Northern Kentucky Norse vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders 3/22/19, Prediction & Odds

Norse vs. Red Raiders Prediction

The best defensive team in the nation will be in action this afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the third-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders will face the 14th-seeded Northern Kentucky Norse. Will Texas Tech bottle up its foes to lead to the total staying under?

Game Snapshot

819 Northern Kentucky Norse vs. 820 Texas Tech Red Raiders

Friday, March 22, 2019

Bank of Oklahoma Center at 1:30PM ET

TV: TNT

Compare odds from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our College Basketball Odds & Betting Page.

 

Public Betting Information

According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Red Raiders are lsited as a 13-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 136.5 points. As of Friday morning, 62 percent of public bets are siding with Texas Tech. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for up-to-date info.

Norse down top-seeded Raiders

Northern Kentucky defeated Wright State by a count of 77-66 10 days ago in the Horizon League Tournament championship game to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Norse (26-8) led 44-34 at halftime en route to the win. Northern Kentucky shot 29-of-57 from the floor, 12-of-21 from 3-point distance plus 7-of-13 at the free throw line. Jalen Tate paced the Norse with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting including 2-of-3 from 3-point range plus 1-of-2 at the free throw line. He also accounted for five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Dantez Walton contributed 15 points, 14 boards and three assists. Zaynah Robinson had 15 points and two dimes off the bench. Drew McDonald tallied 13 points, eight boards and five assists. Tyler Sharpe added 11 points, two assists and two steals.

Red Raiders upset by Mountaineers

Texas Tech lost in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals as it fell 79-74 to West Virginia to drop to 26-6 on the season. The Red Raiders trailed 38-29 at halftime and could not recover. Texas Tech shot 26-of-57 from the floor, 6-of-18 from 3-point range plus 16-of-18 at the free throw line. Jarrett Culver paced the Red Raiders with 26 points on 11-of-24 shooting plus 4-of-5 at the charity stripe. He added 10 rebounds, five steals and four assists. Tariq Owens contributed 14 points, five boards and three blocked shots. Matt Mooney tallied 13 points, five assists and two rebounds. Davide Moretti added 10 points, three rebounds and three steals.

College Basketball Betting Trends

Northern Kentucky

The over is 3-1-1 in the last five Norse games on Fridays. The over is 5-1 in the last six Northern Kentucky games following a straight up win.

Texas Tech 

The over is 6-1 in the last seven Texas Tech games overall. The under is 6-1 in the last seven Texas Tech games on Fridays.

Prediction:

The Red Raiders' defense has perhaps taken a step back in a few games over the last several of weeks, but with their body of work for the season it is the most efficient defense in the nation. With the extra time to prepare for this contest and a Northern Kentucky squad that hasn't seen anything resembling the Texas Tech defense this season, I'm betting on this total staying under. The Norse scored 53 points against Central Florida and 65 versus Cincinnati, with those two teams likely presenting the biggest challenges to their offense.

 

NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: NORTHERN KENTUCKY NORSE/TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS UNDER 136.5