PREVIEW: at Iowa State

LUBBOCK, Texas – The fight will come down to the final round.

No. 8 Texas Tech can clinch its first-ever Big 12 Conference Championship on Saturday with a win at Iowa State at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa after earning a 71-50 win over Texas on Monday to control their own destiny. The Red Raiders (25-5, 13-4 Big 12) are currently tied atop the Big 12 standings with Kansas State (23-7, 13-4 Big 12) going into the regular season's final day. The Wildcats will host Oklahoma at 5 p.m. on Saturday in Manhattan, Kansas.

Texas Tech, which is on a program-best eight-game conference winning streak and 20.4 margin of victory in those games, is playing for its first conference title since winning the Southwest Conference's regular-season championship in 1996. The program has won 12 regular-season titles in its history, six in the SWC era and six Border Conference championships. Along with conference title aspirations, the Red Raiders are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak at Iowa State with their last win in Ames coming in 2011. The Cyclones handed Tech its only home loss this season, a 68-64 decision on Jan. 16 at the United Supermarkets Arena. ISU is coming off a 90-75 loss to West Virginia on Wednesday and is currently 12-3 at home this season and 5-3 in conference play on its home court.

UP NEXT: The Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Championship is set for next week at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, starting on Wednesday with two first-round matchups. The title game is at 5 p.m. on Saturday to determine the Big 12 Conference tournament champion. The Red Raiders will be making their 23rd appearance at the Big 12 Championship and are 14-22 at the tournament. Tech earned a 73-69 win over Texas in the quarterfinals last season before dropping a 66-63 semifinal matchup against West Virginia. The Red Raiders went on to advance to their first-ever NCAA Elite Eight in the national tournament.

PROGRAM MILESTONE: Texas Tech has established a new program record by winning its 12th conference game of the season on Saturday at TCU before taking that total to 13 with the win over the Longhorns. The Red Raiders broke the previous mark of 11 games that was established last season and also set a new mark by winning seven conference games in a row. Before the last two seasons, Tech had recorded 10 conference wins in the 2004-05, 2001-02 and 1996-97 seasons. The Red Raiders have now won 25 games or more overall four times in program history after earning the win over the Longhorns. The team won 27 games last season, 25 in the 1975-76 season and set the program record with 30 wins in the 1995-96 season. Tech reached the 20-win milestone with its victory over Oklahoma State and has now recorded 20 wins in a season 13 times in program history. The team went 27-10 last season and has now had back-to-back 20-win years for the first time since the 2003-04 and 2004-05 under head coach Bob Knight.

POLLS/RANKINGS: Texas Tech is back in the top-10 at No. 8 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll. The ranking matches the highest this season that they were at in Week 10 and 11. The Red Raiders are also at No. 10 in the NCAA NET Ranking and ESPN Power Rankings coming into the final game of the regular season. Tech has now been ranked in 15 straight polls after entering the season unranked. The Red Raiders, who were coming off a season where they advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, first made their poll debut this season in the Week 4 at No. 20 and have climbed as high as No. 8 in Weeks 10 and 11 before dropping back and now making their way back. The highest nationally ranking in program history came last season at No. 6.

Along with national polls, Texas Tech leads the nation to 36.5 percent shooting and is third by holding opponents to 58.2 points per game this season. During the eight-game winning streak the Red Raiders have beat West Virginia (81-50), Oklahoma (66-54), Oklahoma State (78-50), Baylor (86-61), Kansas (91-62), Oklahoma State (84-80), TCU (81-66) and Texas (70-51) to improve their scoring margin to 14.7 for the season which is ninth nationally. Tech is 10th nationally by limiting opponents to 29.6 percent shooting on 3-pointers, 31st with 15.67 turnovers forced per game and a plus-3.3 turnover margin. The team is first in the Big 12 with 4.9 blocks per game (146 total), second with a 71.6 free-throw percentage and a 36.6 shooting percentage on 3-pointers and is third with 216 total steals. Individually, Davide Moretti leads the nation by shooting 93.0 percent from the free-throw line after going 80-for-86 coming into Saturday's game at Iowa State. Tariq Owens is 13th nationally with 72 blocked shots after having three against Texas and TCU to extend his streak of having at least one block in every game this season. Owens is a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist and leads the conference with 2.40 blocked shots per game. His 72 blocks established a new all-time record at Tech for a single season, passing Tony Battie who set the single-season record with 71 blocks in the 1996-97 season. Jarrett Culver is third in the Big 12 with 17.9 points per game, second with 112 free-throws made and sixth with 110 assists, while Matt Mooney is currently second in the conference with 1.67 steals per game (50 total).

