Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Faces Texas In Kansas City
March 10, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Senior Robert Turner will lead Texas Tech against Texas on Wednesday in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships.
March 10, 2015
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - With in the blink of an eye, November became December and December became January, until suddenly it was March.
Texas Tech begins the second season on Wednesday, when the Red Raiders face Texas in the first round of the 2015 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships at the Sprint Center. The game can be seen on ESPNU at 8 p.m.
Wednesday marks the Red Raiders' 19th year to participate in the conference postseason tournament. The Red Raiders are 13-18 in the event and this year will mark the 17th time the Red Raiders will open the tournament in the first round. Texas Tech is 8-8 in first round games.
"We have steadily made progress and it is starting to show," said Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith. "Over the last five games, we have made strides. We are shooting better. We have defended better. We have grown up a lot.
"When you think we started the season with seven new players and only had two players on the roster who have significantly started. We were young. We are young. But we have started to turn the corner."
Texas Tech (13-18) will face Texas (19-12) at 8 p.m. looking for a third shot at the Longhorns, who defeated the Red Raiders, 70-61, in Lubbock and, 56-41, in Austin.
Texas Tech is coming off of a great effort in Waco, where the Red Raiders led the Bears for 38 minutes before falling, 78-74, at the Ferrell Center. That effort was sparked by junior Devaugntah Williams, who netted a career-high 28 points, while Keenan Evans added 15 and Zack Smith chipped in 10.
Williams converted eight of nine triples in the game, which is the second most makes from deep by a Red Raiders. It is second only to Alan Voskuil's 9 of 14 performance against Kansas in 2009. In fact, Williams has made 10 of his last 12 trifectas over the last two games.
Evans has come on strong of late, the freshman guard has averaged 10.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists over the last four games.
Smith, a 6-8 freshman power forward leads the team in starts and minutes played this season. He has been a steady contributor each night in league play. He is averaging 8.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks, while shooting 70.2 percent from the field in 32.9 minutes over the last eight games. He has five double-digit scoring efforts, with four coming in the last seven games.
Smith and Norense Odiase have also been a presence in the middle of the paint. The pair have combined for 64 blocks - Smith (44) and Odiase (20). Odiase has also taken a team-best 17 charges this season. Odiase has averaged 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocks over the last seven games.
Also figuring in the mix are redshirt Junior Toddrick Gotcher and senior Robert Turner. Gotcher is averaging 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists over the last 4 games. Turner has chipped in 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists over the last two games.
"If we play within ourselves and cut down on our mistakes, anything can happen in the conference tournament," added Smith.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...
Williams Jefferson Clinton once said, "If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit." This quote conveys the Red Raiders season in a nutshell. Texas Tech is 13-6 in Lubbock and 0-12 outside the Hub City. The Red Raiders average 66.8 points per game at home, while holding opponents to 59.8 points. On the road, Texas Tech averages just 50.8 points per game.
FIVE THINGS TO REMEBER
?Texas Tech has used 10 different starting lineups this season ... at one point, Texas Tech had started the youngest starting lineup in the country with four freshmen and a sophomore.
?Red Raider head coach Tubby Smith is in search of his 539th career win. The hall of fame coach, who is 538-261 in 24 seasons, is 63rd all-time in NCAA Division I and ranks 18th among active head coaches. Friday's game is Smith's 800th as a head coach.
?Texas leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 82-53. Texas holds a 7-3 advantage in neutral site games. The Red Raiders are 1-2 against Texas in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
?Texas Tech ran the gauntlet to close the season, as 10 of its last 12 games were against Top 25 teams or teams receiving votes in the polls. Starting with Iowa State (Feb. 7), seven of the last eight games for the Red Raiders are against teams ranked in the Top 35 of the RPI. Texas has an RPI ranking of 43.
?Led by freshmen Zach Smith (44), Norense Odiase (20) and Keenan Evans (11), Texas Tech has recorded the sixth-most single-season blocks (127) and blocks per game (4.10) in school history. Smith has set the freshman school record for blocks and ranks as the seventh top total in school history.
