Texas Tech University Athletics
Raiders Travel To Texas A&M
February 17, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2000
TEXAS TECH (10-12, 1-10)
at
TEXAS A&M (7-15, 3-8)
Sat., Feb. 19, 2000 // 3 p.m.
Reed Arena (12,500)
College Station, Texas
TECH-A&M MEET FOR 100TH TIME
The Red Raiders enter the Texas A&M game looking for their first Big 12 road win of the season. The game is set to tip at 3 p.m. (CT) Sat., Feb. 19, at Reed Arena in College Station.
TECH LOOKING FOR FIRST ROAD WIN
Texas Tech is still searching for its first Big 12 win on the road this season. The Red Raiders are currently 0-5 away from the United Spirit Arena this season in league games. The last time a Tech team finished with no league road wins was during the 1989-90 season.
REGULAR SEASON COMING TO A CLOSE
The Red Raiders have only five games left in the 1999-2000 regular season. Following the Texas A&M game, Tech faces Oklahoma in Norman Wed., Feb. 23, before returning home to meet Kansas State Sat., Feb. 26. The Red Raiders close out the home schedule March 1 against Iowa State and travel to Colorado March 4 for the season finale.
TELEVISION
The Texas Tech-Texas A&M game will be broadcast live by ESPN Regional at 3 p.m. Chuck Cooperstein (play-by-play) and Chris Piper (color commentary) call the action from courtside at Reed Arena.
LISTENING IN
The All Sports Radio Network will air all Red Raider games, beginning approximately 25 minutes prior to tip-off. The network carries nine affiliates across West Texas, including flagship station KKAM 1340 in Lubbock. Broadcasting veteran Jack Dale (play-by-play), in his 47th season, calls the action.
SERIES VS. TEXAS A&M
The Red Raiders lead the series with the Aggies 52-47. Texas A&M escaped Lubbock with a controversial 88-86 win at the buzzer Jan. 15 for their second-straight win against Tech. A&M leads the series in College Station 28-17, while Tech leads in Lubbock 31-15. The teams are deadlocked at 4-4 on neutral floors.
PROBABLE STARTERS
TEXAS TECH
| HT | WT | CL | HOMETOWN | PPG | RPG | |||
| G | 03 | Rayford Young | 5-11 | 180 | Sr. | Pampa, Texas | 16.2 | 4.0 |
| G | 05 | James Ware | 6-5 | 210 | Sr. | Minneapolis, Minn. | 11.0 | 3.1 |
| C | 25 | Johnny Phillips | 6-9 | 235 | Jr. | Fort Worth, Texas | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| F | 33 | Brodney Kennard | 6-8 | 210 | Sr. | Fort Worth, Texas | 6.6 | 6.7 |
| F | 14 | Mario Layne | 6-7 | 195 | Sr. | St. Michael, Barbados | 13.3 | 5.6 |
TEXAS A&M
| HT | WT | CL | HOMETOWN | PPG | RPG | |||
| G | 32 | Bernard King | 6-3 | 178 | Fr. | Gibsland, La. | 16.5 | 4.7 |
| G | 04 | Jamaal Gilchrist | 5-10 | 187 | Fr. | Washington, D.C. | 8.9 | 4.0 |
| C | 44 | Andy Slocum | 6-11 | 252 | Fr. | West Monroe, La. | 4.4 | 3.1 |
| F | 21 | Aaron Jack | 6-8 | 243 | Sr. | Tulsa, Okla. | 8.6 | 6.7 |
| F | 25 | Larry Scott | 6-5 | 206 | Fr. | St. James, Md. | 7.4 | 2.1 |
Series Quick Facts
| Overall | Tech, 52-47 |
| Dickey vs. A&M | 13-6 |
| Most Tech Points | 102 (Feb. 7, 1998) |
| Most A&M Points | 101 (Jan. 31, 1990) |
| Fewest Tech Points | 41 (Feb. 18, 1967) |
| Fewest A&M Points | 36 (Dec. 17, 1941) |
| 36 (Feb. 18, 1967) | |
| Largest Tech Margin | 28 (Jan. 13, 1996) |
| 28 (Mar. 7, 1996) | |
| Largest A&M Margin | 30 (Feb. 6, 1960) |
| In Overtime | Tech, 2-1 |
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders are 10-12 on the season and 1-10 in Big 12 play, following Tuesday night's disappointing 86-76 loss to Missouri at home. Tech led the game by seven at the 6:42 mark, but failed to score again as Missouri rattled off 17 unanswered points to close the game. The Red Raiders are narrowly out-scoring opponents 70.9 to 70.2 points per game. Tech is shooting 44.6 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from three and 70.6 percent from the foul line. On the defensive front, Tech is holding opponents to 40.1 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three. The opposition has the edge on the boards by three rebounds per game. Rayford Young leads the team with 16.7 points per game, followed by Mario Layne (13.5) and James Ware (11.2). Brodney Kennard is grabbing 6.7 caroms per game and is one of the league's top shot blockers at 2.5 rejections per game.
