Friday, March 23
Boston, Mass.
8:57 PM
Texas Tech Athletics
vs
No. 11 Purdue
Red Raider Preview: No. 11 Purdue
March 22, 2018 | Men's Basketball
The Red Raiders will make the program’s fourth appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 round.
BOSTON, Mass. – After advancing through a four-team bracket during the NCAA Tournament's opening weekend, the No. 14 Texas Tech men's basketball team sets its sights on another four-team bracket where the Red Raiders take on No. 11 Purdue in Friday's NCAA Sweet 16.
Tipoff is scheduled for approximately for 8:57 p.m. CT from historic TD Garden home of the NBA's Boston Celtics. The game will be televised by TBS along with the NCAA March Madness app. Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel and Allie LaForce will serve as the announcing team.
TBS can be found on DirecTV channel 247 and Dish channel 139 coupled with channel 1112 on AT&T U-Verse and channel 33 on Suddenlink in the Lubbock area.
The Texas Tech Sports Network will carry the game live on its flagship station Double T 97.3 FM and will be joined in progress after Tech's basketball on 100.7 FM The Score 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. Fans can interact with Friday's broadcast by following @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.
Westwood One's NCAA radio broadcast featuring Gary Cohen and P.J. Carlesimo will air on Sirius channel 138 and XM channel 202. That broadcast also can be heard on the TuneIn Radio app.
The Red Raiders (26-9) were battle-tested in their first two NCAA Tournament outings and had to overcome second-half deficits versus Stephen F. Austin and Florida to advance to the program's fourth appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 round. Texas Tech erased a seven-point deficit during the final 10 minutes of the SFA game coupled with five-point hole at the 12:40 mark versus the Gators.
Purdue (30-6) has won seven of its last eight after facing a three-game losing streak during the middle of February. The Boilermakers lone setback during the stretch was a 75-66 decision to Michigan in the championship game of the Big 10 Tournament. Purdue dialed up a convincing 74-48 decision over Cal State Fullerton and grinded out a 76-73 decision over Butler on NCAA opening weekend.
The Boilermakers won both of the all-time meetings with Texas Tech which came in a home-and-home during the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons under Gerald Myers.
"What I see from Purdue is just a really well-coached team," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "Matt Painter played the game at a high level, and he built a really good program at Southern Illinois. What he's done at Purdue really speaks for itself. There a team that's been in this position before. We are a team that's new to this as a unit. We've got some individuals that have been at this stage but not together as a team. The biggest thing in this game is to understand that it's a 40-minute game. There's a lot of distractions, both good and bad, when you get to this stage in a season. We are really fortunate to be one of the 16 teams left, and we intend on taking advantage of it."
ABOUT TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders have collected 26 wins, the program's second-highest total in a season only trailing the 30-2 mark by the 1995-96 team under James Dickey. Texas Tech sports the Big 12's top defensive unit and holds NCAA Top 15 marks in scoring defense (64.6) and field goal percentage (40.2).
Keenan Evans has garnered 17.8 points, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has upped his scoring mark to 21.2 points per game during the month of March and is one of four players in program history to have multiple 20-plus point performances in the same NCAA Tournament. Evans joins Harold Hudgens (1961), Jason Sasser (1996) and Ronald Ross (2005).
Jarrett Culver and Zhaire Smith have worked their way to 11.5 and 11.3 point per game, respectively. The tandem checks in third among Big 12 freshmen scoring duos only behind Oklahoma's Trae Young and Brady Manek followed by Iowa State's Lindell Wigginton and Cameron Lard.
Smith has secured 12.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in last weekend's NCAA action. He nearly turned in a triple-double with 18 points coupled with career-bests nine rebounds and seven assists against No. 23 Florida. Smith has tallied double figures in 11 of his last 13 outings and his 397 total points are third-highest among Tech freshmen in program history.
Culver has piled up 13.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game over his last eight games. He heads into Friday's action with 402 points and is 11 shy of Martin Zeno's freshmen record set during the 2004-05 season. Culver also turned in a solid all-around effort with 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists during the Florida game.
Texas Tech's bench is fueled by Niem Stevenson (7.4 PPG), Zach Smith (6.0 PPG), Tommy Hamilton IV (5.6 PPG), Brandone Francis (5.2 PPG) and Davide Moretti (3.3 PPG).
Stevenson has provided 10.8 points per game over his last six games. Two of his best three scoring games have come since Feb. 21 at Oklahoma State.
Smith has filled the stats sheet with 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in NCAA Tournament play. His 688 rebounds are 11th whereas his 157 blocks are second behind Tony Battie on Texas Tech's all-time list.
Justin Gray and Norense Odiase have garnered 4.9 and 3.9 points per game, respectively. Gray has been a solid contributor on the glass with 5.4 rebounds per game in his last five games. He also has knocked down 54.8 percent of his career two-point attempts.
ABOUT PURDUE
The Boilermakers have an efficient inside-out scoring attacked sparked by Carsen Edwards (18.2 PPG), Isaac Haas (14.7 PPG), Vincent Edwards (14.7 PPG) and Dakota Mathias (12.3 PPG).
Carsen Edwards has rattled off 19 consecutive games in double figures headed by eight efforts of 20 or more points during the span. He exploded for a career-best 40 points at Illinois on Feb. 22. The All-Big Ten First-Team pick who hails from Atascocita, Texas is a finalist for the Wooden Award and Jerry West Award. His 656 points is the third-most for a Purdue player as a sophomore.
Haas has secured 10-plus points in 12 of his last 14 outings but missed the Butler game due to arm injury last time out. He will be a game-time decision for Friday's game. Haas is an All-Big Ten Third-Team selection and finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award. He is 18-for-28 from the field and upped his scoring mark to 16.3 points per game in his last three games.
Vincent Edwards came away with All-Big Ten Second-Team honors where he has posted 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in Purdue's two NCAA Tournament games. He dialed up 20 points for the eighth time on the season versus Butler last time out. Edwards' career-high was a 30-point effort against then No. 25 Michigan on Jan. 25.
Mathias has buried 24 of his team-leading 95 treys over his last eight games. He knocked down a career-high seven treys en route to a career-best 25 points versus Minnesota on Feb. 25. The combo of Mathias along with Edwards, Edwards, P.J. Thompson and Ryan Cline have combined to hit on 337 of Purdue's 346 triples.
When Haas didn't play against Butler, Matt Haarms was inserted into the lineup for his first start of the season. Haarms has chipped in 4.8 points and a team-leading 2.1 blocks per game. He responded with seven points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks during the Butler game. Haarms is connecting on 59.3 percent of his field goal attempts.
"It's very similar to a Big 12 game in the fact that you've got two things you have to figure out," Beard said. "Certainly, if you try to take away the three-point shot, then you're opening yourself up to having some problems inside. If you gameplay the inside, then the three-point shot can beat you. It's just going to be a balance. We've got to try to figure out some different ways to try and maybe take something away from them. You aren't going to take everything away from them, but this is where game planning comes in. We'll be prepared."
UP NEXT
The winner of Friday's matchup advances to play for a regional championship in the NCAA Elite 8 round and will square off with either No. 1 seed Villanova or No. 5 seed West Virginia. Sunday's game will be televised by CBS.
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.
Tipoff is scheduled for approximately for 8:57 p.m. CT from historic TD Garden home of the NBA's Boston Celtics. The game will be televised by TBS along with the NCAA March Madness app. Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel and Allie LaForce will serve as the announcing team.
TBS can be found on DirecTV channel 247 and Dish channel 139 coupled with channel 1112 on AT&T U-Verse and channel 33 on Suddenlink in the Lubbock area.
The Texas Tech Sports Network will carry the game live on its flagship station Double T 97.3 FM and will be joined in progress after Tech's basketball on 100.7 FM The Score 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. Fans can interact with Friday's broadcast by following @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.
Westwood One's NCAA radio broadcast featuring Gary Cohen and P.J. Carlesimo will air on Sirius channel 138 and XM channel 202. That broadcast also can be heard on the TuneIn Radio app.
The Red Raiders (26-9) were battle-tested in their first two NCAA Tournament outings and had to overcome second-half deficits versus Stephen F. Austin and Florida to advance to the program's fourth appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 round. Texas Tech erased a seven-point deficit during the final 10 minutes of the SFA game coupled with five-point hole at the 12:40 mark versus the Gators.
Purdue (30-6) has won seven of its last eight after facing a three-game losing streak during the middle of February. The Boilermakers lone setback during the stretch was a 75-66 decision to Michigan in the championship game of the Big 10 Tournament. Purdue dialed up a convincing 74-48 decision over Cal State Fullerton and grinded out a 76-73 decision over Butler on NCAA opening weekend.
The Boilermakers won both of the all-time meetings with Texas Tech which came in a home-and-home during the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons under Gerald Myers.
"What I see from Purdue is just a really well-coached team," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "Matt Painter played the game at a high level, and he built a really good program at Southern Illinois. What he's done at Purdue really speaks for itself. There a team that's been in this position before. We are a team that's new to this as a unit. We've got some individuals that have been at this stage but not together as a team. The biggest thing in this game is to understand that it's a 40-minute game. There's a lot of distractions, both good and bad, when you get to this stage in a season. We are really fortunate to be one of the 16 teams left, and we intend on taking advantage of it."
