PREVIEW: at No. 11 Kansas

LUBBOCK, Texas – Round nine of 18 in the Big 12 Conference fight takes No. 16 Texas Tech to Lawrence, Kansas this weekend where it will play No. 11 Kansas at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Red Raiders (17-4, 5-3 Big 12) have won two in a row after knocking off Arkansas last Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and then TCU on Monday, while the Jayhawks (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) have lost two straight for the only time this season with defeats at Kentucky and Texas. TTU earned its first-ever win at Allen Fieldhouse last season with an 85-73 win and is now 1-17 all-time against the Jayhawks on their home court. KU leads the all-time series 34-5 after taking a 74-72 win in Lubbock in the last matchup. The Jayhawks are currently 12-0 at home this season.

STAT/POLL RANKINGS: Texas Tech comes into this weekend leading the nation by limiting opponents to 36.1 percent shooting and is third by holding teams to 56.8 points per game and 26.4 percent shooting on 3-pointers. Tech, which has allowed only one opponent this season to score 70 or more, is also 19th nationally with a 14.0 scoring margin advantage and is second in the Big 12 and 28th nationally with 4.9 blocks per game. The team leads the conference with 102 total blocks and leads the conference with 16.14 turnovers forced per game. Individually, Tariq Owens is 11th nationally and second in the Big 12 with 51 total blocks and is 15th with 2.43 blocks per game. Jarrett Culver leads the conference with a 51.8 shooting percentage and is third in the conference (84^th nationally) with 18.5 points per game. Culver is fourth in the Big 12 with 3.9 assists per game, second with 80 free throws made and third with 388 total points.

The Red Raiders are now ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press Top-25 and are No. 15 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and NCAA NET Rankings. TTU was ranked No. 14 last week before its win over Arkansas that snapped a three-game losing streak and has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the Week 10 and 11 AP Top-25 this season. Texas Tech has now been ranked in 10 straight polls after starting the season unranked and entered them in the fourth week. The Red Raiders finished the 2017-18 season at No. 14 in the final AP Poll and were at No. 6 in the last USA TODAY Coaches Poll where it spent seven weeks in its top-10 during the season. The No. 6 ranking to finish the season matched a program-best set on Feb. 12, 2018 in the USA TODAY Coaches poll and on Feb. 19, 2018 in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Texas Tech is 12-10 against ranked opponents in his three seasons leading the program and is 1-4 against the Jayhawks. Saturday's game is the third straight game where both teams are ranked and the sixth time overall.

PLAYER NOTES: Jarrett Culver leads the Red Raiders with 18.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game after scoring 18 points and adding seven rebounds and four assists in the win over TCU on Monday. Culver was coming off a game against Arkansas where he knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals last Saturday. A sophomore from Lubbock, he had 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a season-high five steals in Big 12 play at Kansas State in the team's last road game. His four 3-pointers against the Razorbacks matched a season-high that he also had against Duke and was one off of his career high from last year when he had five against Seton Hall. Culver had 12 points in the win last season against Kansas and then scored 18 with four 3-pointers in the home loss to the Jayhawks in his freshman season. Culver recorded his second double-double of the season with a career-high 16 rebounds and also 20 points against Iowa State and also had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists against Texas on Jan. 12 following his first double-double of the season with 23 points and 13 points against Oklahoma. He has led the team in scoring in 16 of 21 games and is currently averaging 17.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists through eight conference games. Culver is on the John R. Wooden Award, Jerry West Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy and Lute Olson Award watch lists, was named to the Sporting News Midseason All-America second-team and earned Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention honors. He has scored in double figures in 20 of 21 games and is shooting 51.8 percent from the field overall and 46.8 percent in Big 12 play. Culver recorded a career-high with 30 points against Abilene Christian on Dec. 20 where he went 12-for-13 from the field and hit four 3-pointers. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Week after the performance and followed it by going to New York and scoring 25 points against Duke. Culver comes into the matchup against the Jayhawks having scored 803 career points in 58 games as a Red Raider.

