Baylor vs. Texas Tech Prediction, Betting Pick, Latest Odds for Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinal

The Texas Tech Red Raiders (24-7) and the Baylor Bears (19-13) square off today in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

Texas Tech took down Baylor 73-59 in Lubbock back on February 4th. The Red Raiders grabbed the lead halfway through the first half and maintained it the rest of the contest, although Baylor cut the lead to just five points with under four minutes remaining.

Tech’s Chance McMillian was on a heater in this contest, going for 19 points and hitting five three-pointers, a few from way behind the arc. Baylor did a nice job holding Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin in check, who only scored 9 points in 21 minutes.

Baylor played this game without likely top 5 pick VJ Edgecombe, but they did have big man Josh Ojianwuna, who got injured the next game and is out for the season.

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Baylor vs. Texas Tech Odds

Baylor vs. Texas Tech Date, Time, and Where To Watch

• Date: March 13, 2025
• Time: 7:00 pm ET
• Where To Watch: ESPN

Click here for latest Baylor vs. Texas Tech Odds

Baylor vs. Texas Tech Prediction

The Texas Tech Red Raiders (24-7) and the Baylor Bears (19-13) square off today in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

Texas Tech took down Baylor 73-59 in Lubbock back on February 4th. The Red Raiders grabbed the lead halfway through the first half and maintained it the rest of the contest, although Baylor cut the lead to just five points with under four minutes remaining.

Tech’s Chance McMillian was on a heater in this contest, going for 19 points and hitting five three-pointers, a few from way behind the arc. Baylor did a nice job holding Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin in check, who only scored 9 points in 21 minutes.

Baylor played this game without likely top 5 pick VJ Edgecombe, but they did have big man Josh Ojianwuna, who got injured the next game and is out for the season.

Baylor is still in the NCAA Tournament mix, but a win here would lock them in. Scott Drew’s team played well last night in a 70-56 win over offensively challenged Kansas State, who shot a measly 3-25 from behind the arc.

In the month of action Baylor has played without Ojianwuna, they’ve been underwhelming to the tune of a 4-5 record, with their best win being over 61-58 at TCU. They have been competitive with the good teams that they have played, with the worst loss being by 11 at Houston, but they rank 33rd on Bart Torvik over the past month while Texas Tech ranks 5th.

A key area in which the Bears have dropped off without Ojianwuna has been their defensive turnover rate has plummeted. They are 173rd in TO% defense over the past month, but they were 57th from November-February. This is because Baylor is so thin and can’t get away with being as aggressive defensively.

Norchad Omier is a great player but he is asked to do so much for this team, playing 36+ minutes every night as a 6-7 small ball 5 without any serviceable big man to come in and back him up or play alongside. Sure this is nothing new to him because of his days at Miami, but the point is it leaves Baylor extremely vulnerable if he gets into foul trouble.

Texas Tech is a super balanced team with elite 3-point shooting (37.8% on the year) that takes great care of the basketball (No. 1 in the Big 12 in turnover rate). With a handful of different guys who can explode on any given night, they are just so tough to deal with.

Vibes couldn’t be any better right now for this Tech team led by Grant McCasland, who knows this team is good enough to not only cut down the nets in Kansas City but in the NCAA Tournament as well.

I expect the Red Raiders to be able to execute offensively tonight by attacking mismatches from Baylor’s switching defense and finding open shooters when help is brought. 

Toppin and Fede Federiko will have to keep Omier in check, and guys like Langston Love and Jayden Nunn can’t catch fire from deep, but I’m confident that Texas Tech is going to win here without too much of a sweat and cover the 6.5.

Baylor vs. Texas Tech Pick

• Pick: Texas Tech -6.5 (-110) Get oddschecker+ right now for just $9.99 per month. Don't miss out on this first month deal!