Northwestern Basketball: Ranking toughest non-conference games

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KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 08: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts from the bench during the first round game of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament against the Texas Longhorns at the Sprint Center on March 8, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

2. Texas Tech, Neutral, 11/19

This game versus Texas Tech is a probable match-up. For the two teams to play, Northwestern needs to beat LaSalle and Texas Tech needs to beat Boston College. Both Northwestern and Texas Tech will be heavy favorites so this game will likely happen.

Texas Tech suffered many close losses last year and fell to the bottom half of the extremely strong Big XII conference. Even though the Red Raiders finished with a 18-14 record, they were ranked 41^st in Kenpom which suggests they were much better than their record showed.

This season, Texas Tech has a senior laden team which returns many key players from last season. The Red Raiders are led by seniors Keenan Evans and Zach Smith who averaged 15.4 and 12.1 points respectively. Evans led Texas Tech with 3.0 assists per game while Smith led them in blocks (1.4 per game) and rebounds (7.2 per game). Both players are under the radar from a national perspective but are clearly two of the best players in the conference.

Texas Tech should be a tournament team meaning Northwestern could grab another early season quality win. This matchup between two talented and experienced teams will be a must watch game early in the season.

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