Texas Tech University Athletics
Tuesday, January 8
Lubbock, Texas
8 p.m.
Texas Tech Athletics
vs
No. 23 Oklahoma
PREVIEW: No. 23 Oklahoma
January 07, 2019 | Men's Basketball
No. 8 Red Raiders vs. No. 23 Sooners | 8 p.m., Tuesday | ESPNews | TTSN | United Supermarkets Arena
LUBBOCK, Texas – Back in the national top-10 and playing at home to start the week, No. 8-ranked Texas Tech is set to host No. 23 Oklahoma at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena before traveling to Austin to play Texas on Saturday.
The Red Raiders (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) have only one loss through 14 games for the second straight season and for the fourth time in program history (1995-96, 2001-02, 2017-18, 2018-19) following wins over West Virginia and Kansas State to begin conference play last week. TTU currently leads the nation defensively by limiting opponents to 33.4 shooting from the field and 24.1 percent on 3-pointers and is ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press Top-25, No. 8 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, No. 6 in the ESPN Power Rankings and is No. 7 in the NCAA NET Rankings. The Sooners (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) split their conference openers with a loss at Kansas before a 10-point win over Oklahoma State. TTU is now 9-0 on its home court this season after the team's 63-57 win over KSU last Saturday and is 42-4 at home under coach Chris Beard who is in his third season leading the program.
"They are going to be in the fight for the conference championship," said Beard of OU. "They are one of the older, more experienced teams in the country. It's a team we have a lot of respect for and obviously they have one of the best coaches in the history of the game and really good players. They have versatile players with big guys who are skilled and can shoot. A lot of times they will have four playmakers on the court and that puts a lot of pressure on your defense."
Texas Tech will return to action this weekend when it travels to Austin to play Texas at 1 p.m. inside the Frank Erwin Center. The Red Raiders have not won in Austin since Feb. 24, 1996, a string of 22 straight losses to the Longhorns on their home court.Â
POLLS/STAT RANKINGS: Texas Tech is back in the AP Top-25 after starting the season with a 13-1 record following the wins over WVU and KSU last week to move up from No. 11 to No. 8 this week. Statistically, the Red Raiders lead the nation by limiting opponents to only 33.4 percent shooting from the field and 24.1 percent on 3-pointers. The team's defense is ranked second by limiting opponents to only 53.1 points per game through 14 games and the team's margin of victory of 20.4 points ranks ninth nationally. TTU tops the Big 12 statistically with 17.29 turnovers forced and is second with 5.1 blocks per game, a 69.4 percentage on free throws, 7.6 steals per game and 71 total blocks and 107 total steals. Jarrett Culver currently ranks second in the Big 12 with 18.7 points per game which is 72nd nationally, while Matt Mooney is second in the conference with 2.00 steals per game and Tariq Owens is second with 34 total blocks. Owens is 20th nationally with 2.43 blocks per game and Culver is 54th with a 56.0 shooting percentage. The Red Raiders, who were unranked in the preseason polls, have now been ranked in seven straight polls. The team appeared in 14 AP polls last season and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, but would enter this season unranked through three weeks. The Red Raiders finished the 2017-18 season at No. 6 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and were in its Top-10 rankings seven times 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.
SERIES HISTORY: The Red Raiders and Sooners have split the last three seasons with the home team winning the last six matchups. OU has a 39-24 all-time advantage over TTU, but the Red Raiders are 16-13 at home against the Sooners. TTU earned an 88-78 win over OU on Feb. 13, 2018 in the last meeting between the two teams last season. The programs played for the first time on Dec. 27, 1944 with the Sooners earning a neutral-court win in Oklahoma City. Tuesday's game is the third straight game where both teams are ranked and the fifth overall time.
PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech sophomore Davide Moretti is coming off a career-high 19 points against Kansas State where he also matched a career-high with four rebounds. Moretti was 7-for-11 from the field with three 3-pointers. His week started by hitting a 3-pointer with two minutes remaining to give the Red Raiders a 55-54 lead at West Virginia before returning home and leading the team past the Wildcats. 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 14 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 9.4 points and 2.4 assists per game in his second season with the program. He had previously scored a career-high 17 points in wins over Southern Cal and Mississippi Valley State and has two games with six assists. Moretti made a career-high five 3-pointers in his 17-point performance against MVSU and has scored in double figures in four games.
