Texas Tech University Athletics
Raiders Host Minutemen at 6 p.m. Friday Evening
November 21, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2003
Lubbock, TX - Texas Tech hosts the University of Massachusetts Minutemen this evening in the second round of the Preseason NIT at the United Spirit Arena.
Tip-off will be at 6:00 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.
ESPN's FUV (Fun Utility Vehicle) will be outside the west entrance of the United Spirit Arena. Their FUV team will be conducting interviews with Red Raider fans on why it's great to be a fan. They plan to use this Texas Tech footage along with other footage to produce an on air spot that celebrates being a fan.
The Preseason NIT was begun in 1985. This tournament is the premiere preseason tournament in college basketball. The tournament is comprised of 16 teams with NCAA legislation allowing for only one team from a conference to participate in a given year. Legislation also states that a team may only participate once every four years. The format of the tournament is set up similar to the postseason tournament. The first two rounds are held at campus sites and the semifinals and the finals are held at Madison Square Garden.
Dave Strader will provide the play-by-play for ESPN2. Fran Fraschilla will deliver the expert color analysis.
John Harris will call the courtside action along with Michael Lewis as analyst on KKAM (1340 AM), the flagship station for the Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders downed Davidson 89-58 on Tuesday night at the arena to move into second round play. Andre Emmett and Jarrius Jackson each scored 17 points in their home opener.
The Minutemen from Amherst, Massachusetts make their first-ever appearance against a Red Raider team on the basketball court. They defeated St. Francis (NY) 80-58 in their first round match-up. Three UMass players scored in double-figures during that game. Anthony Anderson, a 5-11 senior, scored 21 points as Rashaun Freeman, a 6-9 sophomore, pulled down 14 rebounds.
Steve Lappas (CCNY, 1977) begins his third season at UMass with a record of 26-34. His overall record of 256-206 in 16 seasons as a head coach includes nine years at Villanova and four seasons at Manhattan. His 1993-1994 Villanova team won the NIT Championship.
The Raiders are appearing in their first Preseason NIT after finishing last season with a 22-13 record and claiming a victory over Minnesota in the consolation game of the NIT in Madison Square Garden.
Bob Knight (Ohio State, 1962) begins his third season at the helm of the Raider program and has notched back-to-back 20+ wins in his first two seasons in Lubbock. In 37 seasons of coaching, he has taken his teams to post-season play 34 times.
His 1966-1967 Army team defeated UMass 68-46 on January 24, 1967. The coach of the UMass team at the time was Jack Leaman. Jack is now in his tenth season as color analyst for UMass Radio and was also the coach when Julius (Dr. J) Erving played two seasons (1968-69 and 1970-71) at UMass.
Coach Knight numbers fourth among all coaches on the all-time career wins list with 810 victories. Also, he is the youngest of the four coaches (Dean Smith-879, Adolph Rupp-876, Jim Phelan-830, and Bob Knight-810) to ever reach that remarkable plateau.
The Raiders next host the Buccaneers of East Tennessee State on Sunday, November 23, at the United Spirit Arena. Tip-off for Sunday's game will be at 6:30 p.m. with television coverage provided by the Texas Tech Television Network. The game broadcast will not air in Lubbock.
Tickets are available by calling the Texas Tech Ticket Office at 742-TECH or 1-888-GO-BIG-12.
