The Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Drake Bulldogs are set to face one another in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 22.
Tip-off is set for 5:10 p.m. central on TNT.
Texas Tech (26-8), a No. 3 seed, is coming off an 82-72 win over No. 15 seed UNC-Wilmington on Thursday. Drake (31-3), a No. 11 seed, is coming off a 67-57 win over No. 6 seed Missouri on Thursday.
Texas Tech is seeking to reach the Sweet 16 for the fifth time as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Drake is seeking its first Sweet 16 since 1971 and its first in the 68-team era of the tournament.
Here is a preview of the game.
How to Watch Texas Tech vs. Drake
Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025
Time: 5:15 p.m. CT
TV Channel: TNT
Site: INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, Kan.
Texas Tech vs. Drake Betting Odds, Lines
Opening Line: Texas Tech (-9.5)
Current Line: Texas Tech (-7.5)
Over/Under: 127.5 (opened at 125.5)
Texas Tech vs. Drake Predictions
The connections are intriguing. Tech coach Grant McCasland and Drake coach Ben McCollum have been friends for a long time. Both have won national championships — McCasland at the junior college level and McCollum at the Division II level. Now, they square off for the right to go to the Sweet 16.
The Red Raiders gutted through their first-round win, as Kerwin Walton set a career-high with 28 points, JT Toppin had a double-double, and Elijah Hawkins nearly had a triple-double. Tech set a record for most 3-pointers attempted in a game in program history. UNCW paid a lot of attention to Toppin inside, and while Tech is a great shooting team from outside, the volume of misses kept the Seahawks in the game.
McCollum went from Division II Northwest Missouri State to Drake, taking over for Darian DeVries, and he led the Bulldogs to a regular-season and conference tournament championship. Dubbed “D2 Drake” because of the four Northwest Missouri players that followed McCollum, they’re one of the best defenses in the country. The Bulldogs are No. 38 in KenPom’s defensive ratings. They’re second in the country in scoring defense (58.4 ppg) behind Houston.
Guard Bennett Stirtz scores nearly 20 points for Drake and plays nearly every minute. Forward Daniel Abreu and guard Tavion Banks average about 10 points each. Banks only plays about 20 minutes a game. Mitch Mascari also plays nearly 40 minutes and is the team’s best 3-point shooter.
Forward Cam Manyawu is probably going to draw Drake’s defensive matchup on Toppin. That’s something to watch.
Tech guard Chance McMillian still has the upper body injury. Tech is hopeful he can play. Darrion Williams played with his lower-body injury in the first round but wasn’t quite himself. He still scored 13 points. Monitoring his status leading up to the game is worth your time.
Texas Tech 77, Drake 72
ESPN Matchup Predictor: Texas Tech 84.1% Chance of Winning
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