Jarrett Culver leads the Red Raiders with 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game after going for 18 points and six rebounds in the win over West Virginia and then nine against KSU. Culver, who had nine and seven points against OU last season, scored all of his 18 points against the Mountaineers in the second half where he finished the game shooting 6-for-8 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line to lead to the Red Raiders to the win. A sophomore from Lubbock, Culver is on the Jerry West Award and Oscar Robertson Trophy watch lists and was a Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention Selection. He has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games, led the Red Raiders in scoring in 12, tops the team with 19 3-pointers and has scored over 20 points in six games. 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, who is shooting 56.0 percent from the field and 42.2 percent on 3-pointers, comes into the matchup against OU having scored 677 career points in 51 games as a Red Raider.
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. Mooney scored 14 points in both games last week against KSU and WVU and is averaging 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He is currently second in the Big 12 with 2.00 steals per game. 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 44.7 percent from the field this season, has scored in double figures in eight games and leads the team with 28 steals. An Odenton, Maryland native, Owens led the Red Raiders with eight rebounds and three blocks against KSU and also added nine points. He led the BIG EAST the past two seasons in blocked shots and currently third in the Big 12 with 2.43 blocks per game (34 total). He 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 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game after he also contributed four points and four rebounds last Wednesday against WVU where he would be limited to 12 minutes and foul out. He had a season-high 18 points against Southern Cal and has recorded the team's first double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in his eight-block performance against Memphis.
Odiase is in his fifth season at Texas Tech and has played in 104 games. He currently has 461 career rebounds after contributing three rebounds and two blocks at WVU and two blocks against KSU. A Fort Worth native, Odiase is averaging 4.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 62.5 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. Francis has played a valuable reserve role in his senior season and is coming off scoring eight points against West Virginia and UTRGV. 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 5.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for the Red Raiders after going for eight points and four rebounds in Morgantown but being held scoreless for only the second time this season against KSU after shooting 0-for-5. Francis had a 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.
Kyler Edwards leads the TTU reserves with 7.2 points per game to start his freshman season after scoring nine points with a 3-pointer and a 4-for-4 performance at the free-throw line last Saturday against KSU. A freshman from Arlington, he has scored nine or more points in seven games this season. He has recorded four double-digit scoring performances, including going off for a career-high 19 points against Northern Colorado where he went 7-for-7 from the field with four 3-pointers. He is shooting 46.8 percent from the field with 12 3-pointers. Texas Tech sophomore Deshawn Corprew had a career-night where he recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against UTRGV but has been held to two points at WVU and three against KSU in the start of conference play. Corprew, who made his first career start 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. He also pulled down four offensive and six defensive rebounds for a new career-high in rebounding. Corprew was limited to two points on 1-for-6 shooting in the Big 12 opener at WVU. A transfer from South Plains College, Corprew is averaging 6.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 55.7 percent from the field.Â
OU NOTES: The Sooners travel to Lubbock after earning a 74-64 win over Oklahoma State last weekend at home following a 70-63 loss at No. 5 Kansas. OU is 3-1 on the road this season and is currently averaging 75.4 points per game while opponents are scoring 66.2 on them through 14 games. The team is holding opponents to 37.5 percent shooting. Christian James leads the team with 17.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while Brady Manek is at 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. Miles Reynolds is adding 10.4 points with seven starts and seven games as a reserve and Aaron Calixte leads the team with 45 assist and is also scoring 8.7 points per game. Kristian Doolittle led the Sooners with 16 points and also had eight rebounds in the win over the Cowboys, while Manek had 15 and James recorded a 14/11 double-double. Doolittle comes to Lubbock averaging 8.1 points per game after his 16 on Saturday, while Jamal Bieniemy has 40 assists.
The Sooners will return to action this weekend when they host TCU at 1 p.m. in Norman.Â
COVERING THE RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech and WVU will be televised on ESPNews with David Saltzman and Reid Gettys 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.
FAN EXPERIENCE: Guests attending Texas Tech Athletics home events can now take advantage of fan friendly pricing at the concession stands. A total of six items will be available for $3 or less. Fans will be able to purchase a hot dog (previously $5), Nacho Grande (previously $8.50) and 46oz popcorn (previously $5) for $2 each. In addition, 20oz bottled water (previously $4), 16oz soft drinks, and candy (previously $4) can be purchased for $3 per item. In addition, all guests of the legal drinking age attending Red Raider and Lady Raider games in United Supermarkets Arena will be offered the opportunity to purchase a variety of beer and wine. Points of sales will be offered at all main concession stands as well as portable stations throughout the concourse. Fans will still be able to enjoy Club Red located on the east concourse of United Supermarkets Arena. Furthermore, beer and wine will now be available for purchase at Rip Griffin Park and Jones AT&T Stadium.