TEXAS TECH HEAD COACH JAMES DICKEY
Texas Tech Head Coach James Dickey is in his ninth season as the Red Raider mentor with a 155-101 overall record. Dickey has guided the Red Raiders to two NCAA Tournaments, including 1996's Sweet Sixteen appearance. Tech also has made a trip to the NIT under Dickey. He is third all-time at the University with 155 wins, trailing Gerald Myers (326 wins / 1971-91) and Polk Robison (254 wins / 1942-46, 47-61). The Red Raiders won the SWC regular-season title in 1995 and tied for the honor the following season. He became only the second coach in Texas Tech history to take a team through an undefeated conference season, when the Red Raiders finished 14-0 in the SWC in 1996. He also holds the distinction of the being the only coach in school history to record a 30-win season (1995-96). He is a two-time Southwest Conference Coach of the Year.
A&M HEAD COACH MELVIN WATKINS
Melvin Watkins is in his second season at the helm of the Aggie program, after spending two successful seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, UNC Charlotte. Watkins is 57-40 in three seasons on the collegiate level, leading the 49er program to a 42-20 mark and two NCAA Tournament appearance. A&M finished 12-15 in his first season and is currently 7-14, 3-7 in the Big 12 this season. Watkins graduated from UNCC in 1977. He was a four-year player at UNCC and was drafted in the fourth round of the NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M escaped the United Spirit Arena on of the most bizarre endings in college basketball this season. A&M guard Andy Leatherman hit a layup at the buzzer which was ruled good by lead official Charles Range. After 45 minutes of review and discussion, the basket remained good and A&M left with an 88-86 victory. The controversial ending led to the NCAA taking action and changing the rules to allow replay to be used when determining a questionable basket at the buzzer. Nevertheless, the Aggies won their first Big 12 game of the season behind 22 points from Carlton Brown. The Red Raiders were led by Rayford Young's 24 points.
DICKEY HIGH ON BIG 12 TENURE LIST
Texas Tech head coach James Dickey trails only Danny Nee, Roy Williams and Eddie Sutton in tenure among Big 12 head coaches. Dickey has been the head coach of the Red Raiders for nine seasons.
| Coach | School | Years |
| Danny Nee | Nebraska | 14 |
| Roy Williams | Kansas | 12 |
| Eddie Sutton | Oklahoma State | 10 |
| James Dickey | Texas Tech | 9 |
| Kelvin Sampson | Oklahoma | 6 |
| Tom Asbury | Kansas State | 6 |
| Ricardo Patton | Colorado | 5 |
| Rick Barnes | Texas | 2 |
| Larry Eustachy | Iowa State | 2 |
| Melvin Watkins | Texas A&M | 2 |
| Dave Bliss | Baylor | 1 |
| Quin Snyder | Missouri | 1 |
RARE LINEUP CHANGE
For only the third time this season, head coach James Dickey altered his starting lineup. Against Missouri, Tech started Rayford Young, James Ware, Mario Layne, Brodney Kennard and Jayson Mitchell. The first four have started each game this season. Mitchell earned his second career start and first of the season. Johnny Phillips had been the other starter, replacing Andy Ellis midway through the season.
