Red Raider Preview: North Texas

Tuesday, November 15

United Supermarkets Arena

6:30 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

North Texas

Buy Tickets

November 14, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Game2NorthTexasGameNotes

By: The Red Raiders have won seven of the last eight meetings with North Texas since the 1992-93 season.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball team looks to build off its strong performance during the season opener and takes on North Texas Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by FOX College Sports along with the FOX Sports Go App. Robert Giovannetti and John Harris will serve as the announcing team with Adam Doyle as the sideline reporter.

The Texas Tech Sports Network will carry the game live on 97.3 FM, 100.7 FM and 950 AM in Lubbock. Geoff Haxton and Chris Level will have the call. The radio broadcast also will be available on the Texas Tech Sports Network radio affiliates, online at www.TexasTech.com and the TuneIn Radio app.

Texas Tech possesses an 11-6 all-time series edge over the Mean Green. The Red Raiders have ripped off wins in seven of the last eight meetings, most recently a 60-45 decision on Dec. 29, 2014. Zach Smith notched nine points, three assists and three blocks as a freshman whereas Devaugntah Williams provided a team-leading 14 points.

Chris Beard served as an assistant coach at North Texas during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. It was Beard's first stint as a Division I assistant coach.

North Texas is coached by former Red Raider Tony Benford, who was an All-Southwest Conference Second-Team honoree and the Southwest Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player in 1986. He averaged 14.4 points per game as a senior and is member of the program's 1,000 career point club. Benford was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams with Texas Tech and currently ranks eighth on the program's all-time list with 341 career assists.

"I have a lot of respect for all the people at North Texas, and I'm very proud of my association," Beard said. "It was my first Division I coaching job. I was an assistant there under Vic Trilli. It's a program that I have a lot of respect for. We know that we're going to have to play very well. Coach Benford does a great job, and they have a lot of good players. This will be a real test for us early in the season."

The North Texas game is "Hispanic Heritage Night" where the Texas Tech Mariachi and the Folkclorico dancers will perform at halftime. Texas Tech also will recognize Ballet Folkclorico, Institutional Diversity, the campus chapter of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education, LHSFA and Raiders Rojos.

Students are encouraged to arrive early and enjoy the student lounge which features hamburgers and hot dogs while supplies last.
Fans can buy tickets to Tuesday's game for as low as $10 online at www.TexasTech.com or in person at the United Supermarkets Arena Ticket Office starting 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

More season tickets have already been sold for 2016-17 than all of last season. Fans are encouraged to purchase season tickets now to reserve the best available seats. Reserved season tickets are on-sale for as low as $199.

Fans are reminded to go clear at all Texas Tech basketball games. The new clear bag policy provides a safer atmosphere and speeds up the entry process into the United Supermarkets Arena.

About Texas Tech
The Red Raiders put together an efficient 33-of-54 shooting performance en route to a 93-67 victory over Houston Baptist during Friday's season opener. Texas Tech had eight players hand out multiple assists and totaled 20 assists on its 33 made field goals.

Keenan Evans amassed a career-best 28 points sparked by a career-high five three-pointers. For Evans, his previous best was a 21-point effort at Baylor on Feb. 13, 2016.

Evans was joined by Anthony Livingston (16 points), Aaron Ross (13 points), Shadell Millinghaus (11 points) and Niem Stevenson (10 points) to give the Red Raiders five players in double figures. Livingston, Millinghaus and Ross each corralled five rebounds apiece.

Zach Smith turned in a solid all-around outing with six points, five rebounds, three blocks and two assists. He has piled up 95 total blocks and is three away from passing D'Walyn Roberts for eighth place in program history.

Justin Gray added four points, five rebounds and two assists, while Devon Thomas added four points and three assists.

"Keenan got off to a great start," Beard said. "We're a team that's going to rely on different guys to step up on different nights. So, the first game of the year Keenan answered the bell. I look for someone else to step up if needed as the season goes on."

About North Texas
The Mean Green dialed up an 85-77 opening night victory over Sul Ross State on Friday. A big advantage for North Texas was a 24-15 free throw edge fueled by Deckie Johnson's 16-for-16 effort. He finished with a team-high 23 points on opening night.

A.J. Lawson put forth a strong debut with 14 points and was 6-of-9 from the floor, while Rickey Brice, Jr. nearly compiled a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Ja'Michael Brown tacked on 13 points and five rebounds for the Mean Green. An All-Conference USA Second-Team performer last season, Jeremy Combs came away with nine points and seven rebounds. He averaged 14.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season.

North Texas played its opening game without J-Mychal Reese, a Texas A&M transfer, who secured 14.7 points and 3.7 assists per game in 2015-16. He racked up double figures in 26 of 32 games fueled by five games of 20-plus points.
"I think transition defense," Beard said. "North Texas plays fast and they've got some really good players in the open floor so we're going to have to try to stop their fast break as well as we can. That's easier said than done. They have a lot of three-point shooters on their team, and we've got to defend the three-point line. Rebounding is always the most important thing on defense – limit them to one shot. We're also going to have to play good offense. This will be the first part of our defense. We're going to have to really execute, not turn the ball over and not take quick shots."

Up Next
Texas Tech wraps up its three-game homestand to start the 2016-17 campaign Saturday against Eastern Kentucky. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest in addition to the FOX Sports Go App.

Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TexasTechMBB and @TexasTechMBB on Twitter.