College Basketball Odds, Pick for Texas Tech vs Oklahoma

Let's dive into the Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Oklahoma Sooners odds and make a pick for Saturday's Big 12 college basketball game.

Ladies and Gentleman, I'd like to introduce you to Texas Tech guard Pop Isaacs:

Isaacs exploded in the second half of the Red Raiders' furious comeback against BYU last Saturday night in Lubbock. His 32-point performance is now a career-high, and he put the team on his back when it needed it most.

After a week off, the Red Raiders travel to the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., to take on the Sooners on Saturday afternoon. As impressive as the comeback win over BYU was, Texas Tech is in for a letdown.

The Sooners lost their last game at home to Texas after being unable to overcome a couple of deficits throughout the contest. Porter Moser's team ultimately fell short and now sits at 3-3 in the Big 12.

The Red Raiders showed a ton of heart last weekend, but that won't help them here. Although the talent level is on a level playing field, it's a terrible situational spot.

First off, Texas Tech will most likely enter Norman with a high and mighty mindset after spending the week reminiscing over its big win. Now, it'll face a Sooners team that has started to trend in the wrong direction after losing three of its last five games.

That's not to say the Red Raiders won't take the matchup seriously, but in college sports, it's so easy for a team to overlook their opponent. That's what puts value on situational spots. I expect to see a slow start from Tech once again.

Now, its offense ranks top-25 in adjusted efficiency, and it's top-50 nationally in 3-point percentage. Those are great numbers, but the matchup doesn't sway in its favor.

The Red Raiders will be outsized, and the Sooners are a terrific defensive team. Moser's team is known to bring pressure, and it's no surprise that his teams make opponents earn every bucket.

Texas Tech's lack of depth also brings worry, but the week off should at least help in terms of recouping some fatigue.

It also helps when a team has a guard like Chance McMillian who comes off the bench and hits 3s at a sparkling 41% clip.

The Sooners are another team on my list; I don't know what their ceiling is. Moser has always been a terrific coach, dating back to his Loyola Chicago days.

He tends to get the most out of his teams, which explains why the Sooners are great defensively. They enter the matchup ranking 22nd in defensive efficiency, per KenPom.

Luckily for the Sooners, this is a good matchup for their interior offense, which is where the Red Raiders struggle. That will lead to easy buckets for the offense and more free-throw attempts than usual.

I like the frontcourt advantage the Sooners possess here. Big men John Hugley IV and Sam Godwin are the X-factors inside, and a big performance should be on the horizon.

If Oklahoma is going to truly capitalize on its advantage inside, it needs to protect the basketball better and hit more triples. Either way, it has a distinct advantage in terms of free throws and defensive ability.

I trust Moser to have the team ready to roll.

It's time to sell the Red Raiders after their big win. You can argue that both of these teams have overperformed thus far, but I'm convinced Texas Tech will come out flat.

The Sooners are the better team from the charity stripe and on the defensive end of the floor, which pays huge dividends in close matchups. I expect them to dominate on the boards, leading to more second-chance opportunities.

Moser's team is desperate for a big win, and they have a great opportunity here. After all, the Sooners are essentially doomed in the Big 12 standings if they lose the matchup.

The under is worth a look, but I trust Oklahoma to cover the number at home.

Pick: Oklahoma -3 or Better