The Daily Sweat: Texas Tech looks to avoid 0-4 start in Big 12 play against Iowa State

With the college football season wrapping up yesterday, a lot of people will now focus their attention towards the college basketball season. Conference play is well underway and we have less than two months until conference tournaments begin and a little over two months until March Madness.

Tuesday features some solid games on the college basketball schedule. The most intriguing game of the night might just be the meeting between Texas Tech and Iowa State in Ames. Iowa State is a 5.5-point home favorite. Texas Tech had not lost back-to-back games since the 2020-21 season. On Tuesday however, they look to avoid an 0-4 start in Big 12 play.

Playing in the Big 12, Texas Tech will have plenty of opportunities to bolster their resume over the next two months. However, they need to get going. The Red Raiders lost to Creighton and Ohio State in non-conference play. They've opened conference play with a loss at TCU and home losses to Kansas and Oklahoma. Texas Tech has zero impressive victories. Their most impressive win was a 9-point victory over Louisiana Tech, who is ranked 145th by KenPom. Texas Tech is just 5-9-1 against the spread to open the season.

It won't get easier for Texas Tech on Tuesday. They take a trip to Ames where they will visit No. 14 Iowa State. Iowa State is 3-0 to open Big 12 play, including an impressive road victory at TCU on Saturday. On the season, the Cyclones are 8-0 at the Hilton Coliseum.

Both teams rank top-25 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom. It should be a slugfest and defensive battle. Couple that with the desperation that Texas Tech has to be feeling, and maybe it's a good game to take the points with the road team. With that being said, the Red Raiders are a hard team to back right now.

Rest of the college basketball slate

There's a few intriguing matchups on the college basketball slate on Tuesday night.

Sticking in the Big 12, No. 2 Kansas looks to improve to 15-1 on the season and 4-0 in conference play. The Jayhawks are 10.5-point home favorites against Oklahoma. Elsewhere in the conference, No. 11 Kansas State is a 5.5-point home favorite over Oklahoma State.

In the Big Ten, Michigan State is a 1.5-point road favorite against No. 18 Wisconsin. Tom Izzo's Spartans are 3-1 in conference play and are coming off a win over rival Michigan.

In the SEC, No. 5 Tennessee is a sizable 17.5-point home favorite against Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, No. 21 Auburn is a short 1.5-point road favorite against Ole Miss. LSU is a 1.5-point home underdog against Florida while underperforming Kentucky is a massive 19.5-point favorite against a bad South Carolina team.

Another intriguing game takes place in the ACC. North Carolina entered the preseason ranked No. 1 but they have been extremely disappointing and are currently unranked. However, we all know they are dangerous on any given night. The Tar Heels are 4.5-point road underdogs against No. 13 Virginia.

Seven game NBA slate

There's not a lot of huge marquee matchups on Tuesday's NBA slate, but there are seven games to wet your beak on if you're more interested in betting the pros.

The best game of the night probably takes place in Los Angeles, where the Clippers are 1.5-point home favorites against the Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately, the game becomes a little less exciting because Paul George has been ruled out for the Clippers.

Elsewhere in the association, the Golden State Warriors are 11.5-point home favorites against the Phoenix Suns. There's a chance that Steph Curry returns for Golden State after missing nearly a month with a shoulder injury. For Phoenix, Devin Booker and Chris Paul are out and DeAndre Ayton is questionable to play. The Suns have lost six straight and nine of their last 10 games.

NHL has ten games on deck

The NHL has a typical loaded Tuesday night schedule with 20 teams in action.

The two top teams in the Metropolitan Division face-off as the Carolina Hurricanes are -145 home favorites against the New Jersey Devils. New Jersey has struggled recently, allowing the Hurricanes to take over the top spot in the division.

Elsewhere, the New York Rangers are -140 home favorites against the Minnesota Wild. Both teams got off to slow starts compared to the expectations surrounding them, but they are rounding into form in recent weeks.

Speaking of teams failing to meet expectations, two of the league's more disappointing teams meet in Denver. The Colorado Avalanche are -130 home favorites over the Florida Panthers. Colorado obviously won the Stanley Cup last season but are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to a playoff spot. Even the return of Nathan MacKinnon hasn't resulted in much of a spark. The Florida Panthers were the best team in the league last season during the regular season but are currently six points out of the final playoff spot in the East.

Who cashed tickets?

Georgia easily covered as a 13.5-point favorite in the college football national championship game, winning the game by a score of 65-7. The Bulldogs single-handedly cashed the over for total bettors as well. Georgia opens as the betting favorite to win it all again next season as they look for their third straight national title.