SERIES HISTORY: Iowa State leads the all-time series by a 20-14 margin after its win in Lubbock earlier this season. The Cyclones have won seven straight over the Red Raiders in Ames coming into Saturday's regular-season finale. Tech has not won at ISU since a 92-83 win on Jan. 26, 2011. The two program have split their regular-season series in three of the past four years with the Cyclones sweeping the two games in the 2016-17 campaign. The series began on Dec. 8, 1955 with the Cyclones taking a 72-52 win in Ames.

COVERING TECH: The Red Raiders and Cyclones will be featured on ESPNews with Chuckie Kempf and Bryndon Manzer on the call. 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.

COACH NOTES: Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard has been named a Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Late Season candidate and is now 70-29 in three seasons at the Red Raider coach after the win against the Longhorns. Beard was named the Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year last season and led the program to its first-ever NCAA Elite Eight appearance in his second year.

ELITE DEFENSE: Texas Tech has allowed only three opponents to score over 70 points limited 11th opponent under 55 points with the Longhorns only going for 51. Opponents are averaging just 59.2 points per game during eight-game winning streak and have been limited to 36.2 percent shooting from the field and 35.1 percent on 3-pointers. Texas was held to 29.6 percent shooting in the game which made them the sixth opponent this season to shoot under 30 percent against the Red Raiders.

FAST STARTS: Texas Tech has led at halftime by double-digits in eight of its last 10 games: at TCU (+18), Oklahoma State (+10), Kansas (+25), Baylor (+13), at Oklahoma State (+19), at Oklahoma (+11), West Virginia (+15) and TCU (+16). The only discrepancy during the stretch is a nine-point lead over Texas and a 20-point halftime deficit at Kansas.

MAINTAINING POSSESSION: Texas Tech has a plus-4.1 turnover margin advantage during the course of its eight-game winning streak. The Red Raiders have forced 118 turnovers by their opponents during those games and have only lost 85 possessions. For the season, TTU has a plus-3.3 turnover margin advantage which leads the Big 12 and is 25th nationally. Tech committed only seven turnovers against Texas and OSU after eight against KU during the stretch of wins. The team has four games with only four turnovers in conference play and had a season-low six turnovers in the non-conference win over Northern Colorado.

3-POINT BARRAGE: Texas Tech matched a program record with 16 3-pointers in the win over the Jayhawks after making 12 in the two games at Oklahoma State and against Baylor. The 3-point explosion started by making 10 at Oklahoma. The Red Raiders are 78-for-182 (42.9 %) on 3-pointers during the eight-game winning streak. Tech has seven games this season with 10 or more 3s, including four of the last seven games after going 9-for-18 on 3-pointers against Texas.

HOME DOMINANCE: Texas Tech matched a program record by going 17-1 at home this season and is 50-5 at home under Chris Beard the past three seasons. In Big 12 play, the Red Raiders finished the year with an 8-1 record on their home court this season and are 22-5 during the Beard era. Tech is currently 93-75 in conference play and 248-90 all-time at the United Supermarkets Arena since the first game on Nov. 19, 1999. The Red Raiders went 9-0 this season at home in non-conference play to extend a 47-game non-conference home winning streak. The Red Raiders pushed that total to 47 with a 67-64 win over Arkansas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 26. They will go into next season on a seven-game home winning streak with the only loss this season coming in a 68-64 loss to Iowa State on Jan. 16.

ROAD SHOW: Texas Tech is currently 5-3 on the road in conference play after earning wins at TCU, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. On the road in Big 12 play, the Red Raiders have secured wins over West Virginia, Texas, OU, OSU and TCU.

