Red Raider Preview: No. 22 Nevada

Tuesday, December 5

United Supermarkets Arena

7:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

No. 22 Nevada

Buy Tickets

December 04, 2017 | Men's Basketball

GameNotes

By: The Wolf Pack are the first ranked nonconference opponent since No. 9 Arizona on Dec. 1, 2012 to visit the United Supermarkets Arena.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball takes on undefeated and No. 22 Nevada in its stiffest nonconference home test of the season on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

Tipoff is on-tap for 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by FOX College Sports along with the FOX Sports Go app. John Harris, Chris Level and Adam Doyle will serve as the announcing team.

The Texas Tech Sports Network will carry the game live on its flagship stations Double T 97.3 FM, 100.7 FM The Score and 950 AM in Lubbock. Geoff Haxton and Clark Lammert will have the radio call. The radio broadcast also will be available on the Texas Tech Sports Network radio affiliates, online at www.TexasTech.com and the Tune-In Radio app. Fans can interact live with Tuesday's broadcast by following @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.

The Red Raiders (6-1) will look to bounce back from an 89-79 loss to now No. 20 Seton Hall during the Under Armour Reunion last Thursday inside Madison Square Garden, while Nevada (8-0) heads into Tuesday's matchup as one of 13 undefeated programs remaining in the nation and coming off a 76-65 win at UC Irvine last Saturday.

The Wolf Pack have already won a nation's best four true road games this season and have won seven consecutive true road decisions dating back to last season. Nevada also is rated No. 8 in the initial NCAA RPI which was released Monday.

Texas Tech has put together a 33-game nonconference home winning streak dating back to the 2013-14 season. The streak is the nation's fifth-longest only behind Duke, Arizona, Butler and Villanova.

"Big game for us on Tuesday," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "It's the next game on the schedule but also against a quality opponent that we have nothing but respect for. They're very well coached, and they have great players. Nevada basketball has a plan. They've got a blueprint. They take high quality transfers from around the country combined with really good high school and junior college recruiting and a great coaching staff. There is a reason why they are one of the only undefeated teams left in basketball. There is a reason why their team is ranked in the top 25. There is a reason why they have already got four road wins. It's a great opportunity for our guys to play against a quality opponent, somebody we fully expect to be in the NCAA tournament here in a few months."

Tickets to Tuesday's game can be purchased for as low as $10 at the United Supermarkets Arena Box Office starting 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

It's 'Star Wars Night' where the first 1,500 students will receive a Star Wars themed t-shirt. All students in attendance also will receive an opportunity to win free tickets to The Last Jedi which premiers next week in theaters.

Fans are reminded that the S1 Parking Lot at the John Walker Soccer Complex which is located at 3901 10th Street is the lone free parking lot for all fans which includes ADA parking for all men's basketball games. A free shuttle service begins 75 minutes prior to tipoff and runs up to 60 minutes following the game to transport fans to and from the United Supermarkets Arena. Buses also are ADA accessible. There is no longer free parking available in the West Lot across from the United Supermarkets Arena.

Traffic patterns around the United Supermarkets Arena have changed for the 2017-18 season. All patrons with North Lot passes must enter their lot from the Main and Flint intersection. All fans with South Lot passes must enter their lot from the 18th and Flint intersection. All West Lot pass holders must enter their lot at the Texas Tech Parkway and Knoxville Avenue intersection. All vehicles will be blocked from Indiana Avenue off of the Texas Tech Parkway.

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

ABOUT TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders rank inside the NCAA's Top 35 in seven categories and will look for the program's first ranked win over a nonconference opponent at home since a 99-92 overtime victory versus No. 12 Washington on Dec. 3, 2009.

Keenan Evans has worked his way to a team-leading 15.9 points per game which is good enough for seventh place on the Big 12 leaderboard. He posted his third 20-plus point scoring effort with a 21-point effort against Seton Hall last time out. Evans has dished out 27 assists versus nine turnovers with his 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio sixth in the Big 12 rankings.

Jarrett Culver and Zhaire Smith have combined to tally 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The freshmen duo has already amassed nine games in double figures, and each has reached 10-plus points in their last two outings. Culver registered 17 points and drained five three-pointers whereas Smith notched 11 points on an efficient 3-of-5 shooting against Seton Hall.

Niem Stevenson has worked his way to 8.7 points and 1.7 assists per game. He has dialed up double figures in three of his last four appearances. Zach Smith has solid in all facets with 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. He is slated to make his 100th career start and has pulled within 17 blocks away from breaking Tony Battie's program record for blocks.

Norense Odiase and Brandone Francis have produced 6.1 points and 6.0 points from the bench, respectively. Francis has hit on 47.1 percent of his three-point attempts, the fifth best clip in the Big 12. Odiase has found his rhythm with 7.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game over his last four outings and gone 11-for-19 from the floor.

Tommy Hamilton IV has come away with 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game whereas Davide Moretti has added 5.1 points and 2.4 assists per game. Justin Gray has tallied 4.9 points per game and tucked away season-highs in points during two of his last three games.

"We believe in depth," Beard said. "We believe in playing many more guys than you do so our guys can play harder when your guys get tired. We don't think we are better than anybody. I've never said that our guys play harder than your guys, but what I have said over time is that if maybe my guys are playing less minutes than your guys then maybe over the course of the game we can play harder down the stretch."

"Our older guys are allowing these young guys to play with confidence and to play their roles," Beard continued. "Keenan Evans is a big deal of what's going on right now with Culver and Zhaire. Zach Smith has taken Zhaire under his wing. Justin Gray has done an unbelievable job with leadership. Justin's numbers right now on the stat sheet might not look like typical Justin Gray numbers. It's early in the season. I have a lot of confidence in Justin, but I promise Zhaire and Culver are getting big time leadership on a daily basis from Justin Gray behind the scenes. These are all the types of things that go on in good teams."

ABOUT NEVADA
The defending Mountain West champions and Mountain West preseason favorites are ranked inside the nation's Top 25 for the first time since April 3, 2007 when Nevada finished No. 21 in the final AP poll.

The Wolf Pack have had at least three players reach double figures in every game and have had four players accomplish the feat in five of their eight victories on the young season.

The Martin twins, Caleb and Cody, have been impressive en route to 19.0 points and 14.1 points per game, respectively. Caleb also has secured 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He has already has dropped in five games of 20-plus points sparked by three of his last four outings.

Cody has reached double figures in all eight games coupled with 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 2.0 blocks per game. He pumped in a season's best 22 points and added 12 rebounds at Santa Clara back on Nov. 15.

Jordan Caroline has piled up 18.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He has already collected three double-doubles on the season. Caroline notched 24 points and 13 rebounds at UC Irvine last Saturday. He also garnered a 28-point outburst against Rhode Island on Nov. 13.

Nevada's top bench option has been Josh Hall who has chipped in 8.5 points per game. He has knocked down 12 of his 25 field goals from three-point territory.

UP NEXT
Texas Tech will take on eight-day break for final exams and return to the hardwood against Kennesaw State from the Atlantic Sun Conference as part of a doubleheader with the Lady Raiders on Wednesday, December 13. Tip time is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest Plus 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 by liking TexasTechMBB on Facebook along with following @TexasTechMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.