Texas Tech University Athletics
Tech Ready To Square Off With Texas A&M
February 22, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2001
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Texas Tech
at
Texas A&M
Reed Arena
College Station, Texas
5 p.m. (CST)
THE COACHES Texas Tech head coach James Dickey enters the game with a 166-119 record over 10 seasons in Lubbock. Dickey has led the Red Raiders to two NCAA and one NIT appearance during his tenure. Melvin Watkins is in his third season at Texas A&M and has a 29-52 record entering this weekend's game. Watkins is 71-72 in five years as a collegiate head coach. He previously served as head coach at UNC Charlotte.
THE RECORDS Texas Tech is 9-14 on the season and 3-8 in Big 12 play following Wednesday's 65-64 win over Nebraska in Lubbock. Texas A&M is 9-17 overall and 2-11 in the Big 12. The Aggies are coming off of an 82-76 loss at home to Oklahoma State.
RED RAIDERS LOOKING FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT WIN IN COLLEGE STATION Texas Tech is hoping for a repeat of last season's series with Texas A&M when both teams won on each other's floor. The Aggies won a narrow 72-70 decision in Lubbock on Feb. 10 this year, marking the second win in a row for A&M in Lubbock. Tech won last season's meeting in College Station 76-64 and is looking for the same result this weekend. Texas Tech leads the all-time series 53-48, while Texas A&M holds a 28-18 advantage in College Station.
LEADING THE AGGIES Bernard King leads Texas A&M with 18.7 points per game, while Carlton Brown is averaging 10.6 points. Brown also leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game and a 52.3 shooting percentage from the field. King also leads the team with 4.8 assists per game. The Aggies are averaging 70.4 points per game and are yielding 76.4 points to the opposition. Opponents also enjoy a 45.3 field goal percentage, while A&M is shooting 42.4 percent.
AGGIES WIN SECOND STRAIGHT IN LUBBOCK IN EARLIER MEETING Nick Anderson scored 18 points to lead Texas A&M to a 72-70 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday. The Aggies (8-15, 2-9 Big 12) expanded their lead in the second half to as much as 13 points, 68-55 with 6:27 remaining. But the Red Raiders (8-12, 2-7) then went on a 15-4 run that brought them within a point of the Aggies, 68-67, with a minute left. Bernard King hit two free throws and Keith Bean hit another, putting the Aggies up by four, 71-67. A foul in the final seconds by Tech allowed the Aggies to seal the victory. The win snapped A&M's 14-game losing streak that began after a controversial end to the Aggies' last visit to Lubbock on Jan. 15, 2000. Big 12 referee Charles Range was suspended the day after the game, which ended in an 88-86 victory for A&M following the counting of an A&M basket at the final buzzer. Tech fans didn't forget the incident Saturday, holding up signs that read, "86-86 Overtime Starts Now." King scored 13 points for the Aggies and Nolan Butterfras added 10. Tech was led by Cliff Owens 17 points, and Andy Ellis had 13. The Aggies led 41-37 at the half, breaking away from a 37-37 tie on a Bernard King basket with 45 seconds left in the half. Jamaal Gilchrist added another two for the Aggies on free throws.
RED RAIDERS LOOK TO BUILD ON WIN Texas Tech snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 65-64 win over Nebraska Wednesday and is looking to carry the momentum generated from the victory into Saturday's game at Texas A&M. The Red Raiders and the Aggies face off at 5 p.m. in Reed Arena in College Station. Texas Tech improved to 9-14 and 3-9 in league play. The league win total matches last season's total. Andy Ellis nailed a short jumper with four seconds on the clock to give Texas Tech the win over the Cornhuskers. With 11.3 seconds remaining in the game, Nebraska was called for a five-count under the Tech basket, which set up the game-winning shot by Ellis. Ellis finished the game with a team-high 14 points, followed by Cliff Owens' 12 and Andre Emmett's 10. Owens and Mikey Marshall led Tech with eight rebounds each and Jamal Brown dished out a team-high six assists. Texas A&M is 9-17 overall and 2-10 in Big 12 play following Wednesday night's 82-76 loss to Oklahoma State in College Station.
