The set-up: Shaka Smart's Texas team is coming off an ugly 11-22 season, his second in Austin. However, Texas has already matched last year's win total with an 11-6 record, including 2-3 in Big 12 play. Chris Beard made a huge splash in his first year as a Division I head coach at Arkansas-Little Rock, going 30-5 and leading the Trojans into the second round of the NCAAs. He used that season a springboard to get the Texas Tech job but his first season in Lubbock was a disappointment, as the Red Raiders went 18-14 overall but only 6-12 in the Big 12. He's corrected that so far in the 2017-18 season, entering 15-2 (4-1 in Big 12), with a team ranked No. 8 in the current AP poll. Both teams come into this contest having suffered key injuries. The Longhorns are without Kerwin Roach (hand) and Andrew Jones (leukemia) while Texas Tech recently announced senior Zach Smith has a broken foot and might miss the rest of the season.

Texas Tech: Smith was averaging 10.4 & 4.6 and outside of leading scorer Evans (17.5), was Tech's lone double digit scorer. However, Chris Beard's team owns quality depth, as eight others are contributing between 4.7 and 9.9 PPG, while all eight are playing 15-plus minutes per game. The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 in scoring defense (66 points per game in Big 12 play) and rebounding margin (plus-7.6). Overall, Tech is holding all opponents to 60.8 PPG (5th) on 37.8% shooting (6th). The Red Raiders allow league opponents to shoot 41.8 percent while forcing 13.6 turnovers.

Texas: Junior guard Kerwin Roach II (10.1-3.6-3.0) is out with an injured left hand and sophomore guard Andrew Jones (13.5) is at home in Irving getting treated for leukemia. However, Texas owns a surprisingly productive bench to help them stay afloat in the stacked Big 12 Conference race.Eric Davis Jr. (8.8 points) is averaging 20 points on 60 percent shooting off the bench in the two games since Jones' diagnosis was announced. Freshman Matt Coleman is averaging 12.2 points and 7.2 assists in league play and freshmen Jase Febres (6.8 points in league play) and Jericho Sims (4.2 points in league play) are continue to get more playing time. Then there is the Texas frontcourt duo of 6-9 junior Dylan Osetkowski (15.1 & 7.8) and 6-11 freshman Mohamed Bamba (11.8 & 10.4 plus 4.4 blocks per game). Like Texas Tech, Texas can play defense, allowing 65.8 PPG (43rd) on 39.6% shooting (26th).

The pick: Texas hasn't lost back-to-back games since falling to then-No. 1 Duke and then-No. 17 Gonzaga - both in overtime- at the PK80 Tournament in November. What's more, the Longhorns have won 21 consecutive games against Texas Tech in Austin entering this contest. The last Texas Tech win in Austin came during the 1995-96 season when both schools were in the Southwest Conference. Home dog barks loudly in this one. Make Texas a 10* play.