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It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a DePaul-Texas Tech prediction and pick. Find out how to watch DePaul-Texas Tech.
Tuesday gave us the beginning of the ACC-SEC Challenge. On Wednesday we have Day 2 of that, but we also have Day 1 of the Big East-Big 12 series of nonconfernece battles. Various college basketball teams are trying to see where they fit in the larger picture of the sport. This game will be very illuminating and revealing in that regard.
DePaul basketball has started fresh this season under first-year head coach Chris Holtmann. The coach who led Butler to the Sweet 16 guided Ohio State to a No. 2 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but a crushing loss to 15th-seeded Oral Roberts in the first round was a blow Holtmann and OSU were not able to recover from. The program got worse, not better, in the following few seasons. Holtmann's coaching career lost steam. He was forced to start over and take a job which was lower in prestige and prominence.
Plenty of coaches are like Holtmann in that they aren't ready or able to handle the job at a big power conference school, but they thrive in quieter settings where expectations aren't as intense and they don't face overwhelming pressure from fans and media to deliver. DePaul has been a punching bag and a frequent object of ridicule in the college basketball world over the past decade, given its track record of consistent ineptitude. Holtmann is a man on a mission, driven to turn this program around. The early signs in this season are encouraging, but only to a point.
The reason why this game for DePaul is so fascinating and important is that it begins a stretch of games in which DePaul will test itself against formidable opposition. DePaul has consistently won games in the first four weeks of the season, but the Blue Demons have been playing cupcake-level opponents. It's good that DePaul has not stumbled against those kinds of teams, but that doesn't create an NCAA Tournament resume. Beating Texas Tech would do that. Now we're going to begin to find out just how good DePaul really is under Chris Holtmann. If the Blue Demons lose decisively, they will know they are still a long way away from being ready for March Madness. Nonetheless, this is the kind of challenge DePaul needs in order to measure itself and find ways to build the program in the weeks, months, and years ahead. Chris Holtmann is about to learn a lot about this job and this particular challenge he signed on for with the Blue Demons.
Here are the DePaul-Texas Tech College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: DePaul-Texas Tech Odds
DePaul: +14.5 (-106)
Moneyline: +860
Texas Tech: -14.5 (-114)
Moneyline: -1600
Over: 148.5 (-110)
Under: 148.5 (-110)
How to Watch DePaul-Texas Tech
Time: 9:15 p.m. ET / 6:15 p.m. PT
TV: ESPNU
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why DePaul Will Cover The Spread/Win
The spread seems huge for a Texas Tech team which has not been dominant or especially authoritative in the early part of the season. The Red Raiders are getting a lot of respect here, and that level of respect doesn't seem warranted.
Why Texas Tech Will Cover The Spread/Win
DePaul has been playing cupcakes. Texas Tech is no cupcake. The Red Raiders could absolutely blast DePaul out of the water here, and no one would be remotely surprised.
Final DePaul-Texas Tech Prediction & Pick
How good is DePaul? We don't know. You should stay far away from this game as a bettor. Observe and learn about DePaul for future bets later in the season.
Final DePaul-Texas Tech Prediction & Pick: Texas Tech -14.5
