Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Battle No. 3 Kansas
February 14, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2005
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech Red Raiders have their thirteenth home game of the season and their eleventh conference game on Monday night as they face the Jayhawks of the University of Kansas at the United Spirit Arena. The Valentine's Day tip-off will be at 8:00 p.m.
In addition to being Valentine's Day, it's also O'Reilly Auto Parts T-Shirt Night with everyone in attendance receiving either a red, black or a white O'Reilly t-shirt.
The game will be televised on ESPN as part of their "Big Monday" programming. Ron Franklin will call the play-by-play. Fran Fraschilla will provide the color analysis. Stacey Dales-Shuman will be the sideline reporter.
John Harris will call the courtside action for Texas Tech and Andy Hipsher will provide the analysis on KKAM (1340 AM), the flagship station for the Red Raiders. The game will also be carried on ESPN 103.3 FM in the Metroplex.
The Red Raiders are 15-6 for the season and 7-3 in conference play. Texas Tech has won ten of their last thirteen games.
Their four game winning streak was halted in Ames, Iowa as they lost to the Cyclones 81-68. After jumping out to a 24-12 lead at the 9:45 mark in the first half, the Raiders were unable to maintain their lead and the teams were tied at halftime with 32 points each. In the second half, the Cyclones outscored the Raiders 49 to 36 to garner the 81-68 win at the sold out James H. Hilton Coliseum.
Against Iowa State, Ronald Ross led all scorers with 27 points. He also had four rebounds, two assists, and two steals with one turnover. The only other Raider in double figures was Jarrius Jackson with 19 points. The frontcourt duo combined for 46 points and 4 assists as the ISU starting guards combined for 28 points and 13 assists.
The Cyclones had five players in double figures for the game. Jared Homan scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half to pace the ISU team. Tasheed Carr scored 17 points, Will Blalock added 15 points, Curtis Stinson dropped in 13 points, and Damion Staple scored 10 points. The Texas Tech Red Raiders made 12-of-27 shots (44.4%) in the first half. They connected on 4-of-9 shots from three-point territory and made 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Texas Tech scored 36 points in the second half. The Raiders made 14-of-30 field goal attempts and 3-of-7 three-pointers. They made 5-of-10 (50.0%) free-throw attempts in the second half.
The Red Raiders have four players who are averaging in double-figures for the season. Ronald Ross leads the squad with 17.1 points per game. Jarrius Jackson follows with 15.2 points per game. Martin Zeno averages 12.9 points per game. Devonne Giles is next with 12.4 points per game. The Raiders are averaging 82.4 points per game for the season and are scoring 78.6 ppg in conference play. Their defense has allowed 68.7 ppg for the season and 73.7 ppg in conference games.
With 847 career victories over 39 seasons, Coach Bob Knight will be on the sidelines for his 1,176 game with tonight's game against Kansas. He is only the fourth coach to amass 800 wins in his career. Jim Phelan retired with 830 wins, the late Adolph Rupp won 876, and Dean Smith leads everyone with 879 career wins.
Kansas is 20-1 for the season and has won all ten of their conference games. They bring a six-game winning streak into tonight's game. Their only loss was at Villanova (83-62) on January 22. The Jayhawks are averaging 76.6 points per game for the season and are scoring 76.1 ppg in conference play. Their defense has allowed 62.7 ppg for the season and 62.6 ppg in conference play.
Overall, KU leads the series 15-1, which began on December 7, 1959. They have a 6-1 margin in Lubbock and have won eight meetings in Lawrence. The Jayhawks have won the only neutral site game.
Last season, KU downed the Raiders in Lawrence 96-77 on February 7. Andre Emmett paced the Red Raider attack with 29 points. Devonne Giles added 15 points. Wayne Simien led the Jayhawks with 22 points and 17 rebounds. J.R. Giddens scored 18 points. Kansas held a 44-36 halftime lead.
The Raiders continue conference play on Saturday, February 19 as they face the Cowboys of Oklahoma State at 2:30 PM in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The game will be televised on CBS.
For Men's Basketball tickets to games at the United Spirit Arena, please call (888) GO-BIG-12 or (806) 742-TECH or stop by the Texas Tech Athletic Ticket Office in the north end of Jones SBC Stadium. Tickets also can be purchased through the Texas Tech athletic website at www.texastech.com and at area United Supermarkets and Select-a-Seat locations.
