Red Raider Preview: Longwood

Wednesday, December 21

United Supermarkets Arena

4:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

Longwood

Tickets

December 20, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Game12LongwoodGameNotes

The Red Raiders are receiving votes in this week’s USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball team faces one last tune-up versus Longwood on Wednesday before moving into the nation's toughest conference at the United Supermarkets Arena.

Tip time is on-tap for 4 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest in addition to the FOX Sports Go app. Robert Giovannetti, John Harris and Adam Doyle will serve as the announcing team.

The Texas Tech Sports Network will carry the game live on its flagship stations 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 (10-1), who is receiving votes in this week's USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll for the first time this season, collected a 79-72 road win over Richmond last Saturday. The Red Raiders dominated paint points and the rebounding battle with plus 24 and plus 13 margins, respectively, which allowed Texas Tech to earn its second consecutive 10-1 start to the season.

Longwood (3-7) has dropped all five of its road decision on the season which includes a 61-45 decision against Ball State on Monday. The Lancers are the second straight opponent for the Red Raiders from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Wednesday's matchup is the first for Texas Tech versus Longwood on the hardwood. The Red Raiders have already defeated Idaho State (91-58 – Nov. 25) and Incarnate Word (69-48 – Nov. 30) in their initial meetings this season.

"Our biggest expectation is we always expect to win, and there's a way to win every game. Every night when you watch SportsCenter and you see the ticker, there are games you don't expect. That's the great thing about college basketball," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "I've never gone into a game as a coach during my entire career thinking that we weren't going to win. That mindset is where it starts, and I think that our players have embraced that. We all understand what's coming ahead with the Big 12, but the expectation doesn't change. Even more important that our team improves, and I think that we've seen that throughout the season which probably are the biggest positives to this point."

Fans can purchase tickets to Wednesday's game for as low as $10 online at www.TexasTech.com or in person at the United Supermarkets Arena Ticket Office which opens 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

Wednesday's game marks the final time fans can redeem their exhibition game vouchers for free admission. Families are invited to visit the Kids Zone on the USA Concourse where children can make snowman magnets and stocking ornaments.

Texas Tech is encouraging fans to arrive as early as possible to men's and women's basketball home games due to the temporary closure to the entrance and exit of the Commuter West Lot at the Texas Tech Parkway and Knoxville Avenue. This entrance and exit will be closed from Dec. 5 to Jan. 13 for construction. Fans are asked to use the entrances and exits off Indiana Avenue when arriving from the north along with the entrances and exits at Indiana Avenue and 18th Street when arriving from 19th Street or the Marsha Sharp Freeway.

About Texas Tech
The Red Raiders have dialed up 27 straight nonconference home victories dating back to the 2013-14 season. Texas Tech has won 22 of those decisions by 10-plus points which includes 13 of the last 14 since the Sam Houston State contest on Dec. 2, 2016.

Texas Tech possesses is rated among the NCAA's Top 20 in five categories which include offensive field goal percentage (52.2 – 4th), scoring margin (+ 21.5 – 7th), rebounding margin (+ 10.2 – 8th), scoring defense (59.7 – 12th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.52 – 16th).

Keenan Evans will look to begin a new streak after having his career-long stretch of five consecutive games with double figures come to close at Richmond. He fuels the team with 13.6 points, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. The 13.6 points and 51.9 percent shooting clip are 10th among the Big 12 leaders.

Anthony Livingston checks in second on the team and 18th in the Big 12 at 12.5 points per game. He has knocked down 18 of his 47 field goals from beyond the three-point line. Livingston sank three key free throws during the closing minute of the Richmond game.

Aaron Ross saw his first extended action after missing five games due to injury at Richmond. He amassed 13 points and matched a season-high with six rebounds. Ross has reached 10-plus points in five of his six appearances this season.

Zach Smith has improved his scoring mark to 13.6 points per game in his last seven outings. He is coming off his Big 12-leading fourth double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds versus Richmond. Smith also ranks fifth in field goal percentage (59.5), sixth in blocked shots (1.8) and seventh in rebounding (7.0) on the Big 12 ledger. He has 110 career blocks which enabled him to surpass former All-American and Southwest Conference Player of the Year Will Flemons (1990-93) for second place on Tech's all-time list.

Justin Gray nearly added back-to-back double-doubles with an 11-point and 9-rebound effort against Richmond. He is 32-of-48 shooting since moving into Texas Tech's starting lineup seven games ago versus Utah State as part of the Cancun Challenge. Gray has managed 10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

Devon Thomas is coming off a career-high 17 points after playing in-front of big contingent of family and friends. He continues to hold the Big 12's top spot and is second place nationally with a 5.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Thomas has handed out a team-leading 41 assists fueled by five games with five or more assists.
Shadell Millinghaus and Niem Stevenson have chipped in solid performances off the bench. They have accounted for 15.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Millinghaus has made 13 consecutive two-point attempts over a five-game stretch whereas Stevenson has pumped in double figures in two of his last three games.

The Red Raiders have played their first 11 contests without Norense Odiase who has started 47 of his 51 career appearances during his freshman and sophomore seasons.

"It's very important, and above all this game against Longwood is the next game on the schedule," Beard said. "It sounds simple, but it's so true. To me, the biggest game I've ever coached in during my entire career will be tomorrow at 4 p.m. I really believe that. That's how a competitor has to feel. If you don't feel that way, this game and the competition will humble you very quickly. I've been trying to get that message across to our players, and I think there are really starting to understand that."

About Longwood
Longwood will or has already made stops in Indiana (Ball State – Dec. 19), Nebraska (Creighton – Dec. 9), North Carolina (High Point – Dec. 31) and Texas (Texas Tech – Dec. 21) during the month of December.

The Lancers led by the trio of Darrion Allen, Isaiah Walton and Khris Lane who have combined for 42.0 points per game en route to 62.6 percent of the team's scoring. The trio has each encompassed at least 13.3 points per game and tallied 24 of the team's 33 games in double figures on the season.

Allen's team-leading 15.3 points per game is fifth whereas his 38.5 three-point percentage is second on the Big South leaderboard. He has registered double figures in nine of 10 games highlighted by three games of 20-plus points. Allen tallied a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 from the floor versus Averett on Dec. 14.

Walton has provided 13.3 points and 3.0 assists per game. The Iowa Western transfer has secured double digits eight times and poured in a season's best 23 points during Longwood's win over Dartmouth on Nov. 28.

Lane has worked his way to three double-doubles which ranks third in the Big South. He has tucked away 13.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Lane has garnered a double-double in all three of Longwood's victories this season.

JaShaun Smith has upped his averages to 9.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game over his last seven appearances. He has hit on 51.9 percent of his field goals. As a team, the Lancers have knocked down 74 three-pointers.

"They're a dangerous team offensively because everybody on their roster shoots three-point shots," Beard said. "There's not one player that gets minutes in their rotation that doesn't look to shoot the three. That's going to put a lot of pressure on our defense. Longwood is a good one-on-one team. We're going to have play good individually in different positions to have a chance to be successful. They play fast offensively and defensively we expect to see both man and zone. They're a team that has our full attention."

Up Next
Texas Tech travels to Iowa State for its Big 12 opener on Dec. 30. It marks the first time the Big 12 play has started in December. Tip time is slated for 5 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNEWS along with the Watch ESPN 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 along with @TexasTechMBB on Twitter and Instagram.