Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Hosts UTSA Friday Night
November 28, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Toddrick Gotcher had a career-high 16 points against Houston on Tuesday in Brooklyn, N.Y.
November 28, 2013
| Texas Tech vs. UTSA | Texas Tech Notes | UTSA Notes | Big 12 Notes | |
| Date/Time: | Friday, November 29, 2013 / 7:00 p.m. CT |
| Location: | Lubbock, Texas (United Spirit Arena / 15,098) |
| Radio: | Texas Tech Sports Network from Learfield Sports Brian Hanni (Play-By-Play) & Chris Level (Analyst) |
| Satellite Radio: | None |
| Television: | Fox College Sports Pacific - Robert Giovanneti (Play-by-Play), John Harris (Analyst) |
| Channel: | Suddenlink (511), AT&T U-Verse (649), Direct TV (626) |
| On The Web: | Live in-game statistics and other coverage can be found at www.texastech.com |
| Live Stats: | Live Stats On-Line | Live Stats Mobile Device |
| Rankings: | Texas Tech: (RPI: 130) —/—. UTSA: (RPI: 351) —/—. |
| Head Coaches: | Texas Tech: Tubby Smith (Career: 516-228 in 23rd season; at Texas Tech: 5-2 in first season.) UTSA: Brooks Thompson (Career: 104-116 in eighth season; at UTSA: Same.) |
| Against UTSA | Texas Tech leads the all-time series, 4-1. Tubby Smith is 1-0 all-time vs. UTSA. |
RED RAIDERS FACE UTSA ON BLACK FRIDAY
Texas Tech (5-2) will close out the month of November with a matchup with in-state foe UTSA (1-5) at 7 p.m. Friday at the United Spirit Arena. All tickets to Friday's game are $5 and all children 12-and-under will receive a free t-shirt. The Red Raiders will be looking for their sixth win in the month of November for the first time since going 7-0 in November, 2009.
TEXAS TECH TAKES THIRD AT LEGENDS CLASSIC
Texas Tech went 3-1 in the Progressive Legends Classic to secure third place in the tournament. It is the second time the Red Raiders have finished third in the event, after also going 3-1 in the 2008 edition of the event. The Red Raiders defeated Texas Southern (80-71) and South Dakota State (68-54) in Lubbock, while falling to eventual champion Pittsburgh (76-53), before defeating Houston (76-64) in Brooklyn, N.Y. For his efforts, senior Jaye Crockett was named to the Progressive Legends Classic All-Tournament Team. Crockett averaged 16.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game over the four-game span of the event.
IT TAKES TWO TO MAKE THINGS GO RIGHT
Texas Tech is the eighth most prolific scoring team from two-point range this season. The Red Raiders offense nets 63.0 percent of its points off of two-point field goals, while adding 22.0 percent of its offense from 3-pointers and 15.0 percent of its offense from free throws. In all, Texas Tech is 196 of 408 from two-point range (53.9 percent) and provide 45.4 points per game. The 15.0 percent of offense from the free throw line is lowest among teams from the Power Six Conferences.
SMITH GETS RED RAIDERS ON RIGHT TRACK
Tubby Smith has led the Red Raiders to a 5-2 start in his first season at the helm of Texas Tech. He is the sixth first-year coach to lead Texas Tech to a 5-2 or better start, joining Gene Gibson (1961, 6-1), James Dickey (1991, 5-2), Bob Knight (2001, 6-1), Pat Knight (2009, 6-1), and Chris Walker (2013, 5-2). Gibson, Bob Knight and Pat Knight each won their next game out. At his previous stops, Smith was 2-5 in his first year at Tulsa (1991), 6-1 at Georgia (1995), 6-1 at Kentucky (1997) and 6-1 at Minnesota.
RECORD vs. UTSA
Friday marks the sixth all-time meeting between Texas Tech and UTSA. The Red Raiders and Roadrunners have not met since 1998 and four of the last five meetings have been in Lubbock.
RECORD vs. Conference USA
Texas Tech is 139-62 all-time against teams currently members of Conference USA - Charlotte (4-0), Florida Atlantic (0-0), Florida International (0-0), East Carolina (0-0), Louisiana Tech (7-2), Marshall (1-0), Middle Tennessee (0-0), North Texas (10-6), Old Dominion (1-1), Rice (63-28), Southern Miss (2-0), Tulane (2-1), Tulsa (2-4), UAB (0-1), UTEP (43-18) and UTSA (4-1).
ABOUT UTSA
UTSA is currently 1-5 on the season with losses to common opponents Northern Arizona (63-74) and Houston (62-80). The Roadrunners' lone win came against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 87-76. UTSA is led by Keon Lewis (16.2 ppg & 2.7 apg) and Hyjii Thomas (15.5 ppg & 3.5 rpg). Brooks Thompson is in his eighth season as head coach of the Roadrunners. UTSA is in its second season in Conference USA after spending 21 years as members of the Southland Conference.
LAST TIME: TEXAS TECH 87, UTSA 78
Cliff Owens led five Red Raiders in double figures, as Texas Tech held off UTSA, 87-78, at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum in the season opener on Nov. 19, 1998. Owens had 23 points and seven rebounds to lead the way for the Red Raiders. He was joined in double figures by Rayford Young (19), Stanley Bonewitz (13), Brodney Kennard (12) and Johnny Phillips (10). Texas Tech led by as many as 17 points in the game, but UTSA battled to within eight points with 1:50 to go in the game. The Roadrunners were led by Devon Brown's 23 points and six rebounds.
UTSA (1-1) - Brown, 6-16 9-9 23, Reed 2-11 0-0 5, Watson 6-10 3-6 15, Williams 1-4 2-3 4, Meyer 9-16 0-0 19, Minnieweather 2-3 0-0 4, Herbert 0-1 0-0 0, Powers 0-0 0-0 0, Riley 3-6 1-3 8, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Worden 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-67 15-21 78.
TEXAS TECH (1-0) - Owens 9-14 5-7 23, Layne 2-5 0-2 4, Phillips 2-3 6-8 10, Young 5-9 7-9 19, Bonewitz 5-5 0-0 13, Ware 0-2 0-0 0, Banks 1-2 0-0 2, Kennard 5-6 2-4 12, Mitchell 1-1 0-0 2, Ellis 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 31-48 20-30 87.
Halftime-Texas Tech 38, UTSA 27. 3-Point goals-UTSA 5 (Brown 2-6, Reed 1-7, Williams 0-1, Meyer 1-3, Riley 1-1), Texas Tech 5 (Young 2-4, Bonewitz 3-3, Ware 0-1). Fouled out-Watson, Riley, Mitchell. Rebounds-UTSA 30 (Brown, Riley, Worden 6), Texas Tech 35 (Owens 7). Assists-UTSA 11 (Brown 3), Texas Tech 19 (Bonewitz 5). Total fouls-UTSA 22, Texas Tech 18. A-7,402.
POINTS IN THE PAINT
Texas Tech is in uncharted territory when it comes to scoring inside. The Red Raiders have netted 267 points in the paint through the first seven games, after pouring in 50 in the season opener on Nov. 8, then picking up another 43 against Northern Arizona, 40 at Alabama, 42 versus Texas Southern, 34 against South Dakota State, 26 versus Pitt and 36 against Houston. The 50 points is the most points in the paint for a Red Raider team since Nov. 19, 2009, when Texas Tech rolled past Northwestern State, 94-75, at United Spirit Arena. That night the Red Raiders drained 52 points in the paint. It spans 126 games between 50-point paint efforts for the Red Raiders. The last time Texas Tech scored at least 267 points in the paint over a seven-game span, it poured in 286 points in the paint against New Mexico (44, 12/04/96), TCU (38, 12/14/96), UTSA (48, 12/17/96), Fresno State (44, 12/21/96), New Mexico State (42, 12/27/96), Wyoming (34, 12/28/96) and Baylor (36, 01/04/97). It has taken 530 games and 17 seasons to equal that mark.
THE BOARD SITUATION
Texas Tech dominated the boards the first two games of the season. The Red Raiders out-boarded Houston Baptist, 42-33, (+9) and Northern Arizona, 33-23 (+10). It is the largest rebounding margin (+11) since out-rebounding North Carolina A&T, 49-22, on Dec. 28, 2012 (22 games). But the last time Texas Tech out-rebounded its opponent by nine or more rebounds on consecutive nights was last season against Omaha (+21, 11/14/12) and Grambling State (+19, 11/20/12). Texas Tech was out-rebounded by Alabama on the road, 32-26, Texas Southern edged Tech on the boards, 37-34, and South Dakota State snipped the Red Raiders 33-32. Texas Tech then out-boarded Pitt, 33-32 and Houston, 46-26. For the season, Texas Tech is averaging 35.0 rebounds per game and has a rebounding margin of +4.3 through seven games this season.
A POSITIVE RATIO
Texas Tech has only had a positive assist to turnover ratio 12 times over the last 62 games heading into the season opener with Houston Baptist. In the debut of the Tubby Smith edition of the Red Raiders, Texas Tech had 12 assists and just 10 turnovers. It is the first positive ratio since the Red Raiders had 15 assists and 11 turnovers against TCU on March 2, 2013. The 10 turnovers are the fewest since committing 10 turnovers against Oklahoma on Feb. 20, 2013. Texas Tech then answered that with a 19-assist, 10-turnover performance on Nov. 11 against Northern Arizona. The last time Texas Tech had back-to-back games of 10 or fewer turnovers in a game came at Baylor (9, 02/16/10) and at home against Texas (7, 2/20/10) - a span of 102 games. For the season, Texas Tech has 83 assists and 81 turnovers. Despite having a negative assist to turnover ratio against Alabama, Texas Tech had fewer turnovers than its opponent in its first five games. The last time Texas Tech had fewer turnovers than its opponent for five consecutive games, was during the 2009-10 season.
BALANCED SCORING
Texas Tech has three players averaging 10 points or more per game through seven games and another three players each chipping in at least 5.0 points per game. Leading the way is senior Jaye Crockett, who had 19 points and six rebounds against Pitt on Monday and added 16 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday against Houston. Crockett is averaging 14.1 points and 7.1 rebounds, while shooting 65.7 percent from the field, which ranks second in the Big 12. Junior Jordan Tolbert adds 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds, while junior college transfer Robert Turner chips in 11.9 points per game. Dusty Hannahs (9.0 ppg), Toddrick Gotcher (6.4 ppg) and Dejan Kravic (5.1 ppg) are also key contributors for the Red Raiders. In all, Texas Tech is averaging 72.1 points per game.
DISHING DIMES
The Red Raiders had 19 assists against Northern Arizona on Nov. 11. It is the most assists against an opponent since dishing out 19 at TCU on Dec. 6, 2011 - a span of 53 games. In all, nine different players dished out an assist on the night.
TECH COMMITS DECADE LOW FIVE TURNOVERS
Texas Tech committed just five turnovers against Texas Southern. It is the fewest turnovers in a game since Feb. 3, 2004, when the Red Raiders also committed just five turnovers in a game. That is a span of over nine and a half years between five-turnover games. It is also a span of 278 games. Current Red Raiders Randy Onwuasor and Alex Foster were in the second grade the last time Texas Tech committed five turnovers in a game.
BLOCK PARTY AT THE USA
The Red Raiders tied the school record with 12 blocks in the game. It equaled the mark set on Dec. 22, 1998, versus Pepperdine at the Pearl Harbor Shootout in Laie, Hawai'i. Kader Tapsoba led the way with four blocks, while Dejan Kravic and Jordan Tolbert each had two and Robert Turner, Jaye Crockett, Randy Onwuasor and Aaron Ross each had one.
TURNER KEYS OFFENSE
Robert Turner has made an immediate impact since joining the Red Raider roster from New Mexico Junior College. Tubby Smith's first signee last May is key contributor in scoring (11.9 ppg), assists (2.6) and steals (1.1). He has scored in double figures in five of his first seven games for the Red Raiders. He notched 12 points in the season opener against Houston Baptist and then went for 21 against Northern Arizona, when he connected on 5 of 6 3-pointers and connected on 8 of 11 from the field. Turner added 14 points, two assists, two steals and two rebounds at Alabama and added another 15 points, three boards, two assists and two steals against Texas Southern. He added another 15-point performance against Houston.
12 FROM DOWNTOWN
Texas Tech drained 12 3-pointers on Nov. 11 against Northern Arizona on 22 attempts. It is the eighth top total in program history and the most since netting 12 treys against Georgia Southern on Nov. 23, 2010. Five different Red Raiders converted a 3-point attempt against NAU, while Robert Turner connected on 5 of 6 and Dusty Hannahs hit 4 of 7 attempts.
HITTING FOR PERCENTAGE
What a difference a year makes. Texas Tech is currently shooting 48.8 percent from the field. If the season ended today, that percentage would rank as the ninth best mark in program history. The Red Raiders rank 54th nationally in field goal percentage. This is on the heels of a season where the Red Raiders shot 42.1 percent last season and returned nine letterwinners from that team. That percentage ranks as the 14th most futile in program annals.
CHECKING IN WITH TOLBERT
Jordan Tolbert began the 2013-14 season with a 16-point, 12 rebound performance against Houston Baptist and then added duplicate 14-point, seven-board effort against Northern Arizona and Alabama. On Nov. 11, he added 11 points, five boards, two blocks and an assist against Northern Arizona. He followed that up with a 19-point, nine-rebound performance against South Dakota State. His streak of 11 straight games with at least 10 points was snapped against Pittsburgh. He returned to form with 14 points and six rebounds against Houston. Through seven games, he is averaging 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds, while shooting 63.1 percent from the field. Tolbert also eclipsed the 700-point plateau against Alabama and now ranks third in career field goal percentage at 54.3 percent.
CHARTING CROCKETT
Jaye Crockett is closing in on some personal milestones and climbing the Red Raiders career charts. He eclipsed 800 career points on Nov. 11 against Northern Arizona and currently has 885 points and now needs just 115 points to become the 36th member of the 1,000-point club at Tech. He joined the 500-rebound club last Thursday after pulling down seven boards against South Dakota State. He now has 521 career rebounds. If he reaches 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, he would become the 17th Red Raider to complete the feat. Crockett has 83 career steals and ranks 25th on the all-time list at Texas Tech. He needs four more steals to move into 20th all-time. He also has 82 career assists. If he were to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists and 100 steals, he would be the sixth Red Raider to reach the milestone.
GOTCHER HAS BIG GAME
Toddrick Gotcher came up big for the Red Raiders against Houston on Tuesday, as the sophomore netted 16 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Gotcher came off the bench to connect on 3-for-6 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, while sinking 8 of 10 free throws. He also dished out a season-high four assists, pulled down three boards and added a block and a steal. His 16 points eclipses his previous best of 14 points he recorded at TCU on Dec. 6, 2011. For the season, Gotcher is averaging 6.4 points and 2.9 rebounds.
HANNAHS STEPS UP
Dusty Hannahs came off the bench against Texas Southern and connected on 5 of 8 shots from the field and 3 of 6 from behind the arc, while adding a perfect 6 for 6 from the line to finish with 19 points. It was a season high for the Texas Tech sophomore and it is the most points for Hannahs since he netted 21 against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 28, 2012. Hannahs tied career highs for field goals (5), free throws made (6) and attempted (6). The very next game against South Dakota State, Hannahs picks up another 12 points, two boards, two steals and an assist. But more impressively, the sophomore connected on 9 of 9 from the free throw line. He is the first Red Raider to connect on 9 of 9 from the free throw line since Nick Okorie did it at Colorado on March 6, 2010. Hannahs has also converted 15 consecutive free throws over the past two games, which is the longest streak by a Red Raider since Ty Nurse converted 27 straight during the 2011-12 season.
