The Red Raiders, thanks in part to Ronald Ross and his 52 tourney points against UCLA and Gonzaga, are heading to the Sweet-Sixteen to take on the Mountaineers who got here by way of a 63-61 buzzer-beating dunk against Creighton and a 111-105 double OT shoot-out over Wake Forest. Texas Tech runs a disciplined offense and is 5-0 against-the-spread in Conference and NCAA tourney action. They've caught the eye of sportsbooks who opened the team 1 1/2-point favorites for the contest knowing Big Twelve teams sport a 7-2 SU & ATS mark last three years in Sweet-Sixteen competition. However West Virginia cannot be dismissed as the Mountaineers have put a few solid teams away in it's Conference and NCAA run including B.C, Villanova and Wake. The young Mountaineer squad with four juniors in the starting lineup could surprise and send backers to the cash window a sixth time (5-2 ATS) during the month of March. Then again, Big East teams are 1-6 ATS last two years in this round. Two stars on Texas Tech.
While both of these teams prefer to play a half-court game, a look at their season-to-date numbers reveals that they still should be able to go OVER this posted total. While the OVER is an even 9-9 in all Texas Tech games that had a posted total this year, the average combined total score of all Red Raider games is 146.7 points, nearly 4 points more than this total. They have shot the ball well in this tournament, putting up 78 and 71 points in the first two rounds respectively, and they are hitting a very good 40.1% of their three-point attempts over the whole year. Speaking of three-point shooting, West Virginia has one of the best perimeter games in the country as even their two centers shoot well from behind the arc. They are coming off of that double overtime 111-105 classic win over Wake Forest, and while I'm not saying they will top the century mark again, I would not be shocked if they reach the 80s, especially if they are playing from behind. Also noteworthy is the fact that the Mountaineers are averaging 87.3 points per game vs. non-conference opponents this season when either on the road or on a neutral court as they are here. Three stars on the over here.