Davide Moretti recorded a career-high 21 points against Arkansas last Saturday after going 6-for-9 from the field with three 3-pointers and followed it by establishing a new career-high with seven assists against TCU. Moretti also contributed 11 points against TCU and is now 6-for-10 on 3-pointers in the past two games. In his career-high scoring performance, he would add six points from the free-throw line and also had two assists against the Razorbacks. Moretti, who is averaging 12.2 points per game over the past five games, has scored in double figures in seven of eight Big 12 games this season. He was coming off scoring 13 at Baylor after finishing with 10 points against Iowa State in the previous week. Moretti now has 346 points through 58 games in his career, including recording a previous career-high 19 points in the first matchup against Kansas State where he also matched a career-high with four rebounds. Moretti is averaging 12.0 points and 2.0 assists in conference play after also going for 13 points at Texas and 12 points against the Sooners. Against Texas, Moretti was 3-for-6 on 3-pointers and also led the Red Raiders with three steals. He started Big 12 play by hitting a 3-pointer with two minutes remaining to give the Red Raiders a 55-54 lead at West Virginia. Moretti finished the game at WVU with 12 points after hitting two 3-pointers to give him 15 for the season. Moretti has started all 21 games for the Red Raiders this season after making one start in 37 games played as a freshman. A coach's son from Italy, Moretti is averaging 10.4 points and 2.3 assists per game in his second season with the program. He has registered 17-point performances in wins over Southern Cal and Mississippi Valley State and has two games with six assists in non-conference play. Moretti made a career-high five 3-pointers against MVSU and has scored in double figures in 10 games this season and 12 in his career. He currently leads TTU with 34 3-pointers and is shooting 41.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Don't talk about it.

Be about it. ??#4To1

??#WreckEm?? pic.twitter.com/VGyGvzSIxb
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 31, 2019

After losing five seniors off last season's NCAA Elite Eight team, Texas Tech found a way to remain a veteran team through recruiting by adding graduate transfers Matt Mooney (University of South Dakota) and Tariq Owens (St. John's) to go along with returners Norense Odiase and Brandone Francis to make up a senior class of four for the Red Raiders. Owens and Mooney were both named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award Watch List, making TTU the only team with two members on the list of 15. An Odenton, Maryland native, Owens currently has 51 blocks this season after having one against TCU and three against the Razorbacks. He is coming off one of his best offensive games of the season after scoring 17 points against TCU where he was 7-for-9 from the field, including going 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. He is currently tied for sixth in program history for a single-season with those 51 blocks after matching Devonne Giles (2003-04) and is approaching Andy Ellis who had 55 blocks in the 2001-02 season. Tony Battie has the single-season record with 71 blocks in the 1996-97 season. Owens, who has had at least one block in all 21 games this season, came off the bench for the first time this season at Kansas State and responded by recording 12 points with two 3-pointers and six rebounds. Owens, who returned to the starting lineup against Arkansas, had provided eight points, six rebounds and a block against Baylor two weeks ago in Waco and had three blocks and seven points against Iowa State after having four blocks against Oklahoma and Texas. Owens currently has 19 blocks in Big 12 play and is fifth in the conference with a 56.7 shooting percentage. Owens is averaging 2.4 blocks and 9.1 points per game in Big 12 play after also scoring 12 in the win over the Longhorns to go along with his four blocks. He led the BIG EAST the past two seasons in blocked shots before graduating and transferring to Tech. Owens established a new Texas Tech single-game record with eight blocks in the win over Memphis on Dec. 1 in Miami after starting his Red Raider career with six blocks against Incarnate Word in the season opener. Owens is averaging 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in his first season in Lubbock. He had a season-high 18 points against Southern Cal and recorded the team's first double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in his eight-block performance against Memphis.

Mooney scored 18 points and added five assists in the win over TCU after going for 12 points on a 4-for-8 shooting performance in the win against Arkansas. His conference season has been highlighted by scoring a season-high 22 points against Texas where he was 8-for-10 from the field with three 3-pointers before his 7-for-12 performance against the Horned Frogs. He opened Big 12 play with 14 points in both games against KSU and WVU and is now averaging 10.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 1.9 assists per game in Big 12 play. He is currently third in the Big 12 with 1.6 steals overall per game for the season. An Illinois native, Mooney started his career at Air Force before playing two seasons at South Dakota where he led his team in scoring both years. He is shooting 44.3 percent from the field this season, has scored in double figures in 11 games and leads the team with 33 steals. Odiase is in his fifth season at Texas Tech and has played in 111 games, including recording 12 points and eight rebounds (4 offensive/4 defensive) in last year's win at Kansas. He led the Red Raiders with seven rebounds last Saturday against Arkansas and then had five against TCU. He matched a season-high by scoring eight points against Oklahoma three weeks ago after going 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free-throw line and then pulled down eight rebounds at Texas. He currently has 491 career rebounds with 95 this season. A Fort Worth native, Odiase is averaging 3.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 56.9 percent from the field. He had a career-high 13 rebounds in the win over Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 13 after a 10-rebounds performance against Mississippi Valley State. Odiase scored seven points to go along with his seven rebounds against Duke after going 3-for-4 from the field. Along with his career rebounding total, he has scored 549 points as a Red Raider.

