Texas Basketball: 3 reasons Longhorns will upset Texas Tech

A big game looms between two 14-win teams when the Texas Tech Red Raiders face the Texas basketball program on Feb. 8 at home.

On Feb. 8, the Texas basketball program will take a long break in Big 12 play back home to the Forty Acres and the Frank Erwin Center to face head coach Chris Beard and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The defending Big 12 Champions and national champion runner-ups aren’t having the year anticipated, but should still make for a difficult matchup for Texas this weekend.

Head coach Shaka Smart will have a true battle on his hands when the Red Raiders come to Austin on Saturday afternoon. Texas Tech comes into this game with a record of 14-8 (5-4 Big 12). Texas and Texas Tech have the same overall record heading into Saturday’s showdown. But Texas holds with a flipped record in Big 12 play (4-5).

Yet, Texas needs a win to continue to establish their case to make it into the NCAA Tournament. Smart’s team is working their way into that dangerous bubble territory. And since Texas never tends to play well at the clutch point of any regular season, they need as much cushioning as possible before tournament selection time arrives.

In their last game, Texas fell short against head coach Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks once again. Texas was swept in the regular season series by the Jayhawks, and this loss came in similar fashion to the previous one. Meanwhile, Texas Tech is coming off 69-61 win at home over the Oklahoma Sooners on Feb. 4.

Both Texas and Texas Tech had a long time off before taking on each other this weekend.

Here’s a look into the three reasons why the Texas Longhorns basketball program could pull off the upset of the Texas Tech Red Raiders at home on Feb. 8.