Kentucky Basketball: Texas Tech matchup pros and cons

Kentucky Basketball will head to Lubbock, TX for a bout with 2019 runner-ups Texas Tech. What are the pros and cons of the matchup for Kentucky?

Tuesday afternoon, my spirit animal, Jon Rothstein, released the list of matchups for the SEC/Big 12 challenge, headlined, of course, by Kentucky’s upcoming trip to Lubbock for a brawl with the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. After finishing within inches of a national championship, a duel with Texas Tech will be no cakewalk for the 2020 Kentucky Basketball team.

Kentucky leads the all-time series 4-0 and it’s obvious who the better program is historically. However, under head coach Chris Beard, the Red Raiders developed into a win-raking defensive juggernaut capable of silencing all-comers. With Beard at the helm, this ball club is one of the most threatening in the country. The name pulls less recognition and respect than probably 20 or 30 different programs but there’s no doubt Tech’s been a top-ten club each of the past two seasons, and with a fraction of the recruiting talent of their peers. After Kansas’ reign atop the Big 12 saw a sharp termination, Texas Tech is capitalizing on Bill Self’s poor run over the past couple of seasons. The Red Raiders’ control over the conference may be here to stay. And they can punctuate enhanced national relevance with a triumph over Kentucky.

But for Kentucky Basketball, what are the advantages and disadvantages of playing a road game against Texas Tech?