The Big 12-Big East Battle opens with what should be a terrific matchup tonight between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Texas Tech is off to a 5-1 start to its non-conference portion of the schedule and defeated Michigan by a score of 73-57.
The Red Raiders are an even money underdog to a Butler squad with a 5-2 record and a two-game winning streak thanks to victories over Penn State and Northern Iowa at the ESPN Events Invitational.
Keep reading as I break down the college basketball odds and give my free college basketball picks for Texas Tech vs. Butler on Thursday, November 29.
Texas Tech vs Butler best odds
Texas Tech vs Butler picks and predictions
The Texas Tech Raiders have been impressive thus far. They had a terrific tourney run at the Battle for Atlantis 4 with victories over Northern Iowa and Michigan. Making that tourney run even more impressive is the fact they have a new head coach and return just 24.7% of their offensive production from a season ago.
Like most new college basketball teams, Texas Tech has been inconsistent on the offensive end of the floor. They’ve been remarkably inconsistent shooting the basketball and sometimes can’t seem to buy a basket. In the Villanova game, they couldn’t score from inside the arc, got worked on the glass, and committed 15 turnovers in an 85-69 loss.
They now go into a hostile environment for the first time tonight. They'll have a difficult time playing in a gym where the crowd isn’t happy to see them, and the Hinkle Fieldhouse faithful will let Texas Tech know about it every time they touch the ball.
The Red Raiders face a Butler Bulldogs group coming off a nice run at the ESPN Events Invitational tonight. They suffered a 6-point loss to FAU in a game they probably should have won but bounced back with solid victories over Penn State and Boise State.
The Bulldogs return to Hinkle tonight full of confidence, and with the home crowd backing them, they'll be tough to beat.
Butler is 3-0 ATS at home and 6-1-0 ATS this season. Pierre Brooks II is the go-to guy that Texas Tech doesn’t have, and he can get his points from anywhere. The junior guard struggled against Michigan State and FAU but bounced back nicely with back-to-back 20-point games.
A nice offensive group surrounds Brooks, but the Bulldogs are a team that defends well and produces 18.9 points from turnovers per game. Texas Tech has turnover issues that will only be magnified tonight against the Bulldogs' thievery with the home crowd on them from the opening tip.
The Bulldogs are playing confidently, have a tremendous size advantage, and face a team with an inconsistent offense that doesn’t shoot well from anywhere. This contest might be close for a while, but Butler can shoot from anywhere, takes care of the ball, and has the best defense.
The Hinkle Fieldhouse faithful will be happy campers when Butler covers this slim spread tonight.
My best bet: Butler -1.5 (-106 at FanDuel)
Texas Tech vs Butler same-game parlay
Butler -1.5
Under 139.5
It's clear I love Butler tonight. They have a great matchup and are 3-0 ATS at home. Texas Tech is 1-4-0 ATS over their past five and playing their first true road game tonight. The turnovers and inconsistent offense will be the Red Raiders undoing tonight.
I also think 139.5 points is too many for this contest. Both groups play an average tempo compared to their D1 counterparts, and there may not be enough possessions to exceed the number.
Between the Red Raiders' turnover issues, poor shooting, as well as their lack of road experience, I expect this to stay Under the total.
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Texas Tech vs Butler spread and Over/Under analysis
Butler opened as a -118 moneyline favorite at FanDuel and that number hasn’t budged. That's the best Butler moneyline on the board, while the best ML price for Texas Tech is +110. If you want to play Butler, I suggest doing so as early as possible. I believe the price of Butler will rise throughout the day.
While Butler -1.5 is the market consensus, FanDuel still has the best price while DraftKings is offering Texas Tech +2 on the other side.
The Over/Under for this matchup opened at 139.5 at FanDuel, and while the number hasn’t budged, some books are offering 138.5 as the best Over number on the board. Under bettors can find the best number (139.5) at several shops including BetRivers and FanDuel at -110.
Texas Tech vs Butler betting trend to know
Butler is 5-0 ATS in their last five home games while Texas Tech is 1-4 ATS over their last five. Find more college basketball betting trends for Texas Tech vs. Butler.
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Texas Tech vs Butler game info
| Location: | Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN |
| Date: | Thursday, November 30, 2023 |
| Tip-off: | 6:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | FS1 |
Texas Tech vs Butler key injuries
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