Texas Tech (9-3) vs. Utah (8-4)
January 4, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Utah +2.5; Over/Under: +153.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Utah Utes meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Jon M. Huntsman Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Utah vs Texas Tech Prediction.
Texas Tech Recap
The Texas Tech Red Raiders come into this game looking to bounce back from a frustrating 87-83 loss to UCF last time out at home to fall to 9-3 on the year. After this game, Texas Tech will head on the road again to take on BYU.
Red Raiders Looking To Rebound
JT Toppin leads the Red Raiders in scoring and rebounding with 19.5 PPG and 10.9 RPG while Darrion Williams has 16 PPG with 5.7 RPG and 5 APG up to this point in the year. Chance McMillian has 16 PPG with 3.8 RPG and Kevin Overton has 11.2 PPG and 4 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for Texas Tech so far this season. Elijah Hawkins also has a team-high 5.2 APG and 2 SPG as well so far this season. As a team, Texas Tech is averaging 86 PPG on 51.1% shooting from the field, 39.2% from three, and 79.2% from the foul line this season.
Why the Texas Tech Red Raiders will win
- Texas Tech has won five of its last six games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Utah has lost four of its last five games against the Big 12 Conference.
Utah Recap
The Utah Utes come into this one looking to bounce back from an 81-56 loss to Baylor last time out. After this game, Utah will head on the road to take on Iowa State.
Utes Drop Back-To-Back Outings
Gabe Madsen leads the Utes in scoring with 17.5 PPG while Ezra Ausar has 10 PPG with 4.6 RPG and Mason Madsen has 12.3 PPG. Lawson Lovering has 12.1 PPG with 5.7 RPG in 7 games so far this season to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Utah up to this point in the season. Miro Little has 7.2 PPG with 5.3 RPG and a team-high 5 APG to lead the Utes in the assist department while Keanu Dawes has 7.4 PPG with 5.5 RPG and Mike Sharavjamts has 7.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 3.4 APG. As a team, Utah is averaging 84.2 PPG on 47.4% shooting from the field, 36.6% from three, and 63.9% from the foul line this season.
Why the Utah Utes will win
- Utah has won 13 of its last 14 games at Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Utah vs Texas Tech Prediction
I’m on Texas Tech here. I know that Utah can be a tough place to go on the road and win, and Texas Tech to begin with isn’t a world-beater on the road, but it’s not a team you often see take back-to-back losses and I think they smell blood in the water here against a Utah team that’s stumbled now that they have to face teams that are on their level. The only concern for me here with Texas Tech is this being their first true road game of the season, but I think the Red Raiders are still the deeper and better team here and I think they get it done on the road. Give me Texas Tech.
