Texas @ Texas Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 12, 2019 ) Texas Tech 68, Texas 62

Texas Tech looks to keep pace in the quest for its first Big 12 regular-season championship and record an eighth-straight victory when the 11th-ranked Red Raiders host Texas on Monday night. Texas Tech shot 56.9 percent from the field to earn an 81-66 victory at TCU on Saturday to remain tied with Kansas State atop the league standings and set a school record for wins in Big 12 play (12).

“We always feel like we are the underdog and have a chip on our shoulder,” Red Raiders coach Chris Beard told reporters. “That’s just us. This game was the biggest game that we’ve ever played or coached in. That’s how we approached each game. I’d hate to go into any game thinking the other guy wanted it more than us. Our guys were ready to play (Saturday).” Texas Tech has won the last three games in the series by a combined 12 points, including a 68-62 victory at the Longhorns on Jan. 12 with 22 points from senior guard Matt Mooney. Texas appears to have enough quality wins to reach the NCAA Tournament field - including triumphs against North Carolina, Purdue and Kansas - and followed up a heartbreaking overtime loss to Baylor with a 17-point win over Iowa State on Saturday. “Sometimes when you put a ton into a game and you feel like you’re gonna get it and don’t get it, that can be a gut punch that can affect you the next game,” Longhorns coach Shaka Smart told reporters after the 86-69 win. “At the very beginning of (Saturday’s) game, you could see a little bit of residue. We got in the first huddle, and said, ‘We have to have a level of juice and energy out there.’”

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT TEXAS (16-13, 8-8 Big 12): Sophomore guard Jase Febres has taken full advantage of three starts in place of indefinitely suspended leading scorer Kerwin Roach II (15.0), averaging 21.3 points after scoring a career-high 26 on Saturday. “I had a lot of open looks,” Febres told reporters after connecting on 8-of-10 from 3-point range Saturday to improve his season scoring average to 9.1. “A lot of teams now deny me (the ball), but I was wide open and (teammates) kept feeding me.” Freshman guard Courtney Ramey has also stepped up his level of production while averaging 15.3 points the last three games -- 7.2 above his season mark.

ABOUT TEXAS TECH (24-5, 12-4): Sophomore guard Jarrett Culver tops the team in scoring (17.9), rebounds (6.2) and assists (3.7) after recording 15 points, seven assists, six boards and five steals at TCU. Sophomore guard Davide Moretti, who shoots 45.8 percent from 3-point range, is averaging 15.8 points the past four games to push his season mark to 11.3 -- just ahead of Mooney (10.7), who registered six assists in each of the last three contests. Senior forward Tariq Owens has scored in double figures in five straight games and leads the team with 69 blocks -- two shy of Tony Battie’s single-season school record in 1996-97.

TIP-INS

1. Texas freshman F Jaxson Hayes entered Sunday second in the nation in field goal percentage (72.8).

2. The Red Raiders are among the national leaders in scoring defense (58.4) and opponents field-goal percentage (36.7).

3. Longhorns senior F Dylan Osetkowski tops the team in rebounding (7.6) and is averaging 13.3 points the last three games.

PREDICTION: Texas Tech 70, Texas 62