Akron vs. Texas Tech First Round Game Preview, Picks, Betting Odds & Data

By Thom Cunningham | Mar 19, 2026, 5:08pm

The Akron Zips shocked college basketball with a MAC Tournament win to get into the March Madness field, when everyone thought it was Miami-Ohio’s instead. Now, the Zips face the Texas Tech Red Raiders with the Big 12 club missing it’s best player. Let’s dive into the betting numbers, trends, odds and data for this Midwest Region game.

Akron vs. Texas Tech Game Information

Date: Friday, Mar. 20, 2026
Time: 12:40 p.m. ET
Network: truTV
Region: Midwest
Location: Tampa, Florida
Venue: Benchmark International Arena

Akron vs. Texas Tech Betting Resources

Akron vs. Texas Tech Betting Odds

Akron vs. Texas Tech Betting Data

Akron Zips

Region Odds:
Sweet 16 Odds:
Elite Eight Odds:
Final Four Odds:
National Title Odds:

Seed: No. 12
Record: 29-5
Conference: MAC
PS/G: 88.4
PA/G: 73.5
ORtg: 123.1
DRtg: 102.4

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Region Odds:
Sweet 16 Odds:
Elite Eight Odds:
Final Four Odds:
National Title Odds:

Seed: No. 5
Record: 22-10
Conference: Big 12
PS/G: 80.4
PA/G: 72.6
ORtg: 117.9
DRtg: 106.5

Akron vs. Texas Tech Key Players

Akron Zips

Tavari Johnson (SR) – 20.1 ppg; 5 apg
Amani Lyles (SR) – 14.6 ppg; 8 rpg
Evan Mahaffey (SR) – 10.2 ppg; 5.6 rpg; 3.5 apg

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Christian Anderson (SO) – 18.9 ppg; 7.6 apg
Donovan Atwell (SR) – 13.5 ppg
LeJuan Watts (JR) – 11.5 ppg; 6.5 rpg

Akron vs. Texas Tech Betting Analysis

Texas Tech missing J.T. Toppin obviously skews a lot of the betting data, so this is a moving target for an already chaotic event. The Zips enter this game as hot as any team, winning 10 straight while allowing 76 points or less in six straight games. Akron is rarely an underdog, however, once against Miami-Ohio and covering the game. The Zips also enter covering four of six games and hitting the Under in six straight along with seven of their last eight games.

The Red Raiders are blood in the water for a shark, missing Toppin while dropping the spread in three straight games along with four of six on a neutral court. Prior to the three-game ATS skid, though. Texas Tech covered six of seven games. Texas Tech is also on an 0-3 Under run, so the total might be our move.

Akron vs. Texas Tech Best Bet, Pick & Prediction

Despite solid Under trends to get behind, the score projection has this game Over the given line. If you want the Under then take it, with Texas Tech also going Under 154 total points in seven straight games when facing a non-AP ranked school on a neutral court during the daytime. Everything except our score projection indicates an Under play.

We’ll side with Akron to cover, however, playing on the Texas Tech ATS struggles and Akron’s current momentum. Similar to the other MAC school in the First Four on Wednesday, we’ll side with the underdog’s spread at a touchdown.

Score Prediction: Akron 81, Texas Tech 77
Best Bet: Akron +7.5 (-110)

Photo Credit: AP/Sue Ogrocki

Thom Cunningham

Thom Cunningham is the Lineups.com News Editor and has been involved with sports media for almost two decades at Spectrum, VegasInsider.com, Oddschecker, VSiN and much more as a content producer - focused on the betting and gaming space over the last decade tracking insights, data analytics and covering various markets from the NFL to the Oscars.