PREVIEW: at No. 3 Kansas

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech and No. 3 Kansas will match up for the first time this season in a 3 p.m. Big 12 showdown on Saturday at the Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.

The Red Raiders (13-7, 4-3 Big 12) are coming off an 89-81 win over West Virginia on Wednesday night where they matched a season-high with 11 3-pointers and also went 28 of 32 from the free-throw line, while the Jayhawks (17-3, 6-1 Big 12) are on a five-game winning streak following a 65-50 win at Oklahoma State on Monday. KU is currently 9-1 on its home court and Tech is 1-3 in true road games. Davide Moretti scored a career-high 25 points in the win over WVU after hitting four 3-pointers, while Terrence Shannon, Jr. went for 23 with a 12 of 14 performance from the line and Jahmi'us Ramsey went for 21 points with his third game of the season with five 3-pointers. The Red Raiders had three players score 20 or more points in a game for the first time since Jan. 11, 2017 against Kansas when Keenan Evans had 25, Niem Stevenson went for 22 and Zach Smith scored 21 in an 80-79 loss at the USA. As an unranked team, the Red Raiders are 2-0 against ranked opponents after also earning a 70-57 win over Louisville which was at No. 1 in the Dec. 10 matchup at the Jimmy V Classic in New York.

With a 73.1 winning percentage (185-68) as a NCAA coach, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard has the ninth best percentage among active coaches and is 89-38 at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are led in scoring by freshman Jahmi'us Ramsey (15.3 ppg.) who is sixth in the Big 12 and graduate transfer Chris Clarke who is at 7.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game along with a 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio which all rank in the top-10. Beard was named the 2019 AP National Coach of the Year and the 2018 and 2019 Big 12 Coach of the Year. Texas Tech leads the Big 12 with 16.3 assists per game, 326 total assists and 17.20 turnovers forced per game. The Red Raiders rank 19th nationally in turnovers forced and 20th in assists per game. The team is limiting opponents to 63.5 points per game and has limited nine opponents to 60 or fewer points.
Texas Tech and Kansas have split their last four matchups, including the Red Raiders earning their first ever win in Lawrence two seasons ago with an 85-73 win on Jan. 2, 2018. Tech is coming off a 91-62 win over KU in the last matchup last season in Lubbock led by 26 points from Jarrett Culver and 11 from Davide Moretti. Kansas leads the all-time series by a 35-6 margin and the two teams will play again in the regular-season finale on March 7 in Lubbock.

GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and West Virginia will be broadcasted on ESPN with Bob Wischusen and Dick Vitale 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.

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 and NCAA National Championship Final for the first time in program history. 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.

POLL REPORT: Texas Tech dropped out of the national rankings after being ranked for six straight weeks in the Associated Press Top 25. Tech is at No. 38 in the NCAA NET Rankings. Tech, which was at No. 18 in last week's poll, fell out after the pair of losses last week. The team has been ranked in 10 of 13 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. Texas Tech is 2-4 against teams currently ranked with wins over WVU and Louisville and losses to No. 1 Baylor, No. 12 WVU, No. 13 Kentucky and No. 18 Iowa.

PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 95 games (71 wins) with the Red Raiders, sophomore Kyler Edwards, a dynamic freshmen class 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 a career-high 25 points against West Virginia after hitting four 3-pointers and going 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. He is the NCAA active leader at 91.3 percent from the free-throw line where he is now 190 of 208 in his career. A guard from Italy, Moretti is sixth nationally at the line this season at 92.0 percent (69 of 75) including going 22 of 24 in the last five games. He was 4-for-5 on 3-pointers against the Mountaineers and now leads Tech with 45 made 3-pointers this season and has made 144 in his career. Moretti comes into this weekend's game at Kansas having scored 840 points in his career and with 15 games in double-scoring this season, including a previous career-high of 23 points in the overtime loss to Creighton. Moretti has started 57 straight games for the Red Raiders after a sophomore season where he started all 38 and averaged 11.5 points per game, shot 49.8 percent from the field, 45.9 percent on 3-pointers and led the nation at 92.4 percent. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 18 of 20 games this season and in 70 of 95 games in his career. Moretti was named to the 2019 All-Big 12 Third Team and earned the NCAA Elite 90 Award last season before being selected to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List prior to the start of this season.

Clarke ranks second in the Big 12 with 5.6 assists per game, is third with a 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio and is eighth with 7.8 rebounds per game. Selected as the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, Clarke leads Tech with two double-doubles coming with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa and 14 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Miss. A 6-foot-6 guard from Virginia Beach, Clarke is in his first season at Texas Tech after playing three seasons at Virginia Tech. He is coming off a game against West Virginia where he had seven assists and six rebounds following having seven rebounds and five assists in the game against Kentucky. He's averaging 6.3 points per game this season, including a season-high 17 against Creighton in Las Vegas. A graduate transfer, he has scored 853 points, has 673 rebounds and 322 assists in his career. He scored a season-high 17 points against Creighton and leads the Red Raiders 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 leads the Red Raiders with six games in double-figure rebounding, while he's had 11 games with five assists or more. At Virginia Tech, Clarke recorded the first triple-double in program history with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against the Citadel and scored a career-high 22 points in games against Florida State and UMBC during his sophomore season. He's currently 40th nationally with 112 total assists.

Ramsey scored 20 or more points for the fifth time through the first 16 games of his freshman season after going off for 21 points in the win over WVU. A guard from Arlington, Ramsey leads the Red Raiders and is sixth in the Big 12 by averaging 15.3 points per game this season. He scored a career-high 27 points in a non-conference win over Long Island where he was 5 of 6 on 3-pointers, finished with 20 points against Baylor by going 5-for-10 on 3-pointers and then hit five 3-pointers for the third time by making 5 of 8 against WVU for his 21-point performance. Ramsey was an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection prior to the start of the season and then earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 25 after his 27-point performance against LIU. He is also averaging 4.6 rebounds per game this season with a career-high nine against Bethune-Cookman and five against WVU. Ramsey missed the final 10 minutes against Iowa and then four straight games due to an injured left hamstring, but has started in the last 10. He is averaging 14.1 points per