Houston vs Texas Tech: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

A battle of two nationally ranked programs from the Lone Star State is set to tip-off Sunday in Houston and Texas Tech.

TV Schedule: Sunday, November 29th, 5:30 pm ET, ESPN2

Arena: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX.

A fantastic non-conference Top 25 matchup on a neutral court is set to take place Sunday between No. 17 Houston Cougars and No. 14 Texas Tech Red Raiders. The game is part of a “Southwest Showcase” doubleheader event on Sunday at the Dickies Arena. The showcase will feature Sam Houston State vs Boise State at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Houston vs Texas Tech at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Sunday will mark the 56th all-time meeting that the former conference rivals will play each other. Houston leads an extremely tight series 28-27, but Texas Tech has won the last nine of ten meetings. Houston’s lone win in their last ten games was in their most recent matchup in 2014, in which the Cougars won 82-69. This matchup will bring back a classic Texas basketball rivalry when Houston and Texas Tech both played in the Southwest Conference from 1976 to 1996.

Both teams will head into this matchup at 2-0 overall. Houston and Texas Tech will both have their first real test of the season when they face each other on Sunday.

Houston opened their season with two home games. On Wednesday, the Cougars steamrolled past the Lamar Cardinals, en route to an 89-45 victory. Sophomore guard Marcus Sasser (17.5 ppg) carried the Cougars from the perimeter, going 7-for-9 from the outside with 25 points.

On Friday, Houston faced a more challenging test against the Boise State Broncos from the Mountain West Conference. The Cougars came away with a 68-58 victory against the Broncos. Junior guard Quentin Grimes (16.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg) led Houston with 25 points.

Texas Tech also started off their season with two home games. On Wednesday, the Red Raiders had no problems with the Northwestern State Demons, winning 101-58. The Red Raiders’ entire starting lineup reached double figures, with junior guard Mac McClung (19 ppg) leading the way with 20 points.

The Red Raiders posted another blowout victory on Friday with an 84-52 win against the Sam Houston State Bearkats. McClung followed up his spectacular opening night debut with an 18-point showing on Friday.

Heading into Sunday’s matchup, Houston will look to rely on their defense to lock down the perimeter and force Texas Tech to miss shots. The Cougars finished eighth nationally in 2019-20 on defending the perimeter, allowing their opponents to convert on only 28.6 percent of their shots from three-point range.

Through two games this season, Houston has allowed their opponents to shoot a minuscule 2-for-29 from three-point range. The Cougars perimeter defense will face their toughest test this season by far with the Red Raiders perimeter offense, which will enter their matchup shooting 15-for-37 (40.5 percent) from three-point range through their first two games.

In separate games, Houston had solid offensive production from Sasser and Grimes, but the Cougars struggled collectively as a team with its scoring consistency throughout the lineup. Despite the two victories, Houston has been having trouble converting on their shots. The Cougars have only made 41.2 percent of their shots from the floor during their first two games. They will need to hit shots to stay with Texas Tech on Sunday.

What Houston has done really well within their first two matchups is controlling the glass and rebounding. The Cougars through two games are a plus-38 in rebounding. Entering the season, Houston’s frontcourt lacked experience due to Nate Hinton (10.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg in 2019-20) leaving the program in the offseason to go to the NBA. Also, the Cougars will be without senior forward Fabian White Jr. (9.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg in 2019-20) for this season, due to an ACL tear he suffered in the offseason.

The encouraging sign for Houston’s frontcourt depth is that freshman forward, J’wan Roberts, snagged 14 rebounds in 21 minutes during his second career game on Friday. The Cougars will clash with a dominant Texas Tech squad that will enter Sunday’s meeting as a plus-27 on the boards.

For Texas Tech, the Red Raiders will look to use senior forward Marcus Santos-Silva (11 ppg, 10.5 rpg) inside to their advantage. Through two games, Santos-Silva is 10-for-12 shooting inside. He will face a Cougars interior defense that allowed Boise State to make 57.1 percent of their two-point shots on Friday.

Defensively, the Red Raiders have done a terrific job, allowing just an average of 55 points to their opponents through two games. Texas Tech will look to force Houston into turning the ball over. Through two games, the Red Raiders forced 37 total turnovers. Houston had trouble taking care of the basketball against Boise State. On Friday, the Broncos forced the Cougars into 17 total turnovers.

Nevertheless, the “Southwest Showcase” showdown between No. 17 Houston and No. 14 Texas Tech should provide a great battle in the Sunday afternoon spotlight. It will feature a great backcourt battle with Marcus Sasser, Quentin Grimes, and Dejon Jarreau (7.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) for Houston versus Mac McClung, Terrence Shannon Jr. (13 ppg, 5 rpg), and Kyler Edwards (9.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4 apg) for Texas Tech.

The Cougars will look to lock down the perimeter once again, while Texas Tech will try to keep their shooting momentum going by knocking down shots from the outside.

Prediction: Texas Tech 67, Houston 62