2022 NCAA Tournament First Round: No. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. No. 14 Montana State Bobcats
How to Watch:
- Date: Friday, March 18
- Time: 1:45 p.m. ET
- Location: Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA
- TV: TNT
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 3 TTU | STAT | No. 14 MSU |
| Big 12 | Conference | Big Sky |
| 25-9 | Record | 27-7 |
| 71.7 (174th) | Points Per Game | 77.0 (47th) |
| 60.3 | Points Allowed Per Game | 68.5 |
| 0.6095 (20th) | RPI | 0.5599 (67th) |
| 15th | Strength of Schedule | 310th |
| At-Large Bid | Bid | Automatic Bid |
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Texas Tech leaders:
- Bryson Williams, F, SR: 13.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 53.4% FG, 40.5% 3PT
- Terrence Shannon Jr., G, JR: 10.4 points, 2.8 RPG, 2.0 APG, 37.2% 3PT
Montana State leaders:
- Xavier Bishop, G, SR. – 13.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.3 APG
- Jubrile Belo, F, JR. – 13.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 59.0% FG
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- TTU Moneyline: -1600
- MSU Moneyline: +900
- Spread: TTU -14.5
- Over/Under: 139.5
- ATS Record: TTU 21-13, MSU 17-14-1
- Over/Under Record: TTU 16-18, MSU 17-14-1
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- You know the deal by now with the Red Raiders. It doesn’t matter that former head coach Chris Beard is gone, this team lives and dies with defense. They are the #1 ranked defense in the country by KenPom and support that with a respectable 64th-most efficient offense in the country.
- The Red Raiders also want to play slow. They are 211th in adjusted tempo, which is only slightly slower than the Bobcats, who play at the 157th-ranked adjusted tempo. It all means points may be at a premium in this game.
- However, these Bobcats are not a pushover. They’re in the top-50 in the nation in points per game, thanks, in part, to being 37th in the country with a 36.9% shooting mark from beyond the arc. The Red Raiders, however, are not a particularly good shooting team, ranking 288th with a 31.4% mark from downtown. While Texas Tech does defend well in every facet of the game, they are 63rd in the nation in three-point percentage allowed, so there could be some openings for Montana State to hit from deep. Likely not enough to win the game, but perhaps enough to cover the large spread.
