Baylor vs. Texas Tech Game Preview

Story posted January 11, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Justin Ciavolella

The Baylor Bears will take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Tuesday night in a matchup of two top-25 ranked teams. The two teams have become regulars in the NCAA Tournament, including both teams making trips to the championship game since 2019, and the Bears winning it all in 2021.

Baylor remained at No. 1 in the latest College Basketball rankings following two double-digit wins last week over Oklahoma and TCU. The wins helped them keep their undefeated campaign going as they improved to 15-0.

For head coach Scott Drew’s team, the offense is a force to be reckoned with. The Bears are averaging 82.8 points per game, which is the 12th highest in College Basketball this season. Their defense is not one that the opposition want to see either, they allow just 59.5 points per game to opponents. Their top-15 ranked offense and defense have helped propel them to the No. 1 seed, something they will hope to hold onto all the way through March.

The Bears offense is led by senior James Akinjo and presumptive first-round pick Kendall Brown. Akinjo is averaging 14.4 points per game to go along with just over six assists every contest. Brown, who is just a freshman, is averaging 11.4 points per game on nearly 70% shooting.

The Red Raiders jumped into the No.19 spot in the most recent rankings following a win over the then ranked No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday. This came following an embarrassing loss to the then ranked No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones, in which Texas Tech was only able to put up 47 points.

The Red Raiders offense relies on Bryson Williams, who is averaging just shy of 12 points per game to go along with five rebounds, to provide a spark. Williams did just that over the weekend, when he tied his season high with 22 points against Kansas.

The Red Raiders are without their leading scorer and potential first round pick in Terrence Shannon Jr. The junior is averaging 14.3 points per game this season, but has been limited to just six games by injury. Their second leading scorer, Kevn McCullar, has not appeared in a game since the calendar flipped to 2022. Without these two, Texas Tech could be in for another rough scoring night.

Expect for Baylor to limit the Texas Tech offense, especially if neither of their top two scorers suit up on Tuesday night. Bryson Williams will draw the Bears attention all night, meaning the Red Raiders will need someone to step up if they want to compete.

In their last game, it was junior Clarence Nadolny who put up 17 points to help in the upset efforts. Nadolny is averaging just 4.6 points per game, but it is someone like him who will need to step up for the Raiders.

While their offense is missing their leaders, the Red Raiders defense has not missed a step. They will need another strong performance to keep the Bears four double-digit scorers from taking over the game.

With both teams having such strong defenses, there should not be much separation between the two. Even with the absences on the Texas Tech team, the game should come down to the final moments.


Justin Ciavolella is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu.