#777/778 ASA PLAY ON 8* Under 132.5 Points – Montana State vs Texas Tech, Saturday 1:45 PM ET - Texas Tech has the #1 rated team in the nation in regards to defensive efficiency. They allow just 0.85 PPP and 60 PPG. The Raiders allowed only 2 teams in Big 12 play to top 70 points and those teams were Kansas (6th in the nation in offensive efficiency) and Baylor (9th in offensive efficiency). Today they face a Montana State offense that was far from dominant in the Big Sky ranking 4th in the league in efficiency and 140th overall nationally in that category. That’s despite playing in a Big Sky conference that has ONE team ranked in the top 200 in defensive efficiency (Portland State 186th). There are 2 Big 12 offenses that rank similar to Montana State efficiency wise – Iowa State & Oklahoma State. Tech played those teams a combined 5 times and held them to 41, 51, 52, 57, and 60 points. This is just a gigantic step up for MSU and we look for their offense to really struggle here. Mid 50’s at best for the Bobcats. Montana State’s defense is solid. They rank higher defensively than they do offensively (#2 in the Big Sky in defensive efficiency). Neither team relies on shooting many 3’s but both defenses rank #1 in their conference defending inside the arc so scoring will be tough. We expect Tech, favored by 15, to get a lead and grind this one into a slow paced 2nd half. Low scoring here.