The 12th-seeded Akron Zips will battle the fifth-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Friday. Akron won the MAC Tournament championship with a 79-76 victory over Toledo, while Texas Tech dropped a 75-53 decision to Iowa State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Zips (29-5), who have won 10 consecutive games, were second in the MAC during the regular season with a 17-1 conference mark. The Red Raiders (22-10), who have lost three in a row, finished tied for third in the Big 12 with a 12-6 conference record. Texas Tech will be without star forward JT Toppin (ACL).

Tipoff from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla., is set for 12:40 p.m. ET. Texas Tech is a 7.5-point favorite in the latest Akron vs. Texas Tech odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 154.5. Before making any Akron vs. Texas Tech picks, check out the Texas Tech vs. Akron predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the 2026 NCAA Tournament on a sizzling 11-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks.

Now, the model has simulated Akron vs. Texas Tech 10,000 times and just revealed its men’s college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball betting lines for Texas Tech vs. Akron:

Top Akron vs. Texas Tech predictions

After 10,000 simulations of Akron vs. Texas Tech, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (154.5 points). The Over has hit in three of the last six Texas Tech games.

The model projects the Zips to have three players score over 11 points or more, including Tavari Johnson, who is projected to score 19. The Red Raiders are projected to have four players score 10 points or more, led by Christian Anderson, who is projected to score 19. The model is projecting 164 combined points, as the Over clears more than 70% of the time. See the full Akron vs. Texas Tech picks at SportsLine.

How to make Texas Tech vs. Akron picks

Now, the model simulated every possession of Akron vs. Texas Tech 10,000 times and says one side of the spread cashes nearly 60% of the time. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Texas Tech vs. Akron, and which side of the spread hits in nearly 60% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Texas Tech vs. Akron spread to back, all from the advanced model that just simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.