Texas Tech University Athletics
PREVIEW: Southern Cal
November 16, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Hall of Fame Classic InfoGame Notes Radio AffiliatesPRESS CONFERENCE: Mooney, CulverPRESS CONFERENCE: Chris BeardLive StatsShotTracker TechnologyBench Talk With Beard
Red Raiders vs. USC | 8:30 p.m., Monday | Sprint Center - Kansas City | ESPN2
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will hit the road for the first time this season when the Red Raiders travel to Kansas City to play in the Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center. The Red Raiders (3-0) open the tournament against Southern Cal (2-1) at 8:30 p.m. on Monday after No. 25 Nebraska (3-0) and Missouri State (3-0) play the first game at 6 p.m. The two losing teams will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and the winners will play at 8:30 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Classic Championship.
The Red Raiders have started their season with dominant home wins over Incarnate Word, Mississippi Valley State and Southeastern Louisiana. Texas Tech has outscored its opponents by a 33.7 scoring margin through three games and are currently third nationally by limiting teams to 43 points per game and are fourth with teams struggling with a 28.9 field-goal percentage. Offensively, TTU has averaged 76.7 points per game and is shooting 50.9 percent from the field as it has started with a 3-0 record for the third straight season under head coach Chris Beard who enters the matchup against USC with a 48-24 record as the program's leader.
The Trojans are coming off a 95-59 non-conference win over Stetson on Wednesday, led by Nick Rakocevic and Bennie Boatwright who each had 16 points in the win. A junior from Chicago, Rakocevic would add 12 rebounds in the game for his third straight double-double and enters the matchup against Tech having averaged 17.7 points and 15.3 rebounds per game this season. USC, which is scoring 85.3 points per game, currently has six players averaging in double-figures in Kevin Porter Jr. (13.7), Shaqquan Aaron (12.3), Jonah Matthews (11) and Derryck Thornton (10.7). The Trojans opened their season with an 83-62 win over Robert Morris before an 82-78 loss to Vanderbilt on Sunday.
"They have a good team that appears to be an NCAA tournament-type team," Beard said. "They are just getting their team back together and look to be back at full force by the time we play them on Monday night. They play really fast and will be one of the best uptempo teams in college basketball. We'll have to play really well. We're going to be in a lot of games like this all year long. This is what the Big 12 is like every night so it is a great early-season test for us."
Texas Tech and USC will be meeting for only the third time ever with the series being even at 1-1. The Trojans won the first meeting with a 35-17 victory on Dec. 16, 1936 in Lubbock before the Red Raiders avenged the loss with a 63-59 win on Dec. 7, 1984 in a game played in Iowa City, Iowa. TTU is 74-83 all-time against PAC-12 opponents.
Texas Tech senior Norense Odiase is coming off a career-high 13 rebounds in the win over Southeastern Louisiana and now has 386 in his career. A Fort Worth native, Odiase is in his fifth season in Lubbock and is currently second in the Big 12 with 30 rebounds. He is averaging 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 points per game to start his senior season and has recorded back-to-back double-digit rebound performances after also having 10 in the win over Mississippi Valley State in the second game of the season. He now has six double-digit rebounding performances in his career, including the first of 92 games he has played in at Tech with 10 rebounds against Loyola Maryland on Nov. 14, 2014.
Jarrett Culver is coming off a season-high 21 points on Tuesday when he went 8-for-12 from the field and also added four assists and four rebounds. It was the fifth game of Culver's career with 20 or more points and he now leads the team with 16.3 points per game to start his sophomore season. A Lubbock native, he was named to the Jerry West Award Watch List and a Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection before the season and has started the year with 16 points in the opener against UIW and 12 in the win over Mississippi Valley State. He is now averaging 11.6 points per game and has 80 assist through 40 career games. Davide Moretti is also off to a strong start in his sophomore season where he is averaging 11.3 points per game and also has 11 assists and four steals through three games. A guard from Italy, Moretti scored a career-high 17 points against MVSU when he knocked down five 3-pointers. Moretti is second in the Big 12 with a 5.50 turnover-to-assist ratio and eighth with six made-3pionters.
Tariq Owens is currently sixth in the nation with 10 blocks after starting the season with six in the opener against Incarnate Word. A graduate transfer from St. John's, Owens led the BIG EAST in blocks the past two seasons and is currently averaging 5.7 points, 3.3 blocks and 3.7 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders. Owens has recorded 189 career blocks. Matt Mooney is now fourth in the Big 12 with 16 assists and is also averaging 9.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Mooney is a graduate transfer from South Dakota who has now scored 1,507 points in his career that started at Air Force. He had a season-high 12 points in the opener against UIW and had six assists in the first two games.