The Red Raiders (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) have only one loss through 14 games for the second straight season and for the fourth time in program history (1995-96, 2001-02, 2017-18, 2018-19) following wins over West Virginia and Kansas State to begin conference play last week. TTU currently leads the nation defensively by limiting opponents to 33.4 shooting from the field and 24.1 percent on 3-pointers and is ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press Top-25, No. 8 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, No. 6 in the ESPN Power Rankings and is No. 7 in the NCAA NET Rankings. The Sooners (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) split their conference openers with a loss at Kansas before a 10-point win over Oklahoma State. TTU is now 9-0 on its home court this season after the team's 63-57 win over KSU last Saturday and is 42-4 at home under coach Chris Beard who is in his third season leading the program.
"They are going to be in the fight for the conference championship," said Beard of OU. "They are one of the older, more experienced teams in the country. It's a team we have a lot of respect for and obviously they have one of the best coaches in the history of the game and really good players. They have versatile players with big guys who are skilled and can shoot. A lot of times they will have four playmakers on the court and that puts a lot of pressure on your defense."
Texas Tech will return to action this weekend when it travels to Austin to play Texas at 1 p.m. inside the Frank Erwin Center. The Red Raiders have not won in Austin since Feb. 24, 1996, a string of 22 straight losses to the Longhorns on their home court.Â
POLLS/STAT RANKINGS: Texas Tech is back in the AP Top-25 after starting the season with a 13-1 record following the wins over WVU and KSU last week to move up from No. 11 to No. 8 this week. Statistically, the Red Raiders lead the nation by limiting opponents to only 33.4 percent shooting from the field and 24.1 percent on 3-pointers. The team's defense is ranked second by limiting opponents to only 53.1 points per game through 14 games and the team's margin of victory of 20.4 points ranks ninth nationally. TTU tops the Big 12 statistically with 17.29 turnovers forced and is second with 5.1 blocks per game, a 69.4 percentage on free throws, 7.6 steals per game and 71 total blocks and 107 total steals. Jarrett Culver currently ranks second in the Big 12 with 18.7 points per game which is 72nd nationally, while Matt Mooney is second in the conference with 2.00 steals per game and Tariq Owens is second with 34 total blocks. Owens is 20th nationally with 2.43 blocks per game and Culver is 54th with a 56.0 shooting percentage. The Red Raiders, who were unranked in the preseason polls, have now been ranked in seven straight polls. The team appeared in 14 AP polls last season and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, but would enter this season unranked through three weeks. The Red Raiders finished the 2017-18 season at No. 6 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and were in its Top-10 rankings seven times 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.
SERIES HISTORY: The Red Raiders and Sooners have split the last three seasons with the home team winning the last six matchups. OU has a 39-24 all-time advantage over TTU, but the Red Raiders are 16-13 at home against the Sooners. TTU earned an 88-78 win over OU on Feb. 13, 2018 in the last meeting between the two teams last season. The programs played for the first time on Dec. 27, 1944 with the Sooners earning a neutral-court win in Oklahoma City. Tuesday's game is the third straight game where both teams are ranked and the fifth overall time.
PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech sophomore Davide Moretti is coming off a career-high 19 points against Kansas State where he also matched a career-high with four rebounds. Moretti was 7-for-11 from the field with three 3-pointers. His week started by hitting a 3-pointer with two minutes remaining to give the Red Raiders a 55-54 lead at West Virginia before returning home and leading the team past the Wildcats. 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 14 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 9.4 points and 2.4 assists per game in his second season with the program. He had previously scored a career-high 17 points in wins over Southern Cal and Mississippi Valley State and has two games with six assists. Moretti made a career-high five 3-pointers in his 17-point performance against MVSU and has scored in double figures in four games.
Jarrett Culver leads the Red Raiders with 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game after going for 18 points and six rebounds in the win over West Virginia and then nine against KSU. Culver, who had nine and seven points against OU last season, scored all of his 18 points against the Mountaineers in the second half where he finished the game shooting 6-for-8 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line to lead to the Red Raiders to the win. A sophomore from Lubbock, Culver is on the Jerry West Award and Oscar Robertson Trophy watch lists and was a Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention Selection. He has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games, led the Red Raiders in scoring in 12, tops the team with 19 3-pointers and has scored over 20 points in six games. 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, who is shooting 56.0 percent from the field and 42.2 percent on 3-pointers, comes into the matchup against OU having scored 677 career points in 51 games as a Red Raider.
