech kicked things off with an 11-3 stretch over their first 14 games, taking losses to only Saint Joseph’s, Texas A&M, UCF and Iowa State. The wins otherwise were versus Bethune-Cookman, Northwestern State, Wyoming, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Syracuse, Northern Colorado, DePaul, Oral Roberts, Lamar, Utah and BYU. After a loss to Iowa State, the Raiders hit another win streak. Those victories came over Kansas State, Arizona, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, TCU, Houston and Baylor in succession, giving the Red Raiders an 18-4 overall run through their first 22 games this year.

In the Baylor matchup on Tuesday, Texas Tech entered the second half with a 34-24 edge. The Red Raiders kept it going in the second on a 39-35 run and took the victory 73-59 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Chance McMillian with 19 points, four rebounds and one assist. Darrion Williams added 17 points with eight boards and one assist, while Elijah Hawkins chipped in with 13 points, seven assists and four boards. Tops off the bench was Federiko Federiko with eight points, three blocks and four rebounds in 28 minutes of work.

Arizona Wildcats Betting Preview

Over on the Wildcats’ side, they opened the year on a pretty rough run. To Arizona’s credit however, they’ve been great since mid-December. The Wildcats fell to Wisconsin, Duke, Oklahoma, West Virginia and UCLA during a spotty 4-5 record over their first nine games of the season. A win streak came next however, as Arizona took out Samford, Central Michigan, TCU, Cincinnati, West Virginia, UCF and Baylor. Following a loss to Texas Tech, the Wildcats hit another winning stretch. Those victories came courtesy of Oklahoma State, Colorado, Iowa State, Arizona State and BYU, giving Arizona a 16-6 record in all across the first 22 games.

Matched up against BYU on the road Tuesday, the Wildcats came out of the locker room with a 41-41 tie. Arizona hit a 44-33 stretch in the second half though, eventually powering out an 85-74 win in the end. Leading team scorer Caleb Love put up 18 points with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jaden Bradley had 17 points with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Henri Veesaar came off the bench to contribute 17 points with six rebounds and two steals, while Tobe Awaka had 14 points with nine boards and one assist in 19 minutes of work.

Why the Arizona Wildcats will win

• Arizona has won 43 of its last 45 night games at McKale Memorial Center.
• Texas Tech has lost four of its last five night games against AP-ranked opponents.
• Arizona has won the first half in each of its last eight games at McKale Memorial Center.

Why the Texas Tech Red Raiders will win

• Texas Tech has won each of its last nine night games.
• Texas Tech has won the first half in each of its last six games against the Big 12 Conference.

Total Points Facts

• Ten of Arizona’s last 11 night games at McKale Memorial Center have produced a total of 151+ points.
• Six of Texas Tech’s last seven night games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 141 or fewer points.

Arizona vs Texas Tech Prediction

I’ll stick with Arizona. You could probably make a case either way, though; it’ll be a fun matchup. The Wildcats took out a pretty good BYU team in their last outing, shooting a nice 49.2 percent from the field with a 45-30 rebounding edge and 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the line. Arizona did cough up 12 turnovers for 11 Cougars points, but that was just about the only stat to complain about in the 11-point victory. During this current five-game win streak the Wildcats have scored 78 or more points in each outing.

The last time these teams saw each other, Arizona took a rough road loss 70-54 back on January 18. The Wildcats have plenty to improve on from that game, shooting just 31 percent from the field and 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from outside along with a 50-34 rebounding deficit (16-8 offensive). Texas Tech didn’t shoot all that well themselves (36.4 percent) but they were in control most of the way. I like the Wildcats to get a little revenge in the home rematch, but it should be a great game regardless.