Sophomore transfer Deshawn Corprew is leading the Tech reserves with 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while senior Brandone Francis is averaging 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds and freshman Kyler Edwards is at 7.3 points per game to start his career. Corprew transferred to Tech after playing one season at South Plains College and has scored a season-high 11 points against MVSU where he also had eight rebounds. Francis opened his senior season with 13 points against UIW with two 3-pointers, while Edwards went for 10 in his college debut against the Cardinals. An Arlington native, Edwards is shooting 50 percent from the field coming into his first games away from his home court.
SHOTTRACKER TECHNOLOGY: For the first time ever in Division I men's college basketball, teams competing at the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker will have access to ShotTracker's live stats and analytics on the benches during game play. The NCAA has granted a waiver that will allow coaches for Missouri State, Nebraska, Texas Tech and USC to utilize the ShotTracker Team app on iPads for coaching purposes during the Hall of Fame Classic championship round games. The use of technology on team benches during competition is currently not permitted by NCAA men's basketball playing rules. The NCAA waiver will make the Hall of Fame Classic the first set of games in Division I history where coaches will have access to real-time advanced analytics on a handheld device during live competition. Each student-athlete will wear a ShotTracker sensor, and games will be played with a ShotTracker-enabled Wilson basketball. ShotTracker teamed up with Wilson Sporting Goods - the official ball of the Hall of Fame Classic and one of the industry leaders in advanced connected basketball technologies - to ensure an embedded smart sensor will be undetectable in game play.
FOLLOW THE RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech and USC will be broadcasted on ESPN2 on Monday night with Clay Matvick and Jon Sundvold on the nationally televised game. Geoff Haxton and Chris Level will have the radio call from Kansas City with the game being carried on Texas Tech Sports Network's flagship station Double T 97.3 in Lubbock. Fans can interact with the broadcast by following @GunsUpRadio on Twitter. Tuesday's game will either be on ESPN or ESPN2.
UP NEXT: The Red Raiders will return from their two neutral-court games to host Northern Colorado in a post-Thanksgiving matchup on Saturday, Nov. 24 at the United Supermarkets Arena. Texas Tech has currently won 40 straight non-conference home games after starting the season with a 3-0 record on their home court. Texas Tech will then play Memphis on Saturday, Dec. 1 at the Hoophall Invitational in Miami before a three-game home stand against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Northwestern State and Abilene Christian.
The Red Raiders have started their season with dominant home wins over Incarnate Word, Mississippi Valley State and Southeastern Louisiana. Texas Tech has outscored its opponents by a 33.7 scoring margin through three games and are currently third nationally by limiting teams to 43 points per game and are fourth with teams struggling with a 28.9 field-goal percentage. Offensively, TTU has averaged 76.7 points per game and is shooting 50.9 percent from the field as it has started with a 3-0 record for the third straight season under head coach Chris Beard who enters the matchup against USC with a 48-24 record as the program's leader.
The Trojans are coming off a 95-59 non-conference win over Stetson on Wednesday, led by Nick Rakocevic and Bennie Boatwright who each had 16 points in the win. A junior from Chicago, Rakocevic would add 12 rebounds in the game for his third straight double-double and enters the matchup against Tech having averaged 17.7 points and 15.3 rebounds per game this season. USC, which is scoring 85.3 points per game, currently has six players averaging in double-figures in Kevin Porter Jr. (13.7), Shaqquan Aaron (12.3), Jonah Matthews (11) and Derryck Thornton (10.7). The Trojans opened their season with an 83-62 win over Robert Morris before an 82-78 loss to Vanderbilt on Sunday.
"They have a good team that appears to be an NCAA tournament-type team," Beard said. "They are just getting their team back together and look to be back at full force by the time we play them on Monday night. They play really fast and will be one of the best uptempo teams in college basketball. We'll have to play really well. We're going to be in a lot of games like this all year long. This is what the Big 12 is like every night so it is a great early-season test for us."
Texas Tech and USC will be meeting for only the third time ever with the series being even at 1-1. The Trojans won the first meeting with a 35-17 victory on Dec. 16, 1936 in Lubbock before the Red Raiders avenged the loss with a 63-59 win on Dec. 7, 1984 in a game played in Iowa City, Iowa. TTU is 74-83 all-time against PAC-12 opponents.
