Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Face Road Test At A&M
February 25, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2005
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech Red Raiders have their ninth road game of the season and their fourteenth conference game on Saturday afternoon as they face the Aggies of Texas A&M at Reed Arena in College Station.
The game will be televised on ESPN-Regional with a 3 PM tip-off. Dave Armstrong will call the play-by-play. Reid Gettys will provide the color analysis.
John Harris will call the courtside action for Texas Tech and Chris Cassidy will provide the analysis on KKAM (1340 AM), the flagship station for the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech has won twelve of their last sixteen games and has a 4-4 record on the road this season. The Red Raiders are 17-7 for the season and 9-4 in conference play after their 69-65 win over Texas at the United Spirit Arena on February 22.
With 15,152 fans in attendance, Texas Tech trailed Texas 33-30 at halftime. The Raiders out-scored the Longhorns by seven points in the second half to earn a 69-65 win in front of the first sell-out crowd of the season.
The Raiders made 13-of-33 (39.4%) first half attempts and then made 16-of-34 (47.1%) second half attempts to end the game at 43.3% (29-for-67). Sophomore Jarrius Jackson was the leading scorer for the Raiders with 22 points. Ronald Ross scored 16 points, Darryl Dora dropped in 13 points, and Martin Zeno added 10 points.
The Red Raiders committed seven turnovers - the fewest of the season - as the Longhorns tallied 17 turnovers.
Ronald Ross is the newest Red Raider to join the 1000-Point Club. With his 16 points against Texas, he now has a career total of 1,003 points and becomes the 29th player among the Texas Tech scoring elite. Don Grove (1944, 1948-49) and Kasib Powell (2002-03) are tied for the 27th spot on the list. Andre Emmett (2001-04) tops the group with 2,256 career points.
Ronald had three steals against the Longhorns. He has 60 thefts for the season and is second on the all-time list with 178 career steals. Sean Gay holds down the top spot with 196 career steals.
Devonne Giles registered four blocks against Texas. The senior has 46 blocks this season and a two-year total of 97 blocks, placing him in the 7th spot among career leaders.
Texas A&M is 17-7 for the season and has won six of their thirteen conference games. The Aggies are averaging 74.2 points per game for the season and are scoring 67.1 ppg in conference play. Their defense has allowed 62.1 ppg for the season and 66.7 ppg in conference play.
Texas Tech leads the series 60-50 after topping the Aggies (70-56) in Lubbock on January 15 in the first meeting this season. The Raiders lead the series in Lubbock 34-16 and 5-4 on neutral courts. The Aggies lead the series 30-21 when the teams have played in College Station.
The last time out, Ronald Ross was the leading scorer in the game with 27 points. He made 11-of-15 attempts from the field, 1-of-2 three-point tries, and 4-of-5 free throw attempts. Freshman Martin Zeno dropped in 18 points. Darryl Dora added 11 points.
Texas A&M's Antoine Wright scored 18 points. He sank 7-of-18 attempts from the field, was 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, and made 3-of-4 free throw attempts. Joseph Jones added 13 points.
The Red Raiders have four players who are averaging in double-figures for the season. Ronald Ross leads the squad with 17.0 points per game. Jarrius Jackson follows with 15.3 points per game. Martin Zeno averages 13.5 points per game. Devonne Giles is next with 11.8 points per game. The Raiders are averaging 80.7 points per game for the season and are scoring 76.2 ppg in conference play. Their defense has allowed 69.6 ppg for the season and 74.3 ppg in conference games.
With 849 career victories over 39 seasons, Coach Bob Knight will be on the sidelines for his 1,179th game with Saturday's road game against Texas A&M. 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.
With one home game remaining, all tickets in the Non-PSL reserved areas in the upper level of the United Spirit Arena can be purchased for $5.00 per ticket. The Oklahoma Sooners visit the United Spirit Arena for the final Red Raider home game of the season on Saturday, March 5.
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.