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. Mooney scored 14 points in both games last week against KSU and WVU and is averaging 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He is currently second in the Big 12 with 2.00 steals per game. 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 44.7 percent from the field this season, has scored in double figures in eight games and leads the team with 28 steals. An Odenton, Maryland native, Owens led the Red Raiders with eight rebounds and three blocks against KSU and also added nine points. He led the BIG EAST the past two seasons in blocked shots and currently third in the Big 12 with 2.43 blocks per game (34 total). He 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 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game after he also contributed four points and four rebounds last Wednesday against WVU where he would be limited to 12 minutes and foul out. He had a season-high 18 points against Southern Cal and has recorded the team's first double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in his eight-block performance against Memphis.
Odiase is in his fifth season at Texas Tech and has played in 104 games. He currently has 461 career rebounds after contributing three rebounds and two blocks at WVU and two blocks against KSU. A Fort Worth native, Odiase is averaging 4.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 62.5 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. Francis has played a valuable reserve role in his senior season and is coming off scoring eight points against West Virginia and UTRGV. 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 5.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for the Red Raiders after going for eight points and four rebounds in Morgantown but being held scoreless for only the second time this season against KSU after shooting 0-for-5. Francis had a 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.
Kyler Edwards leads the TTU reserves with 7.2 points per game to start his freshman season after scoring nine points with a 3-pointer and a 4-for-4 performance at the free-throw line last Saturday against KSU. A freshman from Arlington, he has scored nine or more points in seven games this season. He has recorded four double-digit scoring performances, including going off for a career-high 19 points against Northern Colorado where he went 7-for-7 from the field with four 3-pointers. He is shooting 46.8 percent from the field with 12 3-pointers. Texas Tech sophomore Deshawn Corprew had a career-night where he recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against UTRGV but has been held to two points at WVU and three against KSU in the start of conference play. Corprew, who made his first career start 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. He also pulled down four offensive and six defensive rebounds for a new career-high in rebounding. Corprew was limited to two points on 1-for-6 shooting in the Big 12 opener at WVU. A transfer from South Plains College, Corprew is averaging 6.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 55.7 percent from the field.Â
OU NOTES: The Sooners travel to Lubbock after earning a 74-64 win over Oklahoma State last weekend at home following a 70-63 loss at No. 5 Kansas. OU is 3-1 on the road this season and is currently averaging 75.4 points per game while opponents are scoring 66.2 on them through 14 games. The team is holding opponents to 37.5 percent shooting. Christian James leads the team with 17.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while Brady Manek is at 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. Miles Reynolds is adding 10.4 points with seven starts and seven games as a reserve and Aaron Calixte leads the team with 45 assist and is also scoring 8.7 points per game. Kristian Doolittle led the Sooners with 16 points and also had eight rebounds in the win over the Cowboys, while Manek had 15 and James recorded a 14/11 double-double. Doolittle comes to Lubbock averaging 8.1 points per game after his 16 on Saturday, while Jamal Bieniemy has 40 assists.
The Sooners will return to action this weekend when they host TCU at 1 p.m. in Norman.Â
COVERING THE RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech and WVU will be televised on ESPNews with David Saltzman and Reid Gettys 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.
FAN EXPERIENCE: Guests attending Texas Tech Athletics home events can now take advantage of fan friendly pricing at the concession stands. A total of six items will be available for $3 or less. Fans will be able to purchase a hot dog (previously $5), Nacho Grande (previously $8.50) and 46oz popcorn (previously $5) for $2 each. In addition, 20oz bottled water (previously $4), 16oz soft drinks, and candy (previously $4) can be purchased for $3 per item. In addition, all guests of the legal drinking age attending Red Raider and Lady Raider games in United Supermarkets Arena will be offered the opportunity to purchase a variety of beer and wine. Points of sales will be offered at all main concession stands as well as portable stations throughout the concourse. Fans will still be able to enjoy Club Red located on the east concourse of United Supermarkets Arena. Furthermore, beer and wine will now be available for purchase at Rip Griffin Park and Jones AT&T Stadium.
ÂNo fluff here. Just ?? from @CoachBeardTTU and @CoachLefevre in this week's #FiresideChat previewing our ?? game against @OU_MBBall on Tuesday here in Lubbock! #4To1
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 8, 2019
??@ParkerMcCollum @Coolio
??#WhereTheRedFernGrows pic.twitter.com/8KusWvI903
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