Game predictions of Texas Tech’s 13 non-conference basketball games this season.

No. 10-ranked Texas Tech hosts the Lindenwood Lions from the Ohio Valley Conference, who are going into their fourth season in Division 1 play. They are coming off of their best season since making the jump to D1, having won 16 games last season.

Game Prediction: Texas Tech 81, Lindenwood 59

In 1988, Texas Tech defeated Sam Houston State by a total score of 67-63 in the first game of this series. With only two wins for Sam Houston State and seven wins for the Red Raiders in the head-to-head record, Texas Tech has a significant advantage in the series.

The series’s most noteworthy upset is one of Sam Houston State’s most famous wins, which occurred in 2007 when the Bearkats defeated Texas Tech, coached by Bob Knight, 56-54. The Bearkats’ game-winning three-pointer in the last minute sealed the victory, which was a major non-conference upset. The other time the Bearkats upset the Red Raiders came in 2001, when Sam Houston State won by a final score of 69-65.

The in-state rivalry has continued to happen on the basketball court, sometimes on the early non-conference schedule, when Sam Houston State relocated to the Conference USA and started playing more games against power conference teams.

Game Prediction: Texas Tech 79, Sam Houston State 62

This is one of the prime non-conference matchups for the Red Raiders as they go on the road to face off against the No. 17-ranked Fighting Illini. This has the potential to be a classic Big 12 vs. Big Ten game. According to ESPN Analytics, Texas Tech only has a 39.4% chance of winning this game, but they can be overvaluing Illinois like they did last season, and because it is a road game for the Red Raiders, the Fighting Illini are the favorites at this time.

Game Prediction: Texas Tech 84, Illinois 81

Texas Tech hosts the Milwaukee Panthers of the Horizon League in non-conference play. The Panthers have won 20 or more games the past three seasons under head coach Bart Lundy. However, the Red Raiders should be able to win this game with ease and continue to climb up the rankings in non-conference play.

Game Prediction: Texas Tech 75, Milwaukee 53

In another high-profile and key non-conference basketball matchup, Texas Tech takes on Wake Forest in this Big 12 vs. ACC non-conference game. This game will be played in Nassau, Bahamas, as part of the Baha Mar Championship, which is a multi-team event. If they were to defeat the Demon Deacon, which they are heavy favorites to win against, they more than likely would play Purdue in the championship game.

Texas Tech has played Wake Forest only twice in the past, and both of them were in a multi-team event. They lost to the Demon Deacons in the Maui Invitational in a close game with the final score being 78-73 in 2005 and they were defeated by Wake Forest the last time they played them in 2011. In the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Florida. In that game, the Red Raiders lost by a final score of 70-61, which ended up being one of the worst seasons in Texas Tech basketball history.

Game Prediction: Texas Tech 88, Wake Forest 76