PLAYER NOTES: Jarrett Culver has scored 951 points in his career and leads the Red Raiders with 17.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season after going for 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win over Texas. He is positioned to become the first player to reach 1,000 points as a freshman-sophomore in program history and would be the 42nd player in program history to reach the milestone. His 16.8 points per game in Big 12 play currently ranks as the program's fifth most. Culver was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season last Monday after going for 26 points against Kansas and followed it by recording his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Oklahoma State. A sophomore from Lubbock, he scored 15 points last Saturday in the win over TCU. Culver, who is third in the Big 12 in scoring behind only KU's Dedric Lawson (19.0) and Iowa State's Marial Shayok (18.6), had his first double-double of the season by going for 23 points and 13 rebounds in the first matchup against Oklahoma and his second double-double of the season with a career-high 16 rebounds and 20 points in the first matchup against Iowa State. Culver has led the team in scoring in 21 of 30 games and is currently averaging 16.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and has 54 assists in conference play. Culver is a Jerry West Award finalist and is on the John R. Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy and Lute Olson Award watch lists. He 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 29 of 30 games and is shooting 48.0 percent from the field overall and 43.1 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 for the first time this season after the performance and followed it by going to New York and scoring 25 points against Duke. He has scored in double figures in 16 straight games and has 19 assists in the past four games.

Davide Moretti is 11-for-15 from beyond the arc in the past four games after going 3-for-3 on 3-pointers in the win over Texas. During the eight-game winning streak, Moretti is 21-for-33 (63.6 percent) on 3-pointers and is 29-for-30 at the free-throw line. He currently leads the nation by shooting 93.0 percent at the free-throw line after going 80-for-86. He led Texas Tech with 20 points after going 12-for-12 from the free-throw line and 2-for-2 on 3-pointers at Oklahoma State and followed it by scoring 15 points at TCU with three more 3-pointers. Moretti, who also had five assists at TCU, has made 16 free throws in a row and is 21 of 22 at the line in the past five games. Moretti, who is currently averaging 12.8 points and 2.1 assists in conference play, scored 10 points with two 3-pointers in the first game against the Cyclones. Moretti recorded a career-high 21 points against Arkansas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge after going 6-for-9 from the field with three 3-pointers. He's currently shooting 52.6 percent on 3-pointers in conference play and is 58-for-123 from beyond the arc this season. His 58 3-pointers are the most since Toddrick Gotcher hit 62 in the 2015-16 season, while the single-season record is 94 from Cory Carr who made 94 in the 1996-97 season. Moretti has scored in double figures in 15 of 17 Big 12 games this season and now has 468 points through 67 games in his career. He has started all 30 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 11.3 points and 2.6 assists per game in his second season with the program. He has also 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 16 games this season and 18 in his career. He currently leads TTU with his 58 3-pointers and is shooting 47.2 percent from beyond the arc which ranks second in the conference.

After losing five seniors off last season's NCAA Elite Eight team, Texas Tech remained 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 was advanced to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award Semifinalist Watch List. Mooney and Owens were on the original list, making TTU the only team with two members on the list of 15.

Owens became the Red Raider single-season block leader on Monday after having three blocks against Texas. He comes into this weekend with 72 blocks this season which passed Tony Battie who had 72 in the 1996-97 season. He had a season-high 13 rebounds at TCU and added 12 points for his third double-double of the year before having five rebounds and three blocks against the Longhorns. He had seven points and three blocks in the first game against the Cyclones. Owens has scored in double figures in five of six games and has averaged 9.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game during the winning streak. He secured his second double-double of the season two weeks ago by scoring 12 points and adding 10 rebounds in the first matchup at Kansas and has at least one blocked shot in all 30 games this season. An Odenton, Maryland native, he had one of his best offensive games of the season after scoring 17 points in the first matchup against TCU where he was 7-for-9 from the field, including going 2-for-2 on 3-pointers in the first matchup between the two teams. Owens is currently averaging 9.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots through 17 conference games. He has 40 blocks in Big 12 play and is fourth in the conference with a 59.4 shooting percentage. Owens, who led the BIG EAST in blocks the past two seasons while playing at St. John's, 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. 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. Owens transferred to Tech after playing his freshman season at Tennessee and then two years at St. John's. He came to Lubbock with 179 blocked shots and now has 251 in his career.

Mooney has recorded 22 assists in the last four games and is coming off a game where he scored 15 points and had four assists in the win over Texas. His conference season has been highlighted by scoring a season-high 22 points at Texas where he was 8-for-10 from the field with three 3-pointers and has scored in double-figures in 10 conference games this season. He now has three games in his collegiate career with five 3-pointers and has 34 3-pointers this season for the Red Raiders. Through 17 conference games, he is now averaging 11.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 3.0 assists per game in Big 12 play. 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 43.9 percent from the field this season, has scored in double figures in 16 games and leads the team with 50 steals after having 15 during the eight-game winning streak. Mooney transferred to Tech having recorded 1,480 points, 166 steals and 228 assists at Air Force and South Dakota. He now has 1,801 points, 216 steals and 324 assists in his collegiate career.

