PREVIEW: at TCU

Tuesday, January 21

Fort Worth, Texas

7 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

TCU

January 20, 2020 | Men's Basketball

GAME NOTES Big 12 Now on ESPN+RADIO BROADCAST RANKINGS CAREER STATS

No. 18 Red Raiders at TCU | 7 p.m., Tuesday | Fort Worth, Texas - Schollmaier Arena | TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | RADIO: TTSN

By: Wes Bloomquist

LUBBOCK, Texas – Round six of the 18-round Big 12 fight takes No. 18 Texas Tech to Fort Worth to play TCU at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Schollmaier Arena.

The Red Raiders (12-5, 3-2 Big 12) are on a two-game winning streak after earning a 72-52 win over Iowa State and a 77-63 road win at Kansas State last week, while TCU (12-5, 3-2 Big 12) have dropped two in a row after losses at Oklahoma and West Virginia. Tech is 1-2 in true road games this season and the Horned Frogs are 10-2 at home.
Texas Tech comes into the week 18th in the nation with 16.5 assists per game, 25th with a 12.2 scoring margin advantage and 30th by holding opponents to 61.6 points per game. The Red Raiders lead the conference with 280 total assists, 268 free throws made and 17.41 turnovers forced per game. The team is holding opponents to 39.6 percent shooting with is 50th in the nation and five in the conference and also third in the Big 12 with a 1.19 assist-to-turnover ratio. With a 73.6 winning percentage (184-66) as a NCAA coach, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard has the eighth best percentage among active coaches and is 88-36 at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are led in scoring by freshman Jahmi'us Ramsey (15.5 ppg.) who is sixth in the conference and graduate transfer Chris Clarke who is at 8.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game which both rank in the top-10. Clarke is currently 41st nationally in assists (97 total) and 34th with a 2.43 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Davide Moretti is eighth nationally with a 91.5 percentage at the free-throw line. Kyler Edwards was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 23.0 points per game last week, including scoring a career-high 24 at Kansas State and then dropping 22 with a career-best five 3-pointers last Saturday against Iowa State.

GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and TCU will be broadcasted on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Mark Neely and Lance Blanks and on the Texas Tech Sports Network's flagship station Double T 97.3 in Lubbock with Geoff Haxton and Chris Level. Fans can also find the game on any streaming device by using the ESPN app and can follow the game at @TexasTechMBB.

SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech owns an 83-51 all-time advantage in the series, including going 33-30 in Fort Worth. The Red Raiders have swept the last two years and are 5-1 against TCU under Beard. Tech earned an 81-66 win over the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth on March 2, 2019 in the last with Moretti and Jarrett Culver leading the Red Raiders with 15 points. Moretti hit three 3-pointers in the game as Tech improved to 12-4 in conference play with the victory.

POLL REPORT: Texas Tech is nationally ranked for the sixth straight week after being slotted No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 along with coming in at No. 25 in the NCAA NET Rankings. Tech, which was at No. 23 in last week's poll, moved up five spots after the wins over KSU and ISU. The team has now been ranked in 10 of 12 polls this season, including starting at No. 13 in the preseason ranking for the highest point in program history following its run to the NCAA National Championship Final last season.

PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 92 games (70 wins) with the Red Raiders, dynamic freshmen and graduate transfers Chris Clarke and TJ Holyfield who bring experience to a team that lost four starters and the leading reserve off last year's historic team. Moretti is coming off scoring 17 points against Iowa State with 14 in the second half and is now averaging 13.3 points per game this season with 38 made 3-pointers and a conference-leading 91.5 percentage at the free-throw line (54 of 59). A junior from Italy, Moretti is now tied for the NCAA active career lead with Miami's DJ Vasiljevic at 91.1 percent by shooting 175 of 192. Vasiljevic is 112 of 123 in his career while Louisville's Ryan McMahon is third at 90.6 percent. Moretti scored a career-high 23 points earlier this season in an overtime loss to Creighton in Las Vegas and has recorded 13 double-figure scoring performances this season and 40 in his career. He leads the team with his 38 3-pointers this season and is seventh in the Big 12 at 38.4 percent from beyond the arc. Moretti made a career-high five 3-pointers against Mississippi Valley State last season and had a season-high four 3-pointers at West Virginia two weeks ago. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 15 of 17 games this season and in 67 of 92 games in his career. Moretti comes into the game against TCU having scored 792 points in his career and shooting 44.0 percent from the field, 40.3 percent on 3-pointers and the 91.1 percentage from the line.

Clarke is second in the Big 12 with 5.71 assists per game and eighth in the conference at 8.0 through 17 games with the Red Raiders. A grad transfer who started his career by playing three years at Virginia Tech, he has scored 843 points and has 653 rebounds and 307 assists in 96 games played in his career. He is averaging 6.8 points per game for the Red Raiders this season with a high of 17 against Creighton and is coming off a game against ISU where he had four assists and four points. A guard from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Clarke had a career-high 11 assists against Houston Baptist and leads Tech with two double-doubles coming with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa before going for 14 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Miss. He has two games this season with 12 rebounds against Louisville and Tennessee State and has led the team in rebounding in 12 games. Clarke has made seven starts this season and is averaging 28.9 minutes played per game. He comes into this week having recorded nine games with five or more assists and with back-to-back games with four assists against KSU and ISU.

Kyler Edwards is coming off the best week of his career after scoring a career-high 24 points in the win at Kansas State and then knocking down a career-high five 3-pointers with 22 points in Saturday's victory over Iowa State. For the week, Edwards went 8 of 10 on 3-pointers and was 15 of 23 from the field for the Red Raiders. He has now scored 20 or more points in three games this season and has scored in double figures in 10 games. A sophomore from Arlington, Edwards had a previous season-high of 20 points in the non-conference with 20 points against CSU Bakersfield and came into this season after scoring 19 last year as a freshman against Northern Colorado. In that game against Northern Colorado, Edwards was 7-for-7 including hitting four 3-pointers which were the most in his career until he hit five on Saturday against the Cyclones. Edwards played a reserve role in all 38 games last season as a freshman where he averaged 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. He has started every game this season and is averaging 12.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists through 17 games. Along with his scoring output, Edwards had a career-high nine rebounds at West Virginia three games back. He comes into the matchup at TCU having scored 412 points, securing 161 rebounds and with 93 assists in his career.

Jahmi'us Ramsey leads the Red Raiders and is sixth in the Big 12 by scoring 15.5 points per game through 13 games played in his freshman season. A guard from Arlington, Ramsey was an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection before playing a game and earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 25 after scoring a career-high 27 points against Long Island where he went 10 of 16 from the field with five 3-pointers. He hit five 3-pointers for the second time this season against Baylor in a 20-point scoring performance and has already scored in double figures in 10 games this season. On Saturday, Ramsey was held to seven points by the Cyclones after he scored 10 at Kansas State. He is also averaging 4.8 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders with a season-high nine rebounds coming in the win over Bethune-Cookman in the second game of the season when he scored 13. Along with being sixth in the conference in scoring, Ramsey is second in the Big 12 by shooting 42.3 percent on 3-pointers where he has started the season at 30 of 71 from beyond the arc. Along with two games with five 3-pointers, he has also hit four 3-pointers in games against CSU Bakersfield and Oklahoma State and has two games with three 3-pointers. His 15.5 points per game average is bolstered by the 27 against LIU and 25 against Houston Baptist. The game at TCU will be his first as a collegiate player back in the DFW area after he helped lead Duncanville HS to the Class 6A State Championship last season.
For a season, Texas Tech has only been led in scoring by two freshmen with Jordan Tolbert averaging 11.5 points per game in the 2011-12 season and Rick Bullock who had 13.8 ppg. in 1972-73.

Terrence Shannon, Jr. returned from a two-game absence due to injury to score 11 points and have four rebounds last Saturday against Iowa State. A freshman from Chicago, Shannon is averaging 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game with 14 starts. He came off the bench for the first time this season against the Cyclones and played 24 minutes. Shannon scored a season-high 24 points earlier this season in his hometown return when the Red Raiders played at DePaul. In the overtime loss, Shannon was 9 of 18 from the field and also had eight rebounds. He had a season-high nine rebounds against Iowa and has pulled down five or more rebounds in seven games. Along with his 11 points against ISU, Shannon started conference play with 13 points against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 opener for the Red Raiders. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 16 after scoring the 24 points at DePaul and also 13 points against Louisville at Madison Square Garden where he was 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. He currently leads Tech with 56 made free throws where he is shooting 84.8 percent in his freshman season.

Holyfield is the most experienced player on the roster having played and started in 118 games in his collegiate career. A grad transfer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holyfield played three seasons at SFA before sitting out last season due to injury. He joined Tech during the summer and is currently averaging 8.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He leads the Red Raiders with 17 blocked shots after having three on Saturday against Iowa State to go along with four rebounds. Holyfield scored a season-high 21 points against Houston Baptist where he was 9 of 10 from the field a game after dropping 20 on Bethune-Cookman by shooting 8 of 11. He's currently shooting 54.4 percent from the field to lead the team, including going 7-for-10 from the field with two 3-pointers for 17 points in the conference opener against Oklahoma State. Through 118 games in his career, Holyfield has scored 1,227 points, secured 676 rebounds and has 150 blocked shots. On the glass, he recorded a season-high nine rebounds against UTRGV and has 11 games with five or more rebounds.

Avery Benson and Kevin McCullar continue providing sparks from the bench for the Red Raiders with McCullar averaging 4.2 point per game and Benson at 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. A redshirt freshman from San Antonio, McCullar graduate high school early and enrolled at Texas Tech in the 2019 spring semester where he redshirted last season. He has played in a reserve role in all 17 games this season and has scored 10 points in games against Kansas State, UTRGV and Long Island. A 6-foot-6 guard, he is averaging 2.2 rebounds per game to go along with his scoring and also has 16 steal. Last Tuesday at KSU, McCullar matched his career-high by going 3 of 6 from the field and also knocked down four free throws. He's currently shooting 45.6 percent from the field and had a season-high five rebounds in the wins over Louisville and KSU. Benson, who is in his third year at Texas Tech, is a redshirt sophomore from Arkansas who scored a career-high 10 points against Louisville by going 3-for-3 from the field with a 3-pointer. He is coming off a game against Iowa State where he had three points and has a Big 12-high of five points at WVU. Benson played in 20 games last season and is currently 7 of 7 from the free-throw line this year.

Texas Tech is currently 8-2 with the starting rotation of Holyfield, Moretti, Edwards, Shannon and Ramsey. The starting five of Holyfield, Clarke, Moretti, Edwards and Ramsey has started the past three games.

OPPONENT 18: TCU comes into this week with the identical record of the Red Raiders at 12-5, 3-2 but on a two-game losing streak. The Horned Frogs, who lead the conference with 4.71 blocked shots and 9.53 3-pointers made per game, dropped an 83-63 decision on Saturday to Oklahoma after being limited to 22.2 percent shooting on 3-pointers and seeing the Sooners shoot 53.7 percent and hit 11 3-pointers. Desmond Bane leads TCU with 16.6 points per game, 59 assists and 28 steals this season. A senior from Indiana, Bane led the Horned Frogs with 12 points and five assists against OU but was held to 2 of 10 on 3-pointers. Bane is currently averaging 15.4 points per game through five conference games and currently ranks third in the conference in scoring. RJ Nembhard is second on the team with 12.7 points per game and has 55 assists, while Kevin Samuel leads TCU with 8.4 rebounds per game and with 45 blocked shots. A 6-foot-11 sophomore from Barbuda, Samuel is scoring 10.5 points per game and is coming off a 10 point, five rebound performance in Norman. In Big 12 play, Samuel has a 15-rebound, 10 point performance against Kansas State on his resume along with going for 16 points and nine rebounds against Iowa State. He's currently sixth in the conference in rebounding. Jaire Grayer is adding 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game from the starting lineup, while Franciso Farabello has contributed 48 assists in a reserve role.

TCU is currently 10-2 on its home court with conference victories over Iowa State in overtime and Oklahoma State. The Horned Frogs are shooting 43.1 percent from the field, 35.3 on 3-pointers and are scoring 69.8 points per game while limiting opponents to 62.8 points per game. They scored a season-high 98 points in a win over Louisiana and held Oklahoma State to 40 points.

PROGRAM MARKS: Texas Tech is coming off its winningest season in program history after going 31-7 and 14-4 in Big 12 play last year. The Red Raiders won the Big 12 regular-season championship before advancing to the Final Four for the first time in program history. The program is now 1,437-1,118 all-time after its wins over Kansas State and Iowa State last week. Tech is 8-2 in the NCAA Tournament over the past two years after making the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight and reaching the NCAA National Championship Final. The 8-2 mark is the best in the nation over that span.

TEXAS TECH COACHING STAFF: The Red Raiders are led by head coach Chris Beard who is in his fourth season. Beard was named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year last season along with earning Big 12 Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Beard has led the Red Raiders to an 88-36 record coming into the game against Kansas State. Beard is joined on the coaching bench by assistant coaches Mark Adams, Brian Burg and Ulric Maligi, Tim MacAllister (Chief of Staff), Bob Donewald (Player Development), Sean Sutton (Executive Advisor), John Reilly (Strength & Conditioning), Mike Neal (Athletic Trainer) and graduate assistants Casey Perrin, Ronald Ross, Matt Temple, Elliott De Wit, Khristian Smith, Joey Kuhl, Rusty Grafel and Mike Fallone, Jr. Adams was named the TABC Assistant Coach of the Year last season for his role in helping Beard and the Red Raiders reach the national championship final. Burg was listed by The Athletic as one of the top rising assistants in the game as he enters his fourth season at Tech and fifth with Beard after also being at Little Rock with Beard and Adams. Maligi is in his first season at Texas Tech after working at Texas A&M last year. Neal is also new to the program, joining the Red Raiders after working at Little Rock where he was also a player before going into athletic training. Adams and Burg were previously on Beard's staff at Little Rock along with athletic trainer Mike Neal who is in his first season at Tech. MacAllister was named to the NABC 30 Under 30 list after last year and enters his second season with the Red Raiders. Along with being 13 wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 184-66 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.

A NEW SHINE: Through 12 weeks, Texas Tech has already had four different players earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Week with Chris Clarke most recently after his performances against Southern Miss and UTRGV where he averaged a double-double. The weekly award has gone to TJ Holyfield (Nov. 11), Jahmi'us Ramsey (Nov. 25), Terrence Shannon, Jr. (Dec. 16) and Clarke (Dec. 23). The Red Raiders, who have 10 newcomers and three returners on the roster, are the only team in the conference to have three or more players receive a weekly award.

SPANNING THE GLOBE: The Red Raiders are represented by eight players by five international players: Moretti (Italy), Nadolny (France), Ntambwe (Congo), Savrasov (Russia) and Tchewa (Cameroon). The program his two players from Arlington, Texas in Kyler Edwards and Jahmi'us Ramsey, Kevin McCullar is from San Antonio and four from out of state: Avery Benson (Arkansas), TJ Holyfield (New Mexico), Tyreek Smith (Louisiana) and Terrence Shannon, Jr. (Illinois). Ntambwe will redshirt this season after having his transfer waiver denied by the NCAA, while Smith has not played his season after suffering an injury during the preseason.

SIGNING CLASS: Beard announced the signings of Chibuzo Agbo, Nimari Burnett and Micah Peavy to their national letter of intent for the 2020-21 academic year on November 13. The trio of talented recruits is ranked No. 5 nationally by Rivals.com and join a program that has advanced to the 2018 Elite Eight and to the 2019 NCAA National Championship Final over the past two season. Agbo signs with Texas Tech as a 4-star prospect by Rivals and 247Sports after being named the 2019 Western League Player of the Year playing for Saint Augustine High School. He enters his senior season as the 2019-20 San Diego Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 20 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and shooting 42.0 percent on 3-pointers as a junior. He is currently ranked No.70 by 247Sports and No. 87 nationally by Rivals. Agbo chose Texas Tech over USC and was also recruited by Arizona, Cal, San Diego State and Marquette. Burnett, who was named to the 2020 Naismith High School Award Watch List, is the highest rated recruit to sign in Texas Tech basketball history with a 5-star ranking by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. A Chicago, Illinois native, Burnett is ranked No. 19 nationally in the 2020 signing class by ESPN, No. 22 by Rivals and No. 28 in the 247Sports rankings. Peavy helped lead Duncanville High School to a Class 6A State Championship last season as a junior where he averaged 16 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He signs with Texas Tech as a 4-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports and is the No. 2-ranked prospect in Texas according to Mike Kunstadt's Texas Hoops. Peavy is the No. 32-ranked player in the nation by ESPN and No. 34 by Rivals.

DEPARTURES: Texas Tech was tasked with following the winningest team in program history that is now without Jarrett Culver, Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens, Brandone Francis and Norense Odiase. Culver declared for the NBA Draft after his sophomore season and was selected No. 6 overall. After leading the Red Raiders with 18.5 points per and 6.4 rebounds per game and earning Big 12 Player of the Year and Consensus All-America honors, Culver is now on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mooney was the team's third leading scorer behind Culver and Moretti and signed a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 15 after playing with the Memphis Hustle in the G-League, while Owens established a new program single-season record with 92 blocked shots and was with Odiase on the Northern Arizona Suns (G-League) before signing a two-way contract on Jan. 15 with the Suns. Francis was a member of the 2018 Elite Eight run and 2019 runner-up team and is on the Iowa Wolves roster. Along with players from last year's team, Max Lefevre is now with the Timberwolves working in video and athletic trainer Chris Williams joined the Timberwolves and Iowa Wolves athletic training staff.

OVERTIME GAMES: With back-to-back overtime losses against DePaul (65-60) and Creighton (83-76), Texas Tech is now 51-51 all-time in overtime contests and 4-5 under coach Beard. The Red Raiders were 1-1 in overtime last season with an 84-80 overtime win over Oklahoma in conference play before falling 85-77 in overtime to Virginia in the championship final. Tech has had back-to-back overtime games twice now under Beard after falling to West Virginia and Iowa State in the 2016-17 season on Feb. 18 and 20. The program has had four occasions of back-to-back overtime games with the only time that three straight games have gone to overtime coming in the 1984-85 season against Nebraska, Colorado and New Mexico State.

UP NEXT: Texas Tech will host No. 15 Kentucky at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders are currently on a 54-game non-conference home winning streak and are 0-4 all-time against the Wildcats with the last matchup coming in 1994.

On a tear, and recognized for it.

Congrats, @K_edwards__!

??#4To1 | #WreckEm?? pic.twitter.com/eqkX8g4AhY
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 20, 2020