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Texas Tech is coming off of their first Big 12 Conference win against the West Virginia Mountaineers. After losing to Iowa State on the road to open up Big 12 play, Tech had a great bounce-back game at home against the #7 ranked team in the country. New head coach Chris Beard earned his first conference victory in a 77-76 overtime thriller. The schedule doesn't get any easier for the team as they now have to travel to Lawrence, Kansas to face the #3 Jayhawks at the Allen Fieldhouse. Can Texas Tech pull off back-to-back Top 25 upsets or will they fall to 1-2 in conference play?
The game will be televised on ESPN2 at 6:15 P.M. CST.
Kansas Key Players
| Category | Stat | Player |
| Points/Game | 19.5 | Frank Mason III, G |
| Rebounds/Game | 7.0 | Landen Lucas, F |
| Assists/Game | 5.8 | Frank Mason III, G |
| 3 pt Made | 32/70 | Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, G |
| Free Throw % | .846 | Lagerald Vick, G |
Based on that list, there's no doubt that Kansas' top player is guard Frank Mason III. The senior is just one of four players who is averaging double-digit points per game. The others are G Josh Jackson, G Devonte' Graham, and G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. An interesting thing I notice about this team is that the guard position seems to be the strongest while the forward and center positions appear to be weaker. Lucas is only averaging 7.4 points per game while Carlton Bragg Jr. is only averaging 7.0. The lone center on the team, Udoka Azubuike, is only averaging 5.0 PPG. Based on this, Kansas looks to be a team that runs through their guards.
Last 5 Games
| 12/10 vs. Nebraska | W 89-72 |
| 12/17 vs. Davidson | W 89-71 |
| 12/22 @UNLV | W 71-53 |
| 12/30 @TCU | W 86-80 |
| 1/03 vs. Kansas State | W 90-88 |
Kansas' only loss this season came in their opening game against #11 Indiana 103-99 in overtime. Afterwards, they responded with a 77-75 win against the #1 Duke Blue Devils. That win has turned out to be Kansas' biggest of the season so far. Their non-conference schedule was no sweat as they stood at 11-1 heading into Big 12 play. However, their first two conference matchups proved to be challenging as they squeezed out a 6-point win at TCU and a 2-point one vs. Kansas State.
Prediction
Texas Tech 75-#3 Kansas 80
Tech might have pulled off three straight upsets last year, but none of them were against the Jayhawks. The Red Raiders have not beaten Kansas since March 4, 2009 when Pat Knight was head coach. I see the Red Raiders losing this one, but not by much. If it does turn out to be a close loss, I see Tech bouncing back against Kansas State on Tuesday.