Red Raider Preview: No. 25 Kansas State

Tuesday, January 10

United Supermarkets Arena

8:15 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

No. 25 Kansas State

Tickets

Red Raider Preview: No. 25 Kansas State

January 09, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Game16KansasStateNotes

The Red Raiders will face three straight ranked opponents for the third consecutive season during Big 12 action.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball team continues the grind of Big 12 play and takes on its third straight ranked opponent in No. 25 Kansas State Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

Tip time is slated for 8:15 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNEWS in addition to the Watch ESPN app. Dave Armstrong and Bryndon Manzer 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. Fans can interact live with Tuesday's broadcast @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.

Texas Tech (12-3, 1-2 Big 12) has met three straight ranked opponents in each of the last three seasons during conference play. The Red Raiders have won four of their last seven matchups and registered three consecutive wins over ranked opponents at home which includes a 77-76 overtime decision over then No. 7 West Virginia last Tuesday.

Texas Tech will look to bounce back from its largest defeat of the season, an 85-68 decision to now No. 2 Kansas. The Red Raiders cut a 10-point halftime deficit in half with eight minutes remaining before the Jayhawks pieced together 16-2 spurt to put away the 17-point victory.

Kansas State (13-2, 2-1 Big 12) vaulted into the No. 25 position in this week's Associated Press Top 25 following a 75-64 win over Oklahoma on Saturday. The Wildcats made their first Top 25 appearance since January 2014.

K-State has won 11 of the last 13 meetings dating back to the 2008-09 season and have posted a 7-2 mark versus the Red Raiders under head coach Bruce Weber. Texas Tech has protected its home court during each of the last two seasons highlighted by an 80-71 win last season. Keenan Evans and Zach Smith combined for 33 points and connected on 12 of its 15 shot attempts.

"Kansas State is really sound defensively like all Coach Weber coached teams," head coach Chris Beard said. "They don't make a lot of mistakes, and it's difficult to score on them early in possessions. We have a lot of respect for their defense, and we expect an absolute grind out type of game. We're going to have to execute on every possession if we want to be successful."

Fans can purchase tickets to Tuesday's game for as low as $8 online at www.TexasTech.com by using the promo code TIPTIME or in person at the United Supermarkets Arena Ticket Office for $12 which opens 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

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 will look to regain its offensive rhythm after being held to a season's low 40.7 percent shooting clip during the Kansas game. Texas Tech holds NCAA Top 25 marks in field goal percentage (50.7 – 6th), rebounding margin (+9.3 – 10th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46 – 16th), scoring defense (62.7 – 21st) and three-point field goal percentage (39.8 – 24th).

Keenan Evans has amassed double figures in four straight games, nine of his last 10 outings and 12 of his 15 total outings this season. His 13.6 points per game is ninth in the Big 12, and the junior guard has knocked down 13 of his 25 treys over his last six games.

Zach Smith has improved to 13.5 points per game and managed double figures during nine of his last 11 outings since the Utah State game back on Nov. 23. He is the only Big 12 player to be ranked in the league's Top 5 in rebounds (7.9) and blocks (1.9) per game. Smith's five double-doubles are tied for second among Big 12 players. He has piled up 118 career blocks, second on Texas Tech's list only behind Tony Battie at 162 rejections.

Anthony Livingston has come away with 12.5 points per game on the strength of 10-plus points in three of his last four appearances. He has buried 1.9 triples and 41.5 percent of his three-point attempts, both marks are ninth on the Big 12 leaderboard.

Texas Tech's top scoring option off the bench is Aaron Ross, one of the top sixth men in the Big 12. He has secured 11.4 points per game and equaled his season-high with 17 points at now No. 2 Kansas last time out. Overall, Ross has tallied double figures in seven of his 10 games after missing a five-game stretch due to injury.

"Some of the things we would like to see our team improve on is be a more consistent team on defense," Beard said. "We've proven in a lot of situations that we can be a good defensive team, but we haven't been able to put together 40 minutes of complete play out there. Offensively, one of our biggest issues is turnovers. Even against Kansas, we're getting good shots and making them. We just can't have those wasted possessions. That's been a focal point this week as it will be in every practice we have the rest of the season. The lower turnover games we have, the better offense we play."

Justin Gray and Devon Thomas have started the last 11 games for the Red Raiders. Thomas headlines the team with 57 assists and has already surpassed his total from last season. His 4.38 assist-to-turnover ratio is tied for second in the Big 12 and ranks fourth nationally. Gray has drained 54-for-85 on his two-point attempts. He fired in a career-best 23 points along with eight rebounds during last season's matchup at Kansas State.
Thomas Brandsma, Shadell Millinghaus, Norense Odiase, Niem Stevenson and Matthew Temple round out Texas Tech's 11-man playing rotation. Temple has picked up 4.3 points and hit on 17-of-24 from the floor over his last 10 outings whereas Millinghaus and Stevenson have combined for eight games in double figures.

About Kansas State
The Wildcats have rolled out the same starting five in all 15 of their games and all five players are averaging in double figures. Their lone setbacks have been a one-point decision to Maryland at the Barclays Classic on Nov. 26 in New York and a 90-88 defeat at now No. 2 Kansas last Tuesday.

Kansas State's balanced attack is led by Wesley Iwundu who fills the stat sheet with 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The 12.5 points are 14th on the Big 12 leaderboard, and he has reached double figures on 10 occasions highlighted by five of his last six appearances. Iwundu has knocked down 24 of his 47 free throws during the six-game stretch.

Barry Brown has filled it up for 12.3 points, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The 2.3 steals per contest are second-best in the Big 12 rankings. He started the season with seven straight games and garnered 12 total efforts for the season with 10-plus points. Brown has dished out 13 assists in his last four games which include a pair of 5-assist outings.

D.J. Johnson has made an impact on the interior where he has dialed up 11.5 points per game coupled with 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He has buried a Big 12-leading 62.7 percent from the field and registered a pair of double-doubles most recently 19 points and 10 rebounds versus Colorado State on Dec. 17.

Dean Wade has chipped in 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He has reeled off three consecutive games in double figures fueled by a 20-point outburst during the Kansas game. Wade is 17-of-29 shooting during the three-game stretch.

Kamau Stokes and Xavier Sneed have rattled home 49 of 114 three-pointers by Kansas State. Stokes also has handed out 4.5 assists per game, good enough for the No. 8 spot in the Big 12. He has notched five or more assists in eight games.

"Kansas State has a great team, and it might be surprising to some people nationally," Beard said. "It's not a surprise to any of us in the Big 12. There are a team that has lost two one possession game. More than likely if they won those two games, Kansas State would be Top 10 in the country. They deserve to be in the Top 25."

Up Next
Texas Tech wraps up the opening third of its Big 12 schedule against Oklahoma Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center. Tipoff is on-tap for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNU 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.