A WIN AGAINST A&M WOULD...
- Give the Red Raiders their second-straight win over the Aggies and fifth in the last six meetings in College Station.
- Give Tech four wins in Big 12 play, the most since the 1998-99 season when the team won five.
- Mark the first time since the first two games of the season that Texas Tech has won back-to-back games and the first time since the 1998-99 season that Tech has won consecutive league games.
- Up James Dickey's career coaching record to 167-119.
- Improve Tech's all-time record to 1,101-?836.
A LOSS AGAINST A&M WOULD...
- Drop Tech's Big 12 road record to 0-6.
- Mark the 15th time in the last 16 league road games that the Red Raiders have lost.
- Give the Aggies a season sweep of the Red Raiders for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
- Also give the Aggies the only season sweep of any league team over the Red Raiders this season.
- Give the Red Raiders their eighth loss of the season when playing on the weekend in the Big 12. Seven of those losses have come on Saturdays.
NOTING THE WIN OVER NEBRASKA
- Andy Ellis' leaner with four seconds to play lifted Texas Tech to its third conference win of the season and prevented Tech's losing streak from reaching eight games.
- The win was Tech's third of the season in league play, matching the Big 12 win total of last season.
- Tech avoided tying last season's losing streak of eight games with the win.
- The win over the Huskers was Tech's first since the 1998-99 season.
- The win was the 1,100th all-time win in Tech history.
- Marcus Shropshire has hit a three in each of the last six games he's played. He finished the game with five points.
- Jamal Brown dished out six assists for the second-straight game. He is now fourth on the single-season assists list at Tech with 154.
- Andre Emmett came off of the bench for the second game in a row to score 10 points.
- Mikey Marshall scored seven points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
LEADING THE RED RAIDERS Andy Ellis continues to lead the team with 14.8 points per game. Cliff Owens and Jamal Brown follow with 12.0 and 11.2 points, respectively. Owens leads the team on the boards with 7.2 rebounds per game and Ellis follows with 6.4. Brown ranks sixth in the nation and third in the Big 12 with 6.7 assists per game. Owens is shooting 56.9 percent from the field and is the only Red Raider over the .500 mark.
CARRY THE LEAD TO THE LOCKERROOM Texas Tech is 7-1 on the season when its holds the point advantage at the half. Of the three conference wins this season, the Red Raiders led at the half of each games. The lone loss came against UTEP in Lubbock.
LEADING LATE ALSO GOOD The Red Raiders also are 7-1 when leading a game with five minutes to play. UTEP also holds the lone win for the opposition when Tech leads late.
NU WIN FIRST WHEN LOSING BOARDS The win over the Huskers was the first for Texas Tech when the team trails on the boards. Tech is 1-9 this season when the opponent gets the upperhand on the glass.
D-E-F-E-N-S-E This has plagued the Red Raiders much of the season. Tech is 2-12 when allowing opponents to score more than 70 points. Tech's fortunes reverse, however, when the D is tight and the Red Raiders hold the bad guys under 70. Tech is 7-2 when opponents score 69 or below.
STARTING GROUP GETS FIRST VICTORY Tech's current starting five erased its 0-4 record with the win over the Huskers.
HIT THE TOSSES The Red Raiders are 7-6 in games decided by 10 points or less. Two of those losses were decided by two points while another was decided by one. Tech missed eight or more free throws in each of those games.
JAMAL PERFECT OF LATE Jamal Brown has connected on each of his last six free throw attempts. Earlier this season he put together a string of 16 in a row.
ABOVE AVERAGE Cliff Owens has been playing above the rim lately. The senior forward is shooting 56.9 percent from the floor on the season, but has connected on 58.9 percent in the last five games. In each of those games, Owens has shot over 50 percent. Against the Huskers, Owens scored in double digits for the first time in three games.
THE GO-TO MAN OFF THE BENCH Andre Emmett has emerged as Tech's top man off the bench this season. In the last five games, Emmett has posted double-digit scoring numbers in four of those games. He knocked down 15 at Oklahoma and 10 the following game against Texas A&M. After struggling with five points at Texas, Emmett has hit 10 in each of the last two. He is averaging 10 points over the last five games and is logging 8.0 points per game on the season.
MARSHALL GRABS CAREER HIGH Freshman guard Mikey Marshall grabbed a career-high eight rebounds in Tech's win over Nebraska. His previous high was seven against both UTEP and Oklahoma in Lubbock.
MITCHELL, ELLIS LEAD FROM THE LINE Jayson Mitchell and Andy Ellis have been mainstays at the foul line for the Red Raiders this season. As a team, Texas Tech is shooting 66.9 percent from the foul line. Mitchell leads the team with a 78 percent rate from the charity stripe and has made nine of his last 12 attempts. On the season, Mitchell is 39-of-50. Ellis has knocked down 94-of-129 for a 72.9 percentage. Over the last four games, Ellis has connected on 25-of-35 shots.
DICKEY THIRD IN TENURE Red Raider head coach James Dickey ranks third in tenure among coaches who have coached in the Big 12. Roy Williams is in his 13th season at Kansas, while Eddie Sutton is in his 11th at Oklahoma State. Dickey is in his 10th season at Tech.
DICKEY USES FIFTH DIFFERENT LINEUP Texas Tech head coach James Dickey unveiled the team's fifth starting lineup of the season at Oklahoma. Jamal Brown, Andy Ellis, Cliff Owens, Mikey Marshall and Jayson Mitchell made up the fifth different starting five this season.
OWENS, PHILLIPS PASS CENTURY MARK Senior forward Cliff Owens and senior center Johnny Phillips each played in their 100th games this season. Phillips has played in 104, while Owens saw his 100th game against Nebraska. Tony Benford is the all-time leader at Tech with 121 games played.
ELLIS CONTINUES TO LEAD TECH Center Andy Ellis leads the team with 14.8 points per game, is second on the boards with 6.6 rebounds. He posted back-to-back double-doubles earlier this season against UTEP and Ball State. Ellis has scored in double-figures in all but one game this season and has led the team in scoring in 10 games, including the last two, and has five game-high honors. He also leads the team with five 20+-point games.
OWENS ON THE GLASS Throughout his career senior forward Cliff Owens has had a knack for crashing the boards and leading Texas Tech in rebounding. Owens led the Red Raiders with 7.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 1997-98 and paced the team again the following season with 7.0 boards per game. After sitting out last season with an ankle injury, Owens once again leads the team on the glass. He is currently averaging 7.2 rebounds and has led the team in 12 games. Five times he has garnered game-high honors.
SCORING, WINNING TRENDS Texas Tech has won only one game when allowing 80 or more points, while losing nine of those contests. The only win was a 100-98 overtime victory at Oral Roberts. The Red Raiders are 8-5 when holding the opposition under 80 points. The losses came against Oklahoma State, Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas.
TECH GETS FIRST WIN OVER RANKED OPPONENT IN TWO YEARS Texas Tech's 60-59 win over No. 21 Oklahoma was the first for the Red Raiders over a ranked team since knocking off 24th-ranked Kansas 90-84 on Feb. 13, 1999. Both games were in Lubbock. The last time Tech defeated an opponent ranked higher than 21st was a 77-68 win over 11th-ranked New Mexico on Dec. 4, 1996. During that same season, the Red Raiders also defeated No. 21 Fresno State.
BIG 12 WEEKENDS NOT KIND TO TECH Texas Tech has lost six-straight Saturday games and one Sunday game, all Big 12 contests. The Red Raiders won their first three Saturday games of the season over UL Lafayette, Stephen F. Austin and Western Michigan. The last seven games, however, haven't come so easy -- (7) Kansas, at Oklahoma State, Colorado, at Missouri, at Baylor and at home against Texas A&M were all on Saturdays. The Kansas State loss was on a Sunday. Here's a breakdown of the last seven weekend games:
