Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Oklahoma State
Red Raider Preview: Oklahoma State
February 20, 2018 | Men's Basketball
The Red Raiders have won four of their last six and will look for their second regular season sweep over the last three seasons versus the Cowboys.
STILLWATER, Okla. – The No. 6 Texas Tech men's basketball team will look to bounce back from its first February loss when the Red Raiders travel to Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Gallagher-Iba Arena, and the game will be televised by ESPNU along with the ESPN app. Anish Shroff and Dino Gaudio 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 Chris Level 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 Wednesday's broadcast by following @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.
Texas Tech (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) heads into Wednesday's action in sole possession of second place and a half game behind 13-time defending regular season champion Kansas in the Big 12 standings. The 10 Big 12 wins are tied for the most in program history with the 2001-02 and 2004-05 teams.
Oklahoma State (15-12, 5-9 Big 12) has dropped three consecutive home decisions. However, the Cowboys have earned Top 25 road wins over then No. 7 Kansas and then No. 19 West Virginia coupled with a neutral court victory over then No. 19 Florida State and a home triumph over in-state rival then No. 4 Oklahoma.
Texas Tech has dialed up a 4-2 record dating back to 2014-15 season and will look for the program's second regular season sweep during the last three seasons against the Cowboys. The Red Raiders overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to secure a 75-70 win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 23 in Lubbock.
"We are looking forward to another week in the Big 12," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "As February ends and March nears, it's always been our intention to be relevant and to be a part of the fight. We've put ourselves in a situation where we are. It starts with a road game at Oklahoma State, a program that we have a lot of respect for. Coach Boynton is doing a great job during his first year. They've overcome a lot of adversity, and they are playing good basketball right now. In the last couple of weeks, they've have won at Kansas and at West Virginia. That kind of speaks for itself. They've got good balance. They're getting good guard play right now and good inside play. We know that Gallagher-Iba is one of the best home courts in the history of college basketball. We are excited at the opportunity this week. We know it's going to be difficult, but we are looking forward to the challenge."
ABOUT TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders will look to bounce back from a 59-57 setback at Baylor last Saturday. Texas Tech faced an eight-point first half deficit and played the second half of Saturday's contest without leading scorer Keenan Evans.
The Red Raiders have held the opposition under 60 points on 13 occasions. The 62.5 points and 39.1 field goal percentage defense are tops in the Big 12 and Top 10 marks nationally. Texas Tech has never led the Big 12 in both of those marks at the end of the season.
Evans has rattled off 18.2 points, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. All three marks are inside the Big 12's Top 10 highlighted by the 18.2 points which are second on the conference leaderboard. Evans has garnered double figures in 24 of 27 games which includes seven of his last eight outings. Over the eight game span, the senior guard has upped his average to 22.0 points per game. Evans scored 26 points and added five assists versus Oklahoma State earlier this season.
Jarrett Culver and Zhaire Smith have posted 10.8 points per game apiece which is good enough for a sixth place tie among Big 12 freshmen. The Culver-Smith duo has piled up 33 games in double figures between them.
Smith has amassed 14.4 points per game over his last five appearances. He secured a team-leading 15 points on an efficient 7-of-9 from the floor at Baylor last time out. Smith also has garnered 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.
Culver will look to bust out of an 8-for-34 shooting mini slump over his last three games. He has piled up 20 or more points three times highlighted by a season's best 25 points against Oklahoma State back on Jan. 23.
The Texas Tech bench has checked in with a Big 12-leading 835 points but were held to season-low 11 points during the Baylor game last time out.
The Red Raiders bench is fueled by Niem Stevenson (6.6 PPG), Tommy Hamilton IV (5.9 PPG), Brandone Francis (5.6 PPG) and Davide Moretti (3.6 PPG).
Hamilton IV is creeping towards 1,000 career points and enters Wednesday's action 35 away from the milestone. He has provided 7.6 points per game in his last seven games and registered at least six points in six of those seven outings. Hamilton IV collected a season-high 14 points at Kansas State on Feb. 10.
Justin Gray and Norense Odiase have chipped in 5.1 and 4.5 points per game, respectively. Gray filled the box score with season-highs 13 points and eight rebounds at Baylor last Saturday. He is the only player to start all 27 games this season. Odiase is the team's leading rebounder at 5.1 boards per game.
"Justin is a warrior," Beard said. "That was one of the best games I've seen Justin play (at Baylor). He was battling, getting loose balls and making things happen on defense. He also was switching and guarding all five positions in the 40-minute game. On offense, he was aggressive. He had a big play at the end of the first half to make the deficit manageable. He's had some good games. I though he played as well as I've ever seen Justin Gray play."
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowboys are ranked inside the NCAA's Top 35 with 12.4 offensive rebounds per game and drained 76.2 percent of their free throw attempts.
Oklahoma State has a trio of players in double figures headed by Jeffrey Carroll (15.0 PPG), Kendell Smith (12.5 PPG) and Tavarius Shine (10.7 PPG).
Carroll has picked up double figures in four of his last six efforts and racked up 63 career games in double figures. He has reached the 20-point plateau six times highlighted by a 23-point and 13-rebound outing against then No. 4 Oklahoma on Jan. 20.
Smith has been an impact graduate transfer and ripped off eight consecutive appearances in double figures. He tallied a season's best 24 points at Kansas followed up by a 20-point performance at West Virginia a week later. Smith notched 21 points during the TCU game last time out.
Cameron McGriff and Mitchell Solomon have been solid on the interior. The duo has combined for 16.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. McGriff nearly garnered double-doubles with a pair of 20-point and nine-rebound games at Kansas and at West Virginia whereas Solomon has gone for double figures in three of his last four games headed by 13-point performances against Baylor and at TCU.
UP NEXT
Texas Tech plays host to the program's second Top 10 matchup at home when No. 8 Kansas visits the United Supermarkets Arena on Saturday. Tip time is slated for 3:15 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by ESPN and the ESPN app. Saturday's game is a "Black Out," and fans are encouraged to wear black.
ESPN's College GameDay Covered by State Farm will be live from the USA from 10-11 a.m. CT. Admission to GameDay is free. Fans do not need a game ticket to the Kansas game to attend the 60-minute GameDay show. Doors for the GameDay show will open at 8:30 a.m. CT. Seating is not reserved, and fans are asked to use the northwest and southwest entrances.
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.