RED RAIDERS CASHING IN AT THE LINE
Texas Tech is first in the Big 12 in free throw shooting at 70.6 percent. Despite a 67.4 percentage in Big 12 games, the Red Raiders continue to dominate at the line. In 22 games this season, Tech has connected on 336-of-476 attempts. Rayford Young leads the team with 82.6 percent and is second in the Big 12.
GET THAT OUTTA HERE
Texas Tech ranks fourth in the Big 12 in blocked shots with 5.0 per game. Kansas is the leader with 5.5 blocks per outing.
SEEING TRIPLE
James Ware and Rayford Young have combined for 90 of Tech's 126 three-point baskets this season. Ware leads the team with 52 made threes, followed by Young's 38. Jayson Mitchell has 18.
TECH STELLAR WHEN SHOOTING HOT
The Red Raiders are 6-2 when shooting over 50 percent in a game. The high this season is 64.2 percent against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The only two losses came in conference games against Texas A&M and Missouri.
Tech's 50%-plus shooting games
| Opponent | Pct. | W/L |
| Texas A&M-CC | .642 | W |
| UTEP | .500 | W |
| North Texas | .567 | W |
| Stephen F. Austin | .563 | W |
| Oral Roberts | .585 | W |
| Prairie View A&M | .500 | W |
| Texas A&M | .527 | L |
| Missouri | .531 | L |
RED RAIDERS ALL-TIME VS. TEXAS A&M
| Rayford Young (7 games) | ||
| Points | 16.1 | |
| FG % | (41-of-68) .603 | |
| Rebounds | 3.7 | |
| Assists | 4.3 | |
| Mario Layne (3 games) | ||
| Points | 9.0 | |
| FG % | (9-of-16) .563 | |
| Rebounds | 4.3 | |
| Assists | 3.0 | |
| James Ware (3 games) | ||
| Points | 10.0 | |
| FG % | (10-of-25) .400 | |
| Rebounds | 3.0 | |
| Assists | 2.0 | |
| Brodney Kennard (3 games) | ||
| Points | 3.7 | |
| FG % | (5-of-6) .833 | |
| Rebounds | 2.7 | |
| Blocks | 1.0 | |
| Jayson Mitchell (3 games) | ||
| Points | 2.3 | |
| FG % | (3-of-8) .375 | |
| Rebounds | 1.3 | |
| Blocks | 1.0 | |
| Johnny Phillips (5 games) | ||
| Points | 4.8 | |
| FG % | (11-of-22) .500 | |
| Rebounds | 3.4 | |
| Blocks | 1.7 | |
| Moses Malone, Jr. | ||
| Points | 0.0 | |
| Rebounds | 0.0 | |
| Ronald Hobbs | ||
| Points | 2.0 | |
| Rebounds | 0.0 |
YOUNG ASCENDING SCORING LIST
Rayford Young is currently 13th on the all-time scoring list at Texas Tech. He has 1,382 career points in 101 games. He trails Dub Malaise in 12th place by 38 points. Young began the season in 24th place.
YOUNG RAISES HIS GAME
Rayford Young has been playing above his season averages as of late. In the last two games, the senior guard is averaging 23 points, 6.3 above his season average. He scored 20 in the win over Baylor and led Tech with 26 against Missouri.
| Opponent | FG% | Pts |
| Baylor | .400 | 20 |
| Missouri | .611 | 26 |
| Total | .515 | 23 ppg |
| First 20 games | .397 | 16.1 |
MORE ON YOUNG
Young needs 17 assists to break the 400-mark for his career and become only the third Red Raider in history to accomplish a 1,000-point, 400-assist career. Sean Gay (1,597 points, 432 assists) and Stan Bonewitz (1,092 points, 430 assists) are the only two to do so. Other categories Young is moving up in:
Three-Point Field Goals
1. Cory Carr (94-98) - 262
2. Stan Bonewitz (95-99) - 241
3. Koy Smith (92-96) - 237
4. Lance Hughes (91-95) - 168
5. Rayford Young (96-00) - 152
Assists
1. Stan Bonewitz (95-99) - 435
2. Sean Gay (85-89) - 432
3. Rayford Young (96-00) - 383
Steals
1. Sean Gay (85-89) - 196
2. Rayford Young (96-00) - 164
MARKED IMPROVEMENT
Senior forward Mario Layne has nearly double his production from last season. Included in this season's highlights for Layne is a career-high 32-point effort against Prairie View A&M. He also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds against Baylor and dished out a career-high six assists against Missouri.
