Texas Tech basketball begins daunting stretch with Top 25 showdown against No. 5 Houston

The rest of January will provide the Texas Tech basketball team plenty of opportunity to build on its impressive start, though the challenges that lay ahead are hard to ignore.

The Red Raiders (14-2, 3-0) have four games remaining in the first month of 2024, three of them coming on the road, starting with Wednesday night's trip to Houston to take on the Cougars at 8 p.m. in the Fertitta Center on ESPNU.

Grant McCasland's bunch cracked into the national rankings this week, coming in at No. 25 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls released Monday. Joining them are seven other Big 12 Conference foes, including the Cougars, who are fifth in the AP rankings.

That alone is a daunting task, even with the Cougars (14-2, 1-2) having lost twice last week. Houston was the last remaining undefeated team in college basketball before setbacks at Iowa State and TCU snapped that streak.

Texas Tech has a hot streak to protect as well. Winners in each of their last nine games, the Red Raiders are tied with Baylor atop the conference standings. Consensus around the country, including NCAA Tournament projections, is the team is good, but the rest of the month could determine just how good.

More: The past is dead for Big 12-leading Texas Tech basketball, Grant McCasland

Including Wednesday's contest, Texas Tech has four straight games against teams currently ranked in the Top 25. It'll host No. 18 BYU on Saturday and have road trips to No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 19 TCU to finish the first month of conference play.

Aside from sporting stellar records, and ranking highly in every advanced metric available to the sport, three of those four teams (Houston, BYU and Oklahoma) are all outstanding teams in defending the 3-point line.

The Red Raiders had a 5-for-25 showing from beyond the arc in their 60-59 win over Kansas State. McCasland noted the Wildcats' length and ability to close out as contributing factors to it. The Cougars (both of them) and Sooners are even better in that regard.

Houston is eighth in the nation in defending the 3. Teams are shooting 27.4% against the Cougars this season. BYU is fifth in this category (27.1%) and Oklahoma is 10th (27.6%).

Texas Tech has found ways to win without relying on the 3, though it is a big part of the team's offense. It'll likely need to find other avenues over the next few weeks with the stout defenses they'll be going against.

Trends to watch

Texas Tech and Houston are polar opposites when it comes to the free-throw game. The Red Raiders are 10th in the nation in free throw percentage (77.92) and in fewest fouls committed per game (13.6). Meanwhile, the Cougars are 293rd in FT% (66.89) and 276th in fouls committed (18.3).

Houston ranks 11th in blocks per game (5.7) while the Red Raiders are 319th in block percentage, according to KenPom. Kansas State had seven blocks against the Red Raiders on Saturday.

L.J. Cryer, Houston's leading scorer, averages 15.6 points per game but was held to five points in each of the Cougars' two losses last week. A 38% shooter from 3, Cryer was 2-for-13 from distance combined in those two games.

The Red Raiders have had at least four players reach double-digit scoring numbers in each of their first three Big 12 contests.

Key statistic

Entering the week, Houston ranked 10th nationally in turnovers forced (17.12) and fewest turnovers given up (9.4) per game. When teams have taken care of the ball, they've found success against the Cougars. Opponents have assisted on 64.8% of their field goals against Houston this year with TCU (18 of 22) and Iowa State (14 of 18) assisting on 80% of their combined makes in those victories.

More: Dramatic comeback gives Texas Tech basketball victory over Kansas State: 3 takeaways

Score prediction: Houston 76, Texas Tech 68

Bottom line: The last thing the Cougars want to do is go into a three-game slide in their first year in the Big 12. They'll be extra motivated in front of the home crowd, where Houston has won 41 out of 44 games since the start of the 2021-22 season. Texas Tech has 14 wins in program history over Top 5 teams, the last coming Jan. 11, 2022 at No. 1 Baylor.

Big 12 Men's Basketball

No. 25 Texas Tech at No. 5 Houston

When: Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Where: Fertitta Center

TV: ESPNU

Records: Texas Tech 14-2, 3-0; Houston 14-2, 1-2

Notable: This will be the first time this year Houston plays an opponent ranked at the time of the game. The Cougars, have, however, played three teams currently ranked, beating Dayton in November and losing back-to-back games at Iowa State (now No. 24) and TCU (No. 19) last week.

Big 12 Standings (entering the week)

Team Overall Conference

Baylor 14-2 3-0

Texas Tech 14-2 3-0

Kansas 14-2 2-1

Iowa State 13-3 2-1

TCU 13-3 2-1

Kansas State 12-4 2-1

Houston 14-2 1-2

West Virginia 6-10 1-2

Texas 12-4 1-2

Cincinnati 12-4 1-2

BYU 13-3 1-2

Oklahoma 13-3 1-2

UCF 10-5 1-2

Oklahoma State 8-8 0-3

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Top 25 showdown with Houston begins tough stretch for Texas Tech basketball