Texas @ Texas Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 8, 2020 ) Texas Tech 62, Texas 57

No. 21 Texas Tech looks to bounce back from its worst offensive showing of the season when it hosts Texas on Saturday. The Red Raiders were held to their lowest point total of the year in the 65-51 setback to Oklahoma, and they hope to avoid falling out of the Top 25 by knocking off the Longhorns for the sixth consecutive time.

“Texas is playing its best basketball when it matters the most … and we expect an all-out game,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard told reporters. “Our players understand that we’ll have to play one of our best games of the year.” Texas is making a late push for an NCAA Tournament berth after knocking off 19th-ranked West Virginia on Monday. The Longhorns have won three straight games following a blowout loss to Iowa State on Feb.15 , and they hope to add another victory over a ranked opponent to their resume by taking down the Red Raiders in Lubbock for the first time since 2015. “The last three games they have done a great job of owning who we need to be,” Texas coach Shaka Smart told reporters. “We just gotta fight and we have to have unbelievable effort and we have to play together.”

TIME: Noon ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT TEXAS (17-11, 7-8 Big 12): Andrew Jones knocked down five 3-pointers en route to a career-high 22 points to go along with three assists and a pair of steals in the win against West Virginia. Courtney Ramey added 20 points, five rebounds and four assists while Matt Coleman scored 13 points as the Longhorns shot 52.4 percent from the floor against the Mountaineers. “We know we still have chances to prove ourselves,” Ramey told reporters. "A lot of people aren’t talking about Texas basketball so we just want to put our names on the map and just prove people wrong.”

ABOUT TEXAS TECH (18-10, 9-6): Kevin McCullar scored 13 points and dished out three assists while Chris Clarke added 11 points and six rebounds in the loss to Oklahoma. Terrence Shannon Jr. provided a boost off the bench with nine points while Kyler Edwards tallied eight, but the Red Raiders were doomed by a 33.3 percent shooting performance from the field. Freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey, who is averaging a team-leading 16.3 points per game this season, was held scoreless for the first time in his career after going 0-of-8 from the floor.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Texas Tech is 63-7 at home under Beard.

2. Texas is 7-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field this season.

3. Ramsey leads the Big 12 in 3-point shooting percentage (43.4).

PREDICTION: Texas Tech 73, Texas 66