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Arizona Vs Texas Tech 🏀 Game Preview/Discussion Thread 2/8/25 830PM ESPN
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.
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 11-3stretch. 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 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.
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.
Did you know?
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.
UPDATE: Trey Townsend has been ruled out due to a concussion.
Arizona is favored at 2.5 points and the Over/Under is 150.5 points
Let's talk about the Wildcats Vs Red Raiders.
BEARDOWN!!!
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Let's go Cats!
Huge game for conf standings. Can't let Tech own the tiebreaker over us.
I hope McKale Magic comes thru again and Love drops 30 on em.
After all, February is the month of Love. :D
Hopefully March is also the month of Love ;)
Yes, it would be nice to get some separation from Tech, especially considering the upcoming difficulty of our schedule. Houston won't drop many more so we need to keep pace by winning the home matchups.
Bear Down!
https://x.com/ArizonaMBB/status/1887994654131634607?t=tKgkmv2BfFHV8Nuod-YykA&s=19
If Tom matches up Townsend on JT Toppin again for even one possession, he needs to be demoted immediately.
I agree...but who can handle him? Bryant would get into quick foul trouble, KJ doesn't have the size, Awaka can't keep up off the dribble and Veesaar can't rebound when he's pulled out to the perimeter.
Coaching. If it is emphasized to Carter that moving his feet and staying in position are priority #1 over "shutting down" his matchup, I think we all believe in Carter to be able to execute a specific assignment for the team. It's difficult to get in foul trouble when you're not gambling for steals or biting on fakes. Toppin will have one hell of a time getting anything easy if Carter keeps it simple.
Quote from: |ᴘ|ʀ|ʏ|ᴍ|ᴇ| on February 07, 2025, 05:12:10 PMIf Tom matches up Townsend on JT Toppin again for even one possession, he needs to be demoted immediately.
I don't see Lloyd changing his starting lineup, so Tre either has to guard Toppin or Williams. Pick your poison. As concerning is ADO and how he defends.
Arizona is on a 5 game streak since losing at TT. Tech has been even better with a 7 game win streak. Their wins have been much more impressive as well, since they have wins over Houston, AZ and Baylor. We were lucky to beat ISU, beat a decent BYU team, then a bunch of bottom feeders. I think Tech is the better team right now, but if HV and CB keep getting better, we may have a higher ceiling. At home we should be able to get the W. Need to kerp them off the offensive boards and make sure they don't shoot close to their 3 pt %.
Quote from: TucsonTruckStop on February 08, 2025, 10:38:48 AMArizona is on a 5 game streak since losing at TT. Tech has been even better with a 7 game win streak. Their wins have been much more impressive as well, since they have wins over Houston, AZ and Baylor. We were lucky to beat ISU, beat a decent BYU team, then a bunch of bottom feeders. I think Tech is the better team right now, but if HV and CB keep getting better, we may have a higher ceiling. At home we should be able to get the W. Need to kerp them off the offensive boards and make sure they don't shoot close to their 3 pt %.
Arizona has won 12 of their last 13 games with wins Over Baylor, Iowa State, BYU and West Virginia, id say that's pretty impressive. None of the teams I mentioned are " bottom feeders "
Quote from: Zona Nation on February 08, 2025, 10:45:46 AMQuote from: TucsonTruckStop on February 08, 2025, 10:38:48 AMArizona is on a 5 game streak since losing at TT. Tech has been even better with a 7 game win streak. Their wins have been much more impressive as well, since they have wins over Houston, AZ and Baylor. We were lucky to beat ISU, beat a decent BYU team, then a bunch of bottom feeders. I think Tech is the better team right now, but if HV and CB keep getting better, we may have a higher ceiling. At home we should be able to get the W. Need to kerp them off the offensive boards and make sure they don't shoot close to their 3 pt %.
Arizona has won 12 of their last 13 games with wins Over Baylor, Iowa State, BYU and West Virginia, id say that's pretty impressive. None of the team I mentioned are " bottom feeders "
Never said what we are doing is not impressive, just that TT has been more impressive in the latest win streak. They easily have the 2 best wins (AZ and Houston). We win today and this flips.
Tech's only resume-builder, which separates them from Arizona, is the Houston win.
We blew out Baylor, who was at full strength. KU just lost them while the Bears were lacking their three best players (as Edgecombe was hurt during the game).
The Cats have some tough matchups to end the conference season and we'll definitely lose a couple but it's nice to see the Cats at the top of the standings, especially considering the rough start to the season.
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Hearing Townsend is out due to a concussion. Bryant should take his minutes.
Dang. Hit his head pretty hard last week. Hope he's feeling ok.
https://x.com/Zona_Briggs/status/1888379391060725848?t=wsuMAdw_Mqn_g6PTMgf7yA&s=19
https://x.com/EvanMiya/status/1888399165040075138?t=dFdlBolzvTv40MtJ220KTg&s=19
https://x.com/JavierJMorales/status/1888419624745865476?t=jmlYIlHy9jJLlNBOXi_qEA&s=19
Bryant gets the start!
https://x.com/ArizonaMBB/status/1888432452034818245?t=kTm_t3YgaRNB0Ks8udDmDA&s=19
The Arizona defense is nasty. Others can continue to whine about this team but I personally love the intensity and passion that is displayed on the court.
ESPN gave Veesaar credit for his offensive play but he prevented Toppin from playing his game.
https://x.com/AZATHLETICS/status/1888469950429626552?t=iRroIz5ovZqpRZYTMvsxOQ&s=19
https://x.com/jgtrends/status/1888470686701879677?t=sii_GtrYW4LBK0ioA0rWBQ&s=19
Quote from: WILD on February 08, 2025, 11:42:34 PMhttps://x.com/jgtrends/status/1888470686701879677?t=sii_GtrYW4LBK0ioA0rWBQ&s=19
Dell'Orso had the second highest impact?? (https://media1.tenor.com/m/iYSHVmS1YpAAAAAC/anthony-dell%27orso-shitting-me.gif)
I'm really starting to question these graphs.
Perhaps the system accidentally mixed us the players. Veesaar is actually Dell'Orso?
Seriously though, I think Delly played solid D in his limited minutes. Everybody contributed on that side of the ball.
Bryant was great but still drew the whistle every time he stepped on the court. A few of those calls were silly and it sucks that his court time was limited as a result.
If Love didn't lock down McMillan, it could have been a completely different game.