Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Baylor Bears Prediction & Game Preview - 1/11/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Ferrell Center, Waco, TX

Where to watch: ESPN2

DraftKings: Baylor -12

BetMGM: Baylor -12.5

Caesars: Baylor -12

No. 19 Texas Tech: 11-3 (1-1 Big 12)

No. 1 Baylor: 15-0 (3-0 Big 12)

Texas Tech: won 75-67 vs. Kansas on Jan. 8

Baylor: won 76-64 at TCU on Jan. 8

The top-ranked Baylor Bears will try to keep that spot as the No. 1 team in the nation when they host the No. 19 Texas Tech Red Raiders on Tuesday.

Baylor comes in as high as 12-point favorites at most books, which of course comes at no surprise for how good/dominant the Bears have been since winning the national championship last season. If you’ve been anticipating a team to come in and repeat for the first time in forever, Baylor may be as good as any team right now to do that.

But when we look at Baylor, right now the more direct conversation is can the Bears finish the season undefeated? It’s possible.

The Bears are coming off a 12-point win on the road against TCU for their 21st consecutive win. The guard combo of Adam Flagler and James Akinjo combined for 42 of Baylor’s 76 points despite getting outrebounded 32-28. Baylor shot almost 53 percent from the floor and went 13 of 27 from 3-point range.

"We wanted to stay poised," Akinjo said. "We're the No. 1 team and everybody is going to see how you respond to situations like that. When we got down, we never panicked. I was just trying to keep us all poised. That's my job at point guard."

It’s that kind of efficiency, combined with that stout defense that was its calling card since last year that makes Baylor such a force. There’s no denying that the Big 12 might be the deepest conference in the country right now with Texas, Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State all joining Baylor in the top-25.

Yes, the Red Raiders have come around as one of the fun surprises in the country entering conference play. Texas Tech suffered two hard-fought losses to Gonzaga and Iowa State, but that was enough of a litmus test to upset Kansas at home on Jan. 8 in its last time out.

But it’s the way the Red Raiders have competed that should have Baylor a little shook in this matchup. In that loss to Iowa State, Texas Tech had only seven players available due to injuries of top scorers Terrence Shannon and Kevin McCullar.

Against Kansas wasn’t any better with Texas Tech dressing only eight players. That didn’t matter. Bryson Williams had 22 points, Clarence Nadolny had 17, and Texas Tech used a strong defensive first half to upset the Jayhawks at home on Saturday.

“It’s always good to beat a top 10 team, especially on your home floor,” Williams said. "It’s very good for our team.”

Baylor is 9-0 at home this season and I see no reason why that can’t continue. But I’m really intrigued with this Texas Tech team. Whether they can pull off the upset isn’t the conversation right now given they’re double-digit dogs. Baylor had a dog fight with Iowa State on New Year’s Day, which I think is more contingent on the state of the Big 12 right now than an indictment of Baylor. This conference is good, and there will be no easy games for the champs. Baylor wins, but it’s going to be closer than the spread indicates. Baylor by 6

Texas Tech is 3-10 ATS in its past 13 on the road when the total is between 130 and 139.5.

Texas Tech is 4-10 straight up as an underdog in its past 14.

Baylor is 63-5 straight up as a favorite over the past three seasons.

Baylor is 26-0 straight up when a home favorite of 10 or more points.

PG: Kevin McCullar

SG: Adonis Arms
SF: Davion Warren
PF: Bryson Williams
C: Kevin Obanor

PG: James Akinjo

SG: Adam Flagler
SF: Matthew Mayer
PF: Kendall Brown
C: Flo Thamba