First Round Matchup: UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech – Odds, Picks & Predictions for March 20

• The #3 Texas Tech Red Raiders are a heavy 14.5-point favorite over the #14 UNC Wilmington Seahawks in Thursday’s first-round game
• The Red Raiders have a couple of injuries to key players that could impact this game
• See my UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech odds and predictions for the West Region first-round contest, below

The #14 UNC Wilmington Seahawks (27-7) have won six straight games, having taken the CAA Championship by knocking off Delaware 76-72. They’re in tough, however, as they square off versus the 25-8 Texas Tech Red Raiders, who dropped the Big 12 Championship semi-final 86-80 to the Arizona Wildcats.

Thursday’s college basketball odds have the Red Raiders as heavy favorites in this tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:10pm ET at Intrust Bank Arena, in Wichita, Kansas with TruTV providing the broadcast coverage in the United States and TSN in Canada.

UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech Odds

The Red Raiders are currently massive favorites by 14.5-points and they’re -1650 on the moneyline, while the total is sitting at 143.5. Per the college basketball public betting trends, the public likes Texas Tech to hold serve with a whopping 91% of moneyline wagers on them.

Odds as of March 20 at DraftKings. Download the best March Madness betting apps.

UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech Analysis

The final game of the Thursday slate features what appears to be a lopsided affair, on paper. The -1650 odds on the moneyline represent a win probability of 94.3%. However, our SBD model believes it’ll be a tighter battle than that, with UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech shaping up to be a 76.7-74.6 close contest, won by Texas Tech, according to the formula. That obviously points to the Seahawks covering the 14.5 spread, and it being over the listed 143.5 total.

The Red Raiders are 21-5 as the favorite on the moneyline, while UNC Wilmington is 3-2 as the underdog. The Seahawks are 4-0-1 against the spread as the team expected to lose, while TTU is just 13-12-1 ATS as the fave.

How Is the Public Betting UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech?

UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech public betting splits as of 9:30 am ET, March 20.

The March Madness public betting splits show Texas Tech getting 91% of wagers on the moneyline, but UNC Wilmington 54% of bets to cover the spread. That’s down from 64% on Wednesday.

The public has a much stronger take on the game total, where 76% of O/U handle is on under 143.5, which totally flipped from 71% of bettors wagering on the over when the line was set at 142.5 a day before.

UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech Prediction

• UNC Wilmington +14.5 (-108)

Before immediately assuming that Texas Tech will ensure UNC Wilmington won’t be the 24th #14 seed to topple a #3 seed, keep in mind that their second and third leading scorers are iffy to play this game. Darrion Williams (14.3 PPG) is nursing an ankle sprain, though he’s indicated he’ll play. Chance McMillan (14.2 PPG) has an upper-body ailment and he will be a game-time decision, according to head coach Grant McCasland. This could potentially slow down the Red Raiders quite a bit.

Their leading scorer is JT Toppin (18.1 PPG), and he also leads the team in rebounds. He was limited to 24 minutes in the Big 12 Championship semi-final to Arizona, putting up just eleven points on 4-of-13 shooting. Before that, he had at least 20 points in eight of ten contests.

In the March Madness champion odds, Texas Tech is +3500 to win it all on DraftKings. I do believe things may be a tad more difficult in terms of putting up a lot of points, given some injuries. However, that won’t get in the way of a victory for the favorites.

UNC Wilmington is back in the dance for the first time since 2017. They won 15 of their final 17 affairs, so discounting them totally might not be wise, particularly with how bullish our model is on the Seahawks. It’s too tall a task to expect them to win their first NCAA tournament game in 23 years, but I think they can keep it close enough to cover.

Be sure to check out SBD’s other March Madness content:

The first round matchup between UNC Wilmington and Texas Tech in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is set to take place on March 20th, and fans are eagerly anticipating what promises to be an exciting game. Both teams have had successful seasons so far, with UNC Wilmington finishing with a 22-8 record and Texas Tech finishing with a 23-9 record.

When it comes to the odds for this matchup, Texas Tech is currently favored to win by 6.5 points. This is not surprising given their higher seed and stronger overall record. However, UNC Wilmington should not be counted out, as they have proven themselves to be a competitive team throughout the season.

In terms of picks and predictions for this game, it is difficult to say for certain who will come out on top. Texas Tech has a strong defense that could pose problems for UNC Wilmington’s offense, but UNC Wilmington has shown that they can compete with top teams in the past. Ultimately, it may come down to which team is able to execute their game plan more effectively on the day of the matchup.

One key factor to watch in this game will be the battle in the paint. Texas Tech has a size advantage with their big men, while UNC Wilmington relies more on their guard play. Whichever team is able to establish dominance in the paint could have a significant advantage in this matchup.

Overall, this game has the potential to be a close and competitive one, with both teams having the talent and ability to come out on top. Fans can expect an intense and exciting matchup between UNC Wilmington and Texas Tech on March 20th.