Francis had his best scoring performance of the season after going for 14 points with three 3-pointers two weeks ago at Baylor. He scored his season-high against the Bears by going 4-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from the free-throw line in the game. He was also 2-for-3 on 3-pointers in the game against OU and helped spark the Red Raiders to the win. A Dominican Republic native, he started his career at Florida before transferring to Lubbock where he averaged 5.1 points per game with 33 3-pointers as a junior during the Elite 8 run, including a career-high 17 points in the win over West Virginia. He's currently averaging 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game and is fourth on the team with 19 3-pointers this season for the Red Raiders. Francis had a previous season-high 13 points in the opener against UIW and would contribute 10 points and a career-high six assists in the neutral-court win over Memphis. He has scored 302 points in 58 games in his career for the Red Raiders after scoring three in the win over TCU.

Kyler Edwards leads the TTU reserves with 6.2 points and 1.2 assists per game in his freshman season after scoring eight points with two 3-pointers against TCU and seven points against the Razorbacks. Edwards has scored nine points in two conference games so far, first in the home game against KSU and then against Iowa State. A freshman from Arlington, he has scored nine or more points in eight games this season and has recorded four double-digit scoring performances. Edwards recorded a career-high 19 points against Northern Colorado where he went 7-for-7 from the field with four 3-pointers. Edwards is shooting 42.2 percent from the field with 15 3-pointers. Texas Tech sophomore Deshawn Corprew is averaging 5.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game after contributing six rebounds and five points against TCU. A transfer from South Plains College, he has played in 20 of 21 games including a career-night where he recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against UTRGV. Corprew, who made his first career start in that game against UTRGV, was 6-for-8 from the field to match a previous career-high of 13 points that he also had against Northern Colorado. Corprew had three points and two rebounds against Arkansas. Texas Tech freshman Khavon Moore made his first appearance of the season against Iowa State with two minutes but has not played since. A Macon, Georgia native, Moore has been working through an injury that had sidelined him through the first 16 games of the season.

KANSAS REPORT (kuathletics.com for team report): The Jayhawks are coming off back-to-back losses for the only time this season after falling 71-63 last Saturday against Kentucky and then again on Tuesday by 10 at Texas. KU is currently 12-0 at home though with conference wins over Oklahoma, TCU, Texas and Iowa State on its home court. Dedric Lawson leads the team with 19.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, while Lagerald Vick is adding 14.5 points per game and also has 26 steals. Ochai Agbaji is coming off a career-high 24 points against Texas and also added seven rebounds and two steals and is now averaging 8.6 points in seven games and one start this season.

Lawson is averaging 18.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in Big 12 play and Devon Dotson is at 10.3 points per conference game. Dotson is at 10.7 points per game for the season and also has supplied a team-high 71 assists. He had four assists and nine points in the loss at Texas on Tuesday, while Vick had 10 against the Longhorns. KU was outrebounded in the game by Texas (31-27) and was limited to under 70 points for only the fifth time this season.

Kansas will return to action at 8 p.m. on Tuesday against Kansas State in Manhattan before hosting Oklahoma State next weekend.

UP NEXT: Texas Tech will return from Kansas to host West Virginia at 8 p.m. on Monday at the United Supermarkets Arena in its second straight ESPN Big Monday game. TTU and KU will play again on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the USA in their second matchup of the season.

COVERING THE RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech and Kansas will be televised on CBS with Spero Dedes, Bill Raftery and Seth Davis calling the game. On the radio, Geoff Haxton and Chris Level will broadcast 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.

We were honored to have @ttuRaiderRiot join us by the ?? where @CoachBeardTTU and @TheMikeDB talked about the importance of having a great USA student section! #FiresideChat #4To1

??@2pac @ybncordae @drdre @tracy_lawrence pic.twitter.com/k4nMf6czQa
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 31, 2019

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Players Mentioned

Brandone Francis

Deshawn Corprew

Jarrett Culver

Kyler Edwards

Matt Mooney

Khavon Moore

Davide Moretti

Norense Odiase

Tariq Owens