Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Begin Big 12 Tournament On Thursday
March 05, 2001 | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2001
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THE COACHES
Texas Tech head coach James Dickey enters the game with a 166-123 record over 10 seasons in Lubbock. Dickey has led the Red Raiders to two NCAA and one NIT appearance during his tenure.
Eddie Sutton is in his 11th season at his alma mater. Sutton has a 248-103 mark over that span and boasts a career record of 678-265 over a 31-year career.
THE RECORDS
Texas Tech finished the regular season with a 9-18 record and 3-13 mark in Big 12 play.
The Cowboys close the regular season with a 19-8 overall record and 10-6 finish in league play.
RED RAIDERS LOOKING FOR FIRST WIN IN FOUR YEARS IN SERIES
Oklahoma State currently holds an eight-game winning streak in the series with the Red Raiders and lead 17-6 overall. The last Tech win was a 70-64 overtime victory in Lubbock on Jan. 20, 1997. The win capped a five-game win streak for the Red Raiders in the series.
TECH CAME CLOSE TWICE LAST SEASON
In last season's two meetings, Oklahoma State narrowly escaped each game with a win. Texas Tech dropped a 55-47 decision in the league opener in Stillwater and fell 63-59 in Lubbock.
LEADING THE COWBOYS
Maurice Baker leads Oklahoma State with 19.7 points per game and is second with 6.7 rebounds per game. Fredrik Jonzen follows with 14.9 points and Victor Williams logs 12.0 points per game. Andre Williams leads the team on the boards with 7.6 rebounds per game.
OSU averages 72.2 points per game, while holding its opponents to 64.9 points per contest.
THE LAST TIME VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
LUBBOCK, Texas - Maurice Baker scored 17 points to lead Oklahoma State to a 66-58 victory over Texas Tech Monday night.
The game was a makeup game for one postponed after OSU lost two players, six members of the team's travel party and its two pilots in a plane crash as the team returned to Stillwater from a loss to Colorado on Jan. 27.
The win is one OSU players and coach Eddie Sutton hope will give them a chance to represent the Big 12 in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cowboys (18-7, 9-5 Big 12) led throughout most of the game. Tech came as close as one point, 43-42, with 13:33 to play, but the Red Raiders were never able to re-establish their first half lead after turning the ball over five times in the first half and another three straight times in the second.
OSU went on a 12-2 run moving ahead of Tech, 55-44, with 8:43 to go.
The Red Raiders (9-16, 3-11) fought back on an 11-5 run, but only got within five points, 60-55, with 2:32 to play. The Cowboys expanded their lead to eight with free throws and a Victor Williams layup for the win.
Fredrik Jonzen added 15 points for OSU, while Williams and Terrence Crawford added 11 each.
Tech was led by Ellis' 18 points, followed by Cliff Owens' 12 and Jayson Mitchell's 11.
Overall, OSU hit 24-of-47 compared to Tech's 22-of-66. During the second half, the Red Raiders hit only 11-of-40 shots.
It was Tech's seventh loss at home and second in a row after rebounding shortly from a seven-game losing streak by beating Nebraska 65-64 on Feb. 21.
Tech coach James Dickey's frustration with his team's performance was evident as he rubbed his hands across his face and at one point pulled his coat jacket off, sending a pen and his checkbook across the floor.
At the half, OSU led 36-33.
DICKEY-SUTTON CONNECTION
Texas Tech head coach James Dickey got his coaching start under OSU head coach Eddie Sutton when Sutton was the head coach at Arkansas in 1981. Dickey remained on Sutton's staff for four years at Arkansas and moved with Sutton to Kentucky, where they led the Wildcats for four seasons. Sutton and Dickey guided Arkansas to four NCAA appearances and led Kentucky two three.
RAIDERS FACE OKLAHOMA STATE IN BIG 12 FIRST ROUND
Texas Tech and Oklahoma State will square off for the third time this season when the two teams meet in the first round of the 2001 Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament. Tip-off is set for 2:20 p.m. (CST) Thu., March 8, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.
The Red Raiders closed out the season with a four-game losing streak. In its last outing, Tech dropped a 78-55 decision at home to No. 24 Texas. Cliff Owens and Jayson Mitchell led Tech with 21 and 10 points, respectively.
The Cowboys lost at Oklahoma on Saturday, 68-56, which snapped a four-game winning streak. Maurice Baker led OSU with 31 points and nine rebounds.
A WIN AGAINST OSU WOULD ...
- Snap Tech's three-game losing streak in the first round of the tournament.
- Snap Tech's four-game losing skid.
- Snap Tech's eight-game losing streak in the series.
- Improve Tech's all-time record to 1,101-?840.
A LOSS AGAINST OSU WOULD...
- Mark the first time since 1990-91 season that Tech closed with five-straight losses.
- Give Tech 19 losses, the most since dropping 23 in 1990-91.
NOTING THE LOSS TO TEXAS
- The loss gave Texas a season sweep of the Red Raiders.
- Cliff Owens' 21 points marked the first time since the Kansas game on Jan. 6 that the 20-point mark had been eclipsed.
- The 23-point loss was the worst at home since losing by 33 to Oklahoma to close out the 1997-98 season.
- The loss set Tech's home record at 6-8 on the season -- the first home losing season since 1990-91.
TEXAS TECH'S LAST PLACE FINISH IS FIRST SINCE 1989-90
The Red Raiders' 3-13 mark landed them as the No. 12 seed at this year's tournament. The last time a Texas Tech team finished last in conference play was during the 1989-90 season when the team ended the Southwest Conference season with an 0-16 record. Tech has finished 11th in each of the past two seasons.
HOME NOT SO SWEET THIS SEASON
Texas Tech's 6-8 home record this season is the first losing record at home since the 1990-91 team finished 4-10. The Red Raiders were out-scored by 2.6 points per game in 14 games at the United Spirit Arena this season. Tech managed to hit 41.4 percent from the field, but yielded a 46.2 percentage to the opposition. Overall, the Red Raiders out-scored their opponents by seven points in the first half over 14 games, but lost the second half battle by 44 points.
THE ROAD WASN'T SO KIND, EITHER
Tech went 3-10 on the road during the 2000-01 season and was out-scored by 102 points in 14 games. Offensively, the Red Raiders averaged 68.6 points per game, but allowed 76.5 points. Tech shot 43 percent from the field and struggled from the three-point line with a 27.7 percent rate. Opponents also led on the boards by 4.2 rebounds per game.
BROWN NAMED TO ALL-JUCO TEAM
Texas Tech point guard Jamal Brown has been named to CollegeInsider.com's All-Juco Team. Brown joins 15 junior college transfers on the team, including three others from the Big 12. In addition to Brown, OSU's Maurice Baker, Oklahoma's Aaron McGhee and Kansas State's Larry Reid made the team.
BROWN PLAYS WITH GENEROSITY
Junior college transfer Jamal Brown has moved himself into the top five single-season leaders in assists at Texas Tech in his first season on campus. Brown has dished out 170 assists and ranks third at Tech. He is nine away from tying the second spot. He is the only Red Raider this season to record a double-double without double figures in rebounds. Brown scored a career-high 23 points and dished out 11 assists at Louisiana-Lafayette and went 11 and 11 against UTEP. He tallied his third double-double with 15 points and 10 assists against TCU. Brown twice scored 23 points this season. The other time came against Kansas.
BABY BOOMERS
Texas Tech currently has 10 scholarship players, five of which are freshmen in addition to a junior college transfer. Of the remaining four scholarship players, Cliff Owens didn't see action last season and Andy Ellis had his season cut short three games into Big 12 play.
DIAPER DANDIES CONTRIBUTE
One of the storylines for Texas Tech has been the contribution of this season's rookie class. In addition to junior college transfer Jamal Brown, the Red Raiders' five freshman have seen significant action. Andre Emmett leads the freshman class with 7.7 points per game off of the bench, while Marcus Shropshire is averaging 5.5. Mikey Marshall has started the last 18 games at the two-guard position and run the point when Brown is on the bench. Rodney Bass and Brannon Hayes have each performed well off of the bench.
TWO RED RAIDERS NAMED TO ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Sophomore guard Ronald Hobbs and senior center Johnny Phillips were named to the 2001 Men's Basketball Academic All-Big 12 Team last week. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.2 or better grade point average. Hobbs is majoring in engineering, while Phillips will graduate in May with a degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management.
HOME SWEET HOME
Head Coach James Dickey believes in high school basketball in the state of Texas. Of the 11 players on the current roster, 10 are from the Lone Star State. Rodney Bass hails from Baltimore, Md., and is the only player from outside of the state. Dallas is the only city represented twice (Jamal Brown and Andre Emmett).
RED RAIDERS SUCCESSFUL WITH EARLY LEAD
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 game. 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.
D-E-F-E-N-S-E
This has plagued the Red Raiders much of the season. Tech is 2-14 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 7-4 when opponents score 69 or below.
HIT THE TOSSES
The Red Raiders are 7-8 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 three games.
EMMETT FIRST OFF THE BENCH
Andre Emmett emerged this season as the sixth man on the Tech bench. The true freshman averaged 7.7 points per game during the regular season and shot 40.1 percent from the field. He scored in double figures in 10 games and score eight or nine points in four other games. He made his only start of the season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
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 66.7 percent from the foul line. Mitchell leads the team with a 75.4 percent rate from the charity stripe and has made 15 of his last 21 attempts. On the season, Mitchell is 46-of-61. Ellis has knocked down 104-of-143 for a 72.7 percentage.
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.
PLAYING MUSICAL CHAIRS
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 107, while Owens has seen action in 103. Tony Benford is the all-time leader at Tech with 121 games played.
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 7.3 rebounds and has led the team in 14 games. Five times he has garnered game-high honors.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Texas Tech has won only one game when allowing 80 or more points, while losing 10 of those contests ... the only win was a 100-98 overtime victory at Oral Roberts ... the Red Raiders are 7-4 when holding their opponents to less than 70 points ... only once this season has Tech won a game when out-rebounded by its opponent (Oklahoma) and is 1-11 in those games ... Tech trailed in the half in 18 games this season and won only one (Oral Roberts) ... in three games shooting over 50 percent, the Red Raiders came away victorious.