Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Heads To Austin
February 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Texas Tech's Clark Lammert will square off against his brother Connor one last time at the Frank Erwin Center.
February 13, 2015
AUSTIN, Texas - When Texas Tech and Texas meet at the Frank Erwin Center at 7 p.m. on Saturday, it will marked the most-played rivalry in Red Raider history. Actually, it will mark the 135th meeting between the two schools.
For two brothers, it will mark the sixth meeting. Texas Tech's Clark Lammert and Texas' Connor Lammert will meet for the last time on Saturday, as Clark, the Red Raider senior, will exhaust his eligibility. Connor, a Longhorn junior, still has another year. Connor's Longhorns have won four of the previous five meetings.
Their parents, Dean and Christi Lammert, will be in neutral white, with Dean wearing two cufflinks - a Longhorn on his left cuff and a Double T on his right cuff.
But more than just a brotherly rivalry, Texas Tech is looking for its first win in Austin since the Red Raiders' magical run in 1996 that saw Texas Tech roll through the Southwest Conference with a perfect 16-0 record.
In fact, since Rick Barnes arrived on the Forty Acres, the Red Raiders have not won in Austin. But Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith is trying to change that culture.
"We are in the process of changing the culture when it comes to basketball at Texas Tech," said Smith. "Winning games on the road is part of that process. Beating ranked teams are a part of that process."
Barnes and Smith go way back. The two first met on the court, when Smith was a senior at High Point and Barnes was a freshman at Lenoir-Rhyne. Since then they both have been to the Final Four, Smith with Kentucky and Barnes with Texas. Barnes just reached 600 wins and Smith has 537.
"Texas is a good program and a good team. They are well coached and you know every time you play them, you are going to get their best," said Smith. "What we have to do is limit our mistakes and be confident in our offense."
The Red Raiders have struggled on the road this season, but Smith sees this team maturing each day.
"We are not the same team we were at the beginning of the season," said Smith. "We have tried some different things to be successful and used some different lineup, but what we have to do to be successful is play under control."
Whether it is two old friends or two brothers, Saturday's game between the Red Raiders and Longhorns could be something to remember.
