The UCF Knights take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Check out our college basketball odds series for our UCF Texas Tech prediction and pick. Find how to watch UCF Texas Tech.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders were leading the Big 12 a few weeks ago. They had just beaten Oklahoma on the road and had just one loss in the conference. They were leading Kansas and Baylor and Houston. They were the surprise story of the Big 12 to that point in time. Then the Big 12 punched back. Texas Tech, which has battled some injuries, put up a brave fight but nevertheless lost to TCU, Cincinnati, and most recently Baylor. The Red Raiders now have four conference losses. Welcome to the Big 12, where no team can think it has figured it all out. No team can sit back, fat and happy, thinking it has a clear-cut advantage over the rest of the league. It simply doesn't work that way. Teams have to prove themselves and earn wins every night. There are no gimmies, no cupcakes, no games in which a team can just glide through 40 minutes and conserve energy. This is the toughest, roughest conference in college basketball.

In the SEC, Vanderbilt and Missouri are punching bags for the rest of the conference. In the Pac-12, Arizona State, Oregon State, and USC are noticeably weaker than their opponents. In the ACC, Louisville is a true doormat for the rest of the conference, and Georgia Tech has been really bad in recent weeks. Most conferences have a few truly terrible teams, but not the Big 12. The worst team, West Virginia, is still competitive. Texas Tech has taken three punches from the Big 12 to fall into the pack along with other title contenders. The Red Raiders need to find a way to regroup in this home game versus conference newcomer UCF.

Here are the UCF-Texas Tech College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: UCF-Texas Tech Odds

UCF Knights: +8.5 (-118)

Texas Tech Red Raiders: -8.5 (-104)

Over: 138.5 (-110)

Under: 138.5 (-110)

How To Watch UCF vs Texas Tech

Time: 4:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm PT

TV: ESPN Plus

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why UCF Could Cover the Spread

UCF does face an uphill battle in terms of actually winning the game outright, but since Big 12 games are usually very competitive, and since UCF has shown it can compete in this new league — with wins over Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, among others — the Knights can realistically expect to keep this game close. Texas Tech's Grant McCasland is known as a top defensive coach. That's valuable for the Red Raiders, but there is also an underside for Tech as well: If Tech's defense is not absolutely locked in, the Red Raiders are going to struggle and they're going to play close games. In Tech's recent losing skid, we have not seen the Red Raiders lock down their opponents the way McCasland would like. The margin for error for Texas Tech is not as large as some people might think. UCF getting 8.5 points is very attractive, even on the road.

Why Texas Tech Could Cover the Spread

Grant McCasland is building something good in Lubbock. Don't let the recent three-game losing streak distract you from that reality. Injuries have played a part in Tech being knocked off balance, but this is still a clear-cut NCAA Tournament team, something we can't say about UCF. Tech is better. UCF has just one conference win on the road, too. The Knights are 1-4 in five Big 12 road games. That's a very good reason to ride with the Red Raiders here.

Final UCF-Texas Tech Prediction & Pick

Texas Tech is better than UCF, but maybe not nine points better in its current state. Stay away from the spread bet here and fold Tech into a money line parlay instead.

Final UCF-Texas Tech Prediction & Pick: UCF +8.5