2016 NCAA Tournament Preview: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Butler Bulldogs

By Jason Fletcher

The second game on Thursday afternoon will be the Texas Tech Red Raiders taking on the Butler Bulldogs from Raleigh, NC in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The winner of this game will likely earn the right to play the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, the Virginia Cavaliers, in the second round.

The Red Raiders had a brilliant start to the season as they won 11 of their first 12 games, but Tubby Smith‘s club only won eight games the rest of the way. That being said, the Red Raiders had some really impressive conference wins over Iowa State, Baylor and Oklahoma, but their trouble has been consistency as they finished the season with an ugly loss to TCU to in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament.

Texas Tech is led by senior Toddrick Gotcher who averages 11.1 points per game, but Zach Smith might the most exciting player to watch. The sophomore stands 6-foot-8, 215 pounds and can jump out of the gym. Smith’s going to be key for the Red Raiders in this game against Butler.

The Bulldogs underachieved this season based on the talent that was returning. Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham are the senior leaders of this team, but Kelan Martin is the x-factor. As a sophomore, Martin is averaging 16.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and his ability to punish the Raiders inside should give the Bulldogs an edge.

Butler’s experience and inside game give the Bulldogs an edge in this one. Expect a low-scoring, grind-it-out affair with Butler advancing to face Virginia in the second round.

Prediction: Butler 66, Texas Tech 58

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