Mario Layne - Then and Now
| Stat | 1998-99 | 1999-00 |
| Points/gm | 5.4 | 13.5 |
| FG % | .438 | .500 |
| FT % | .480 | .642 |
| Assists/gm | 1.6 | 2.7 |
| 20-point games | 0 | 2 |
| Minutes/gm | 18.6 | 30.5 |
KENNARD MOVES IN ON BLOCKS RECORD
Senior forward Brodney Kennard is quickly moving up the blocking charts at Texas Tech. He has 56 rejections this season, which ranks second on the single-season blocks list behind Tony Battie (68). Kennard ranks fifth all-time at Tech with 93 swats. He blocked five shots for the second time in his career against Missouri.
MARATHON MEN
Four Red Raiders are averaging over 30 minutes per game this season - all starters. Rayford Young leads the pack with 36 minutes per game, followed by James Ware (32.5), Brodney Kennard (31.6) and Mario Layne (30.5). Before he went down with a season-ending injury, Andy Ellis was logging 33.8 minutes per game.
RED RAIDERS IN THE CLUTCH
Tech has made 80-of-111 (.721) free throws in the final five minutes of games and 47-of-66 (.712) in the final two minutes. Rayford Young is hitting .853 from the line down the stretch, while James Ware and Jayson Mitchell are shooting .769 and .700. Young has attempted 26 free throws in the final two minutes this season with 21 makes.
TEXAS TECH VS. THE BIG 12
Texas Tech has faced the member institutions of the Big 12 on 411 occasions. Tech played its 400th game against a current Big 12 opponent with a 90-84 home win over Kansas Feb. 13, 1999. Here are Texas Tech's series record with each of the Big 12 schools:
| TEAM | RECORD |
| Baylor | 62-37 |
| Colorado | 4-12 |
| Iowa State | 1-5 |
| Kansas | 1-10 |
| Kansas State | 4-8 |
| Missouri | 3-4 |
| Nebraska | 6-9 |
| Oklahoma | 10-14 |
| Oklahoma State | 6-15 |
| Texas | 50-53 |
| Texas A&M | 52-47 |
| TOTALS | 199-214 (.485) |
ATTENDANCE RECORDS
Texas Tech's sellout crowd of 15,050 against Indiana at the inaugural game in the United Spirit Arena marked the largest home crowd in school history to witness a Red Raider basketball game. The A&M game crowd of 14,324 is the second largest, while the Texas game drew 14,045. Oklahoma drew 10,624.
COACH DICKEY ON THE RADIO
Texas Tech head coach James Dickey can be heard Thursday nights at 7 p.m. during the season on KKAM 1340 in Lubbock on the James Dickey Radio Show. Red Raider play-by-play veteran Jack Dale hosts the show from Jazz - A Louisiana Kitchen. The show is open to callers.
THE JAMES DICKEY SHOW
The James Dickey Show can be seen Sunday nights at 11 p.m. throughout the season on KCBD-TV Channel 11. KCBD sports director Brian Mudd is the host.
NINETIES THE SECOND-BEST DECADE
Texas Tech won 160 of 292 games (54.8 percent) played during the 90s. The winningest decade came during the 70s when the Red Raiders won 174 games. Here's a rundown of the top five decades for wins: 1970s (174), 1990s (160), 1980s (153), 1950s (146), 1940s (143).
PRIME TIME
The Red Raiders have played eight games on television this season and face four more opponents on the tube before the end of the season:
| Date | Opponent | Network |
| F19 | at Texas A&M | ESPN+ |
| F23 | at Oklahoma | ESPN+ |
| F26 | Kansas State | ESPN+ |
| M4 | at Colorado | ESPN+ |