Odiase has made 103 career starts as a Red Raider and is currently averaging 6.4 rebounds per game during the eight-game winning streak. He had back-to-back double-digit rebounding performances with 11 rebounds at OU after having 10 against West Virginia and is coming off a three-block performance against Texas. He had a season-high nine points against the Mountaineers and has played in 117 career games going into the regular-season finale in Ames. The career resume boasts 549 rebounds, 591 points and 74 blocked shots in his career as a Red Raider that includes two trips the NCAA tournament. A Fort Worth native, Odiase is averaging 4.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in his senior season and is shooting 57.0 percent from the field. He had his first career-high 13 rebound performance in the win over Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 13 after a 10-rebound game 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 and currently has 86 rebounds and 20 blocks in conference play. He had five rebounds and four points in the first game against ISU.

Francis went for 12 points and four rebounds on his Senior Night on Monday after hitting two 3-pointers against Texas. He's currently averaging 6.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game and has made 34 3-pointers this season. Francis, who has scored in double-figures in four conference games this season, had six points with two 3-pointers in the first game against the Cyclones. A reserve in 29 of 30 games this season with an average of 23.4 minutes per game, Francis had a streak of seven straight games with a 3-pointer end last Wednesday against OSU but has made three in the past two. 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. Francis scored 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 376 points in 67 games in his career for the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech sophomore Deshawn Corprew was 5-for-6 from the field with 12 points in the win at TCU and followed it by recording seven points and six rebounds in the win over Texas. He was coming off a game where he scored seven points against OSU and was 2-for-2 on 3-pointers against KU. During the eight-game winning streak, Corprew is 23-for-34 from the field and 8-for-16 on 3-pointers. He is averaging 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this season, including averaging 7.5 in the past eight. Corprew did not play in the game against ISU. A transfer from South Plains College, 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. Kyler Edwards is averaging 5.7 points and 1.3 assists per game in his freshman season. He recorded a career-high six assists and added eight points in the win over OU and is shooting 32.4 on 3-pointers in conference play. He has scored nine points in two conference games so far, first in the home game against KSU and then against Iowa State before going 3-for-3 from the field for eight points in Norman. A guard 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. Avery Benson scored a career-high five points against Baylor after recording a career-high three steals in 11 minutes against WVU, while Parker Hicks scored a career-high with five points against the Mountaineers. Hicks was 2-for-4 from the field, including hitting one of the eight 3-pointers by the Red Raiders in the 31-point win. Last Monday, the Tech basketball program announced that freshman Khavon Moore will not play in any remaining games this season and will seek a medical hardship.

IOWA STATE: The Cyclones lead the Big 12 by averaging 78.0 points per game and with a 48.0 shooting percentage, but have dropped five of their last seven games coming into Saturday. ISU has lost two straight, first an 86-69 loss at Texas before falling to the Mountaineers on Wednesday in Morgantown, West Virginia. ISU is looking to be the only team to sweep the Red Raiders this season.

Marial Shayok leads the Cyclones and is second in the conference with 18.7 points per game, but did miss the game at WVU with injury. A senior from Ottawa, Ontario, he scored 20 points with three 3-pointers in the first game against the Red Raiders and is averaging 17.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in conference play this season. Shayok had 22 points against Texas last Saturday before missing the game at WVU. Lindell Wigginton led the Cyclones with 17 points and six rebounds against the Mountaineers and is now averaging 13.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Talen Horton-Tucker, Michael Jacobson and Nick Weiler-Babb have started all 30 games this season while Tyrese Haliburton has started 29 along with Shayok. Jacobson leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game but was limited to only one in 21 minutes at WVU. Weiler-Babb went for 10 points, four assists and five rebounds in the game.

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We'll do it together. #4To1

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— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) March 6, 2019

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Players Mentioned

Brandone Francis

Avery Benson

Deshawn Corprew

Jarrett Culver

Kyler Edwards

Parker Hicks

Matt Mooney

Khavon Moore

Davide Moretti

Norense Odiase

Tariq Owens

Texas Tech University Athletics