Texas Tech senior Norense Odiase is coming off a career-high 13 rebounds in the win over Southeastern Louisiana and now has 386 in his career. A Fort Worth native, Odiase is in his fifth season in Lubbock and is currently second in the Big 12 with 30 rebounds. He is averaging 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 points per game to start his senior season and has recorded back-to-back double-digit rebound performances after also having 10 in the win over Mississippi Valley State in the second game of the season. He now has six double-digit rebounding performances in his career, including the first of 92 games he has played in at Tech with 10 rebounds against Loyola Maryland on Nov. 14, 2014.
Jarrett Culver is coming off a season-high 21 points on Tuesday when he went 8-for-12 from the field and also added four assists and four rebounds. It was the fifth game of Culver's career with 20 or more points and he now leads the team with 16.3 points per game to start his sophomore season. A Lubbock native, he was named to the Jerry West Award Watch List and a Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection before the season and has started the year with 16 points in the opener against UIW and 12 in the win over Mississippi Valley State. He is now averaging 11.6 points per game and has 80 assist through 40 career games. Davide Moretti is also off to a strong start in his sophomore season where he is averaging 11.3 points per game and also has 11 assists and four steals through three games. A guard from Italy, Moretti scored a career-high 17 points against MVSU when he knocked down five 3-pointers. Moretti is second in the Big 12 with a 5.50 turnover-to-assist ratio and eighth with six made-3pionters.
Tariq Owens is currently sixth in the nation with 10 blocks after starting the season with six in the opener against Incarnate Word. A graduate transfer from St. John's, Owens led the BIG EAST in blocks the past two seasons and is currently averaging 5.7 points, 3.3 blocks and 3.7 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders. Owens has recorded 189 career blocks. Matt Mooney is now fourth in the Big 12 with 16 assists and is also averaging 9.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Mooney is a graduate transfer from South Dakota who has now scored 1,507 points in his career that started at Air Force. He had a season-high 12 points in the opener against UIW and had six assists in the first two games.
Sophomore transfer Deshawn Corprew is leading the Tech reserves with 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while senior Brandone Francis is averaging 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds and freshman Kyler Edwards is at 7.3 points per game to start his career. Corprew transferred to Tech after playing one season at South Plains College and has scored a season-high 11 points against MVSU where he also had eight rebounds. Francis opened his senior season with 13 points against UIW with two 3-pointers, while Edwards went for 10 in his college debut against the Cardinals. An Arlington native, Edwards is shooting 50 percent from the field coming into his first games away from his home court.
SHOTTRACKER TECHNOLOGY: For the first time ever in Division I men's college basketball, teams competing at the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker will have access to ShotTracker's live stats and analytics on the benches during game play. The NCAA has granted a waiver that will allow coaches for Missouri State, Nebraska, Texas Tech and USC to utilize the ShotTracker Team app on iPads for coaching purposes during the Hall of Fame Classic championship round games. The use of technology on team benches during competition is currently not permitted by NCAA men's basketball playing rules. The NCAA waiver will make the Hall of Fame Classic the first set of games in Division I history where coaches will have access to real-time advanced analytics on a handheld device during live competition. Each student-athlete will wear a ShotTracker sensor, and games will be played with a ShotTracker-enabled Wilson basketball. ShotTracker teamed up with Wilson Sporting Goods - the official ball of the Hall of Fame Classic and one of the industry leaders in advanced connected basketball technologies - to ensure an embedded smart sensor will be undetectable in game play.
FOLLOW THE RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech and USC will be broadcasted on ESPN2 on Monday night with Clay Matvick and Jon Sundvold on the nationally televised game. Geoff Haxton and Chris Level will have the radio call from Kansas City with the game being carried on Texas Tech Sports Network's flagship station Double T 97.3 in Lubbock. Fans can interact with the broadcast by following @GunsUpRadio on Twitter. Tuesday's game will either be on ESPN or ESPN2.
UP NEXT: The Red Raiders will return from their two neutral-court games to host Northern Colorado in a post-Thanksgiving matchup on Saturday, Nov. 24 at the United Supermarkets Arena. Texas Tech has currently won 40 straight non-conference home games after starting the season with a 3-0 record on their home court. Texas Tech will then play Memphis on Saturday, Dec. 1 at the Hoophall Invitational in Miami before a three-game home stand against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Northwestern State and Abilene Christian.
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