Texas Tech basketball visits Utah: Scouting report, predictions for Big 12 game

Posted by Admin January 4, 2025 Basketball

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Coming off their worst defensive showing in quite some time, the Texas Tech basketball team now has the challenge of playing three of its next four games on the road — starting with a two-game swing through the state of Utah.

That stretch starts on Saturday (6 p.m. CT on ESPN+) when the Red Raiders (9-3, 0-1) visit the Jon M. Hunstman Center in Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Utes (8-4, 0-1). This will be the first meeting between the Red Raiders and Utes since Nov. 19, 2015 when Utah defeated Texas Tech 73-63 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Texas Tech is making its first trip to Salt Lake City since 1981.

Texas Tech will be playing its first true road game of the season on Saturday.

Get to know Texas Tech basketball’s opponent: Utah Utes

One of the four new members of the Big 12 starting this year, the Utes are 8-4 on the season and lost their conference opener Tuesday 81-56 at Baylor.

Twin brothers Gabe and Mason Madsen are Utah’s leading scorers this season. Gabe Madsen (17.5 points per game) isn’t afraid to shoot the 3-ball, leading the conference in makes per game (3.42), total makes (41) and total attempts (106) from distance. Over 67% of Gabe’s total shot attempts have been 3s.

Mason, meanwhile, averages 12.3 points per game and has hit 45.3% of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Nobody on Utah’s roster averages more than 5.7 rebounds per game. Instead, the Utes rely on gang rebounding to control the boards, a battle they’ve now nine times so far this season.

Texas Tech basketball vs. Utah: Keys to the game

The Red Raiders are coming off their poorest defensive showing in quite some time. UCF torched the Texas Tech defense in Tuesday’s 87-83 win in United Supermarkets Arena. That is the most points allowed by the Red Raiders in any game since Tech lost 88-87 at West Virginia Jan. 25, 2021.

To find the last time Texas Tech gave up 87 points or more in any home game, you have to go back to Feb. 13, 2013, when Oklahoma State decimated the Red Raiders 91-67 back when Chris Walker was the interim head coach.

UCF’s offense isn’t exactly a juggernaut, and neither is Utah. However, the Utes lead the country in assists per game (20.9), which means the Red Raiders will not only have to defend the ball, they’ll have to be prepared for more ball movement than the Knights presented.

Texas Tech basketball player to watch: Darrion Williams

It’s fair to say Tuesday’s UCF game was the worst performance of Darrion Williams’ time as a Red Raider. Never known as an elite defender, Williams was essentially bullied by UCF’s Keyshawn Hall, and his poor showing on defense led to a 5-for-16 game from the field.

Williams is too important for Grant McCasland to sit for bad defense, but the Texas Tech head coach hinted Tuesday that it may be necessary if it can’t get fixed. This is Williams’ first chance to show the UCF game was a blip on the radar more than anything.

Score prediction: Texas Tech 84, Utah 79

Bottom line: Texas Tech cannot afford to start league play 0-2 and drop its first true road game of the year. Utah will present some challenges but the Red Raiders should have advantages. Still, if Tech can’t play defense, it won’t matter, but we’ll assume they learned a valuable lesson on Tuesday.