Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Closes Out Regular Season
March 05, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Junior guard Devaugntah Williams and senior guard Robert Turner have been the team's top two scoring threats this season.
March 5, 2014
| TEXAS TECH vs. [14/16] BAYLOR | |
| Texas Tech Notes ¦ Baylor Notes ¦ Big 12 Notes | |
| Texas Tech Media Guide ¦ Baylor Media Guide | |
| Texas Tech Stats ¦ Baylor Stats | |
| Statbroadcast ¦ Gametracker | |
| Date/Time | Friday, March 6, 2015 / 8 p.m. CT |
| Location | Waco, Texas (Ferrell Center / 10,284) |
| Radio | Texas Tech Sports Network from Learfield Sports Brian Hanni (Play-By-Play) and Chris Level (Analyst) |
| Satellite Radio | Sirius (91) / XM (91) |
| Television | ESPN2 / WatchESPN / ESPN3.com |
| The Crew | Jason Benetti (pxp), Tim Welsh (analyst) |
| On TV | AT&T U-Verse (606/1606), Suddenlink (30/230), DirecTV (209), Dish (144) |
| On The Web | www.texastech.com / www.statbroadcast.com |
| Against Baylor | 76-53 overall (28-32 in Waco) |
| Hashtags | #WreckEm / #DictateTheTempo |
WACO, Texas - Texas Tech closes out the regular season on Friday at the Ferrell Center, as the Red Raiders face No. 14 Baylor at 8 p.m. in a game that can be seen on ESPN2.
The Red Raiders look to close the season on back-to-back wins for the first time since 2007, when Texas Tech won its final three regular season games. The Red Raiders are 5-13 in regular season finales since the formation of the Big 12 Conference. Red Raider head coach Tubby Smith is 1-0 after topping Texas in the season finale last season.
"We have grown a lot as a team this season," said Red Raider head coach Tubby Smith. "Our young players are miles ahead of where they were at the beginning of the season."
Texas Tech started the season with seven new players, including five freshmen. Five of the team's top seven players in league play come from those newcomers. Those five players provide 57 percent of the team's offense.
Leading the way is junior shooting guard Devaugntah Williams, who leads the team in scoring. Williams averages 10.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Williams has altered his role from starter to sixth man this season, earning 21 starts in 30 games.
Three players that have truly come on of late are the freshmen trio of Keenan Evans, Zach Smith and Norense Odiase.
In his last two starts, Keenan Evans has averaged 13.5 points, 3.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds. His 13.5 points more than doubles his season average of 5.6 points per game.
Odiase, a 6-9 freshman post from Fort Worth, has averaged 11.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocks over the last six games. During the last seven games, his Big 12 opponent has averaged 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Odiase has set a school record with 17 charges taken this season. Teammate Clark Lammert is second on the squad with 13.
Smith, who leads the team in starts (28) and minutes per game (27.7), is averaging a solid 8.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks, while shooting 62.2 percent from the field in 32.8 minutes over the last eight games.
What Smith does best might be his ability to affect shots, altering on average 10.1 shots per game with either a block, altered shots, pass, head fake or drive instead of taking the initial first look.
One thing the addition of Tubby Smith has meant to the program is Texas Tech's ability to crash the boards. For the second straight season, Texas Tech has out-rebounded its opponent for the season. Prior to his arrival, the Red Raiders had not out-rebounded there opponent since the 1996-97 season. The Red Raiders have not had back-to-back positive rebounding margins since the conclusions of the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons.
But the biggest spark of all over the last three games, might be Toddrick Gotcher, who is averaging 13.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the last 3 games.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...
Malcolm X once said, "There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time." This quote conveys the Red Raiders season in a nutshell. Texas Tech is 13-6 in Lubbock and 0-11 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 REMEMBER
? 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 Tech leads the all-time series with Baylor, 76-53. Baylor leads the series 20-18 since the start of the Big 12. The Red Raiders are looking for their first win in Waco since a 2011, when Texas Tech upended Baylor, 78-69.
? Texas Tech is running the gauntlet, as 10 of its last 12 games are against Top 25 teams or teams receiving votes in the polls. Friday's game is Game 12 in the 12-game run to close out the Big 12. 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. Baylor has an RPI ranking of 10.
? Led by freshmen Zach Smith (44), Norense Odiase (19) and Keenan Evans (11), Texas Tech has recorded the sixth-most single-season blocks (125) and blocks per game (4.17) in school history. Smith has set the freshman school record for blocks and ranks as the seventh top total in school history.
