Texas Tech @ Kansas preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2019 ) Kansas 62, Texas Tech 91

Although Kansas is struggling to get the break it needs to catch Baylor atop the Big 12 standings, it hasn't missed a beat despite its latest adversity. Coming off a dominant road victory in conference play, the third-ranked Jayhawks set their sights on a sixth straight win Saturday when they host a Texas Tech team playing its third consecutive Top 25 opponent.

Last week's game-ending brawl against Kansas State resulted in Kansas losing two key reserves - sophomore forwards Silvio De Sousa (12 games) and David McCormack (two) - but the Jayhawks found a way to grind out a 74-68 victory over Tennessee with only seven scholarship players last Saturday before posting a 65-50 wire-to-wire win at Oklahoma State on Monday. "It's been kind of a hard week, and our guys have played (and acted) pretty maturely since it started. The best we could have done is probably what we did the last two games, so I'm pretty happy with them right now," Kansas coach Bill Self told reporters. The Red Raiders dropped a heartbreaker in overtime at home in a Big 12/SEC Challenge showdown against No. 13 Kentucky last Saturday before rebounding with a spectacular offensive performance to defeat No. 11 West Virginia 89-81 on Wednesday. Despite facing the Mountaineers' top-ranked adjusted defense in the country (per KenPom), Texas Tech shot 54.3 percent - including 11-of-17 beyond the arc - and buried 28 of its 32 free-throw attempts.

TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT TEXAS TECH (13-7, 4-3 Big 12): Junior guard Davide Moretti (13.7 points) poured in a career-high 25 points, Terrence Shannon Jr. (12.1) added a career-high 23 and fellow freshman guard Jahmi'us Ramsey (15.3) contributed 21 on Wednesday to give the Red Raiders three 20-point scorers in the same game for the first time since Jan. 11, 2017 in a loss to Kansas. Ramsey notably decided to shed his protective mask for the first time since he broke his nose during an AAU game prior the start of his senior year of high school and responded with his best offensive output in a Big 12 contest. Freshman reserve guard Kevin McCullar missed the West Virginia game due to being placed in concussion protocol; his status for Saturday is uncertain.

ABOUT KANSAS (17-3, 6-1): Junior guard Marcus Garrett (9.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists) came as close as he ever has to posting only the third officially recorded triple-double in school history, finishing with seven points, eight rebounds and nine assists versus the Cowboys. “Marcus totally controlled everything. Especially the second half. He’s a really good player. He is. I don’t know if we’ve had anybody in the middle of the zone that I can remember that’s any better than he is," Self said afterward. Freshman guard Christian Braun (5.3 points) is 11-for-22 from 3-point range over his last three outings - a stretch during which he has scored 43 of his 106 points for the season.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. According to KenPom, Garrett has topped an offensive rating of 100 in 14 of his team's 20 games. All three of the Jayhawks' losses have come in those six contests he has failed to do so.

2. Red Raiders sophomore F and UNLV transfer Joel Ntambwe's final waiver request to gain immediate eligibility and play this season was denied by the NCAA on Thursday.

3. McCormack is set to return Saturday after completing his two-game suspension.

PREDICTION: Kansas 67, Texas Tech 62