Texas Tech vs. UCF Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for Saturday, Jan. 31

The Texas Tech Red Raiders are coming off one of the biggest wins of their season, beating the Houston Cougars last weekend by a score of 90-86. Now, the Red Raiders are in the conversation for being one of the best teams in the Big 12 along with Arizona, Houston, and Iowa State.

If they want to maintain that status, they have to get past UCF this Saturday. Luckily for them, the oddsmakers have them set as significant road favorites.

Let's dive into the odds and my best bet for this matinee matchup in Florida.

Texas Tech vs. UCF Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

Texas Tech -4.5 (-110)
UCF +4.5 (-110)

Moneyline

Texas Tech -225
UCF +184

Total

OVER 159.5 (-115)
UNDER 159.5 (-105)

Texas Tech vs. UCF How to Watch

Date: Saturday, January 31
Game Time: Noon ET
Venue: Addition Financial Arena
How to Watch (TV): ESPN2
Texas Tech Record: 16-4 (6-1 in Big 12)
UCF Record: 16-4 (5-3 in Big 12)

Texas Tech vs. UCF Betting Trends

Texas Tech is 7-2 ATS in its last nine games
The UNDER is 4-1 in Texas Tech's last five road games
The UNDER is 7-1 in UCF's last eight games
UCF is 6-2 ATS in its last eight games as an underdog

Texas Tech vs. UCF Key Player to Watch

JT Toppin, F - Texas Tech Red Raiders

Cameron Boozer of Duke and AJ Dybantsa are the clear top two players in college basketball right now, but there's a very strong argument that JT Toppin of the Red Raiders is by himself in the third slot of those rankings. The betting odds would agree, as FanDuel has him third on the odds list to win the Wooden Award at +1400. He's leading Texas Tech in points per game (22.1), rebounds (10.9), and blocks (1.7).

Texas Tech vs. UCF Prediction and Pick

Instead of betting on the spread in this game, I'm going to bet the total and take the OVER. Both teams are better offensively than defensively. The two teams rank 29th and 47th in effective field goal percentage, but 132nd and 178th in defensive efficiency.

I'm banking on UCF pushing the pace in this game with the Knights being on their home court. UCF ranks 81st in possessions per game, signalling they play at a faster-than-average pace.

The Knights may struggle to defend the perimeter offense of Texas Tech. UCF ranks 170th in opponent three-point field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot 33.7% from beyond the arc. That's great news for the Texas Tech offense, which leans on three-point shooting.

Let's sit back and root for points on Saturday afternoon.

Pick: Texas Tech/UCF OVER 159.5 (-115) via FanDuel

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