Texas Tech vs. Montana State Odds & Preview for 2022 NCAA Tournament

Mar 14, 2022 - 12:05 AM

Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Montana State Bobcats 2022 NCAA Tournament Game Preview

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Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Montana State Bobcats Match Up Overview

	Montana State	Texas Tech
Conference	Big Sky	Big 12
W-L	27-7	25-9
AdjEM	125th	9th
AdjO	146th	65th
AdjD	129th	1st
Tempo	158th	212nd
eFG%	32nd	74th
TO%	185th	295th
OR%	223rd	41st
FTR	4th	46th
DeFG%	98th	22nd
DTO%	182nd	10th
DR%	24th	89th
DFTR	303rd	232nd
Luck	110th	232nd

Stats via KenPom.

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Texas Tech Red Raiders Preview

The Red Raiders are seemingly the best team in the nation that no one is talking about. Mark Adams has done a phenomenal job of taking over the Texas Tech program, leading it to a tournament with the best defense in the land.

Despite stalling a bit near the end of the regular season, Tech showed up in the Big 12 tournament in dominating fashion. Their pack-line interior defense suffocates teams and helped Texas Tech sweep Baylor and Texas this season and also register wins over Tennessee and Kansas.

While they don’t exactly have a go-to guy on offense, Bryson Williams, Adonis Arms, Davion Warren, or Kevin McCullar can step up any given game, and the Red Raiders are one of the deepest teams in the nation. If anything scares me, it would be Tech facing a squad that knocks down a lot of three-pointers. Nearly 39% of opponents’ points come from beyond the arc – the 11th highest percentage in the nation. Opponents such as Villanova could cause problems – or even Colgate early.

In some of their most disappointing losses, the Red Raiders simply beat themselves, being sloppy with the ball and not finding open looks. Sometimes they simply don’t show up offensively. But a Texas Tech team with a similar blueprint made the championship game a few years ago. This squad could do the same in 2022.

Montana State Bobcats Preview

The Big Sky’s tournament rep went blow for blow on the road against Colorado to start the year, falling in overtime. They followed with two more road losses to South Dakota State and New Mexico. After those first three losses, Montana State lost only four more times and won the Big Sky.

The Bobcats are effective at reaching the charity stripe, ranking fifth in the nation at free throw rate. This squad ranked in the top 155 both offensively and defensively. They have performed well away from home.

Montana State isn’t flashy in any sense, and sometimes they beat themselves, ranking poorly in their ability to get off shots each possession. They will limit opponents’ offensive rebounding, but nothing about this team sparks much confidence in their Cinderella abilities.