NCAA Basketball: West Virginia Mountaineers vs Texas Tech Red Raiders- Possible Lineups and Predictions

NCAA Basketball will have a massive ranked clash on a heavy Monday slate. The biggest meeting of the day comes when the #14 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers take on the #12 Texas Tech Raiders. Both teams are looking to make a push to be considered as one of the top 10 teams in the country, according to the AP Top 25 Poll.

The Texas Tech Raiders are 11-4 on the season and are just coming off a loss at the hands of the Baylor Bears. However, they have had important wins against teams like the Texas Longhorns.

Meanwhile, the West Virginia Mountaineers are 10-4 and coming off a win over the Kansas State Wildcats. However, it hasn’t been long since they lost to the Texas Longhorns two weeks ago.

While the Red Raiders are the higher-ranked team, many people are favoring the Mountaineers for this clash. Who takes it?

NCAA Basketball: The Mountaineers ensure they add another win?

The reason why the Red Raiders are being counted out ahead of this game is because of their performances in big games. Outside the win over the Longhorns, the Red Raiders have fallen to better teams like Baylor, Kansas, and Houston. However, they will be hoping that their elite defense can hold off the Mountaineers.

Outside a loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, the Mountaineers have been steady this season. Their losses have come to far superior teams, but they have failed to rise like the Red Raiders. From a number perspective, their offense is at par with the Red Raiders, but their defense is significantly weaker. However, they are playing at home.

The Red Raiders will start with Kyler Edwards, Mac McClung, Terrence Shannon Jr., Micah Peavy, and Marcus Santos-Silva. The Mountaineers will start with Jalen Bridges, Miles McBride, Sean McNeil, Derek Culver, and Emmitt Matthews Jr. 

For our prediction, we will go bet on the underdog Red Raiders. They have an elite defense designed to stop the Mountaineers, while both teams are closely matched on the other end. It should be enough to put them over the edge.