Red Raider Preview: No. 6 Baylor

Monday, February 13

United Supermarkets Arena

6:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

No. 4 Baylor

Buy Tickets

February 13, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Game26BaylorNotes

The Red Raiders have lost their last two games by a single point during the closing seconds.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball team will look to return to the win column and wraps up a challenging two-game homestand against Top 10 opponents as No. 6 Baylor makes the trip to the United Supermarkets Arena.

Tipoff is on-tap for 6 p.m. CT with the game televised by ESPNU along with www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Brendan Fitzgerald and Paul Biancardi will be 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 Monday's broadcast @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.

The Red Raiders (16-9, 4-8 Big 12) are in the midst of a three-game stretch versus the Top three teams in the Big 12 standings. Texas Tech began the three-game stretch Saturday with a hard-fought 80-79 setback to No. 3 Kansas. The loss to the Jayhawks snapped a four-game home winning streak versus ranked foes.

Baylor (22-3, 9-3 Big 12) ventures to Lubbock only one game behind Kansas for the top spot in the Big 12 standings. The Bears are ranked sixth by the Associated Press, eighth by the USA/Today Coaches but were listed as No. 1 seed in the early reveal by NCAA Selection Committee last Saturday. At 22-3, Baylor owns its best record through 25 games in program history following a 70-52 home triumph over TCU last time out on Saturday.

Texas Tech holds a 77-56 series advantage in the rivalry that dates back to the Southwest Conference. However, the Bears have claimed 17 of the 22 decisions since the 2005-06 season. Baylor escaped with a 65-61 win when the two teams met in Waco back on Jan. 25. The Bears were sparked by Johnathan Motley's 25 points and nine rebounds.

"You just have to keep grinding," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "That is what we talk about the first day of practice. In our league and at this level, these games come down to one or two possessions. Every day in practice we play one or two minute games. We play one possession drills. Two of our better shooters got wide open three's in the last two minutes and 30 seconds of the game (against Kansas). We are playing better. We just got to take that next step. What you do is you have to stay the course. You continue to try to work at it and get better. You got to keep coaching and keep working at it. I got a lot of confidence in our players. We will stick to the plan, and we will stick to the grind."
Fans can purchase tickets to Monday's game for as low as $15 online at www.TexasTech.com or in person at the United Supermarkets Arena Box Office which opens 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

Texas Tech is offering enhancements for the remainder of the season to better serve its fans. The S1 Parking Lot at the John Walker Soccer Complex will be open for free parking for all fans. Texas Tech also will provide a free shuttle beginning 75 minutes prior to tipoff and 60 minutes following the game to transport fans to and from the United Supermarkets Arena.

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 have won 14 of their 16 games when reaching the 70-point mark. The lone exceptions were at Oklahoma on Jan. 14 and against No. 3 Kansas on Saturday.

Texas Tech has connected on 48.2 percent of its field goal attempts which ranks second in the Big 12 and 30th nationally. The 48.2 percent clip would be the program's highest since the 1994-95 team buried a 48.4 percentage.

Keenan Evans has delivered a team-leading 14.9 points per game and enters Monday's tilt on a 13-game streak in double figures. He has posted 20-plus points in consecutive games for the first time in his career most notably a Big 12 career-best 25 points versus No. 3 Kansas on Saturday. The 14.9 points in overall games and 16.3 points in conference games are eighth in the Big 12.

Zach Smith has averaged a double-double with 15.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game over his last five appearances. He has notched consecutive double-doubles sparked by a 21-point, 10-rebound effort during the Kansas game. Smith has tallied a block in 22 of his 24 games and has piled up 130 career blocks which is second on Texas Tech's all-time list only behind Tony Battie at 162 stuffs.

Anthony Livingston had his season's best run of four consecutive games in double figures come to a close against No. 3 Kansas. He is third on the squad with 11.0 points per game and knocked down a team-leading 49 triples. Livingston has sank 12 of his 18 field goals over the last five games from beyond the arc.

Aaron Ross is Texas Tech's top option off the bench with 9.8 points per game. The fifth-year senior will make his 105th career appearance on Monday and will look to bust out of being limited to two points apiece during the TCU and Kansas games. Ross has hit on 86.4 percent of his foul shots which is second on the Big 12 leaderboard for the second straight season.

Justin Gray and Niem Stevenson have secured 8.5 and 7.8 points per game, respectively. Stevenson has garnered his first double-double with career-highs 22 points coupled with 10 rebounds during the Kansas game. He has averaged 12.5 points per game with 11 of his 21 three-balls over his last six games. The Red Raiders have won eight of their nine games when Gray reaches double digit points.

Thomas Brandsma, Shadell Millinghaus, Devon Thomas and Matthew Temple round out Texas Tech's 10-man playing rotation. Thomas has dished out a team-leading 77 assists and ripped a team-high 29 steals. His Big 12 career-high was a 12-point effort at Oklahoma back on January 14.

Texas Tech has played 22 of its 25 games this season which includes its last 10 games without Norense Odiase who collected 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game last season.

About Baylor
A key to the Bears historic start and historic season has been their defensive calling card where Baylor has fueled the Big 12 allowing 61.8 points per game and a 38.8 field goal percentage defense. Those marks rank eighth and 12th in the nation, respectively. The Bears have been strong on the glass with a plus 8.0 rebounding margin which also paces the Big 12 and checks in 11th nationally.

Motley, one of 20 finalists for the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20, has pumped in 16.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. He has upped his marks versus Big 12 competition to 17.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Motley has amassed a Big 12-leading 10 double-doubles and reached double figures in 20 games. He has logged 20-plus points in back-to-back games.

Manu Lecomte has provided 12.6 points and 4.3 assists per game. He has drained a team-best 55 treys which is sixth on the Big 12 leaderboard. Baylor has won all eight games when Lecomte reaches 17 or more points, and he has directed the Bears to a flawless 16-0 mark when the team touches the 70-point plateau.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. has totaled a balanced 9.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and a Big 12 best 2.7 blocks per game. The 2.7 blocks also are 11th on the NCAA's list. He has reached double figures in three of Baylor's last 4 games on the road sparked by a 16-point, 9-rebound performance at Ole Miss on Jan. 28 as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Al Freeman is fourth on the squad with 9.1 points per game but has missed the Bears last two games due to a violation of team rules. King McClure has stepped into place and posted 11.5 points per game. He has knocked nine of his 12 field goals sparked by five three-pointers.

Ishmail Wainright has come away with 5.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. The 1.8 steals are fifth in the Big 12 rankings. He managed five points, five rebounds and five assists during the TCU game. The Bears have posted a 5-0 mark when he hits at least in those three categories.

Up Next
Texas Tech travels to No. 13 West Virginia on Saturday to complete a stretch against the top three teams in the Big 12 standings. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPN2 along with being available on 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 and @TexasTechMBB on Twitter and Instagram.