UNC Wilmington will take on Texas Tech in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 20, 2025. The Red Raiders had a big year in a big conference this season, while the Seahawks won an automatic bid in a mid-major conference tournament. And while Texas Tech has certainly had the better season on paper, games in March are not won on paper, and the Red Raiders will need to earn it on the court if they want to avoid a first-round upset.
According to online sportsbooks leading up to this game, Texas Tech is a 15.5-point favorite. The total for this matchup has been set at 142.5 points. Here, we take a closer look at UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech from Wichita, KS and give you our best bet for a matchup between teams from the CAA and Big 12.
UNC Wilmington Hungry For First Round Upset
UNC Wilmington won the CAA championship, ending the Cinderella run of 12-seed Delaware in the conference title game. The Seahawks enjoyed a very favorable path to the conference title, facing a pair of bottom-five teams in their conference and not playing a team seeded higher than third. But the Seahawks certainly won’t complain about how they got here and will look to spring a first-round upset to advance to the weekend.
The balance of the Seahawks is something that could make a significant difference in this game. This team has seven players who average between 8.0 and 15.0 points per game, making it hard to predict where their offense is going to come from at any given time. While that might not be enough to move them into the second round, it could be enough to keep them in contention throughout.
Texas Tech Starts Tournament Close to Home
Texas Tech had a very good year in the Big 12, going 25-8 and ending up right around the top-10 in the rankings going into NCAA Tournament time. The Red Raiders were knocked out of the Big 12 tournament by an Arizona team that lost in the final of that tournament to the Houston Cougars. In this game, the Red Raiders will look to get back into the win column and to advance to round two of March Madness.
The Red Raiders have a player to lead them who could be one of the breakout stars of this year’s NCAA Tournament. JT Toppin appeared in this tournament for New Mexico last season, losing in the first round to Clemson. After a season where he averaged 18.1 points per game for a very good Texas Tech squad, Toppin and his team will have their sights set on going much deeper in this tourney.
UNC Wilmington vs Texas Tech Prediction
Texas Tech -15.5 (-110) over UNC Wilmington
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Claim Bonus - UNC Wilmington got very lucky with their draw in the CAA tournament and their luck should run out here.
- Texas Tech is led by a star in guard JT Toppin, who should have a big game to help Tech win this game handily.