ABOUT TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders have collected 26 wins, the program's second-highest total in a season only trailing the 30-2 mark by the 1995-96 team under James Dickey. Texas Tech sports the Big 12's top defensive unit and holds NCAA Top 15 marks in scoring defense (64.6) and field goal percentage (40.2).
Keenan Evans has garnered 17.8 points, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has upped his scoring mark to 21.2 points per game during the month of March and is one of four players in program history to have multiple 20-plus point performances in the same NCAA Tournament. Evans joins Harold Hudgens (1961), Jason Sasser (1996) and Ronald Ross (2005).
Jarrett Culver and Zhaire Smith have worked their way to 11.5 and 11.3 point per game, respectively. The tandem checks in third among Big 12 freshmen scoring duos only behind Oklahoma's Trae Young and Brady Manek followed by Iowa State's Lindell Wigginton and Cameron Lard.
Smith has secured 12.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in last weekend's NCAA action. He nearly turned in a triple-double with 18 points coupled with career-bests nine rebounds and seven assists against No. 23 Florida. Smith has tallied double figures in 11 of his last 13 outings and his 397 total points are third-highest among Tech freshmen in program history.
Culver has piled up 13.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game over his last eight games. He heads into Friday's action with 402 points and is 11 shy of Martin Zeno's freshmen record set during the 2004-05 season. Culver also turned in a solid all-around effort with 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists during the Florida game.
Texas Tech's bench is fueled by Niem Stevenson (7.4 PPG), Zach Smith (6.0 PPG), Tommy Hamilton IV (5.6 PPG), Brandone Francis (5.2 PPG) and Davide Moretti (3.3 PPG).
Stevenson has provided 10.8 points per game over his last six games. Two of his best three scoring games have come since Feb. 21 at Oklahoma State.
Smith has filled the stats sheet with 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in NCAA Tournament play. His 688 rebounds are 11th whereas his 157 blocks are second behind Tony Battie on Texas Tech's all-time list.
Justin Gray and Norense Odiase have garnered 4.9 and 3.9 points per game, respectively. Gray has been a solid contributor on the glass with 5.4 rebounds per game in his last five games. He also has knocked down 54.8 percent of his career two-point attempts.
ABOUT PURDUE
The Boilermakers have an efficient inside-out scoring attacked sparked by Carsen Edwards (18.2 PPG), Isaac Haas (14.7 PPG), Vincent Edwards (14.7 PPG) and Dakota Mathias (12.3 PPG).
Carsen Edwards has rattled off 19 consecutive games in double figures headed by eight efforts of 20 or more points during the span. He exploded for a career-best 40 points at Illinois on Feb. 22. The All-Big Ten First-Team pick who hails from Atascocita, Texas is a finalist for the Wooden Award and Jerry West Award. His 656 points is the third-most for a Purdue player as a sophomore.
Haas has secured 10-plus points in 12 of his last 14 outings but missed the Butler game due to arm injury last time out. He will be a game-time decision for Friday's game. Haas is an All-Big Ten Third-Team selection and finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award. He is 18-for-28 from the field and upped his scoring mark to 16.3 points per game in his last three games.
Vincent Edwards came away with All-Big Ten Second-Team honors where he has posted 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in Purdue's two NCAA Tournament games. He dialed up 20 points for the eighth time on the season versus Butler last time out. Edwards' career-high was a 30-point effort against then No. 25 Michigan on Jan. 25.
Mathias has buried 24 of his team-leading 95 treys over his last eight games. He knocked down a career-high seven treys en route to a career-best 25 points versus Minnesota on Feb. 25. The combo of Mathias along with Edwards, Edwards, P.J. Thompson and Ryan Cline have combined to hit on 337 of Purdue's 346 triples.
When Haas didn't play against Butler, Matt Haarms was inserted into the lineup for his first start of the season. Haarms has chipped in 4.8 points and a team-leading 2.1 blocks per game. He responded with seven points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks during the Butler game. Haarms is connecting on 59.3 percent of his field goal attempts.
"It's very similar to a Big 12 game in the fact that you've got two things you have to figure out," Beard said. "Certainly, if you try to take away the three-point shot, then you're opening yourself up to having some problems inside. If you gameplay the inside, then the three-point shot can beat you. It's just going to be a balance. We've got to try to figure out some different ways to try and maybe take something away from them. You aren't going to take everything away from them, but this is where game planning comes in. We'll be prepared."
UP NEXT
The winner of Friday's matchup advances to play for a regional championship in the NCAA Elite 8 round and will square off with either No. 1 seed Villanova or No. 5 seed West Virginia. Sunday's game will be televised by CBS.
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.
Players Mentioned
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Forward
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Forward
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