No. 6 Houston basketball is back at home after two road games to face no. 22 Texas Tech on Saturday evening, looking to continue their multiple winning streaks. Keep reading for the Houston vs Texas Tech prediction.
This is a special game for Houston, as Cougars legend Don Chaney’s jersey will be retired at halftime. The Cougars will also be wearing their highly anticipated “Houston Blue” jerseys versus their in-state rival, a color that originally represented the city of Houston.
Game information
Teams: Houston (17-3, 9-0) and Texas Tech (16-4, 7-2)
Tip-off: 5 p.m. CST
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: KPRC 950
Latest on Texas Tech basketball:
The Red Raiders jumped into the AP Top 25 this week after having won their last five games, and seven out of their last eight beating teams like BYU and Arizona. Tech’s only loss during this period was to no. 3 Iowa State 85-84 at home. Texas Tech is now tied for third in the Big 12 standings with the Cyclones. In their last game, the Red Raiders beat TCU in Lubbock 71-57. Sophomore forward JT Toppin had a double double with 18 points and 14 rebounds along with senior guard Chance McMillian who put up 16 points with three assists.
Toppin has been the leading scorer for Texas Tech this season with 16.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 1.2 blocks per game. McMillian is second with 15 PPG. Senior guard Elijah Hawkins, who had 13 points and five assists vs TCU, leads Tech with just over six assists per game. Red Raiders head coach Grant McCasland, who came over from North Texas, is in his second season in Lubbock. So far, McCasland is 0-2 vs Houston and head coach Kelvin Sampson.
Houston currently has the 31-27 lead all time in head to head matchups, with the Cougars winning the last four games. The most recent meeting was in the Big 12 championship semifinals, where UH won 82-59. Tech hasn’t beaten Houston in over 11 years. The previous time the Red Raiders played at Fertitta Center last season, the Cougars won 77-54. Texas Tech has been a strong road team so far, with a 4-0 record in away games and 5-2 in non-home games. Houston has won their last 33 home games, so it will be a tough task for the Red Raiders to keep their perfect road record alive.
Latest on Houston basketball:
The no. 6 Cougars are coming off of two road wins, most recently at West Virginia 63-49 where senior guard LJ Cryer was the leading scorer with 17 points. That victory extended Houston’s Big 12 win streak to 18, which is the second longest in the history of the conference, only to Kansas’s 23 back in the early 2000’s. The Cougars now have three Quad one wins and will look to add one more on Saturday. Houston has won 13 games in a row entering this contest, which is second-longest win streak in the nation, only behind Duke.
UH has maintained the top scoring defense (53.9 PPG) and scoring margin (20.7) in the country and is second in field goal percentage defense (36.4%). After a high turnover mark vs West Virginia, Houston is now 3rd in fewest turnovers per game at nine. Junior point guard Milos Uzan still leads the Big 12 in assist-turnover ratio of 4.26, with only four turnovers in the last six games. Junior guard Emanuel Sharp is still not 100% from his ankle injury as he only played 18 minutes and had three points vs West Virginia. It’s possible sophomore guard Terrance Arceneaux may step in as Sampson said he shouldn’t have started Sharp in the last game.
Houston vs Texas Tech Prediction: Cougars by 10
This will be Houston’s first ranked matchup at Fertitta Center this season, and it should be a good one. I would expect Texas Tech to stay in this game throughout the first 30 minutes, but the Cougars at home will pull away.
[…] Takeaway #1: Incredible effort by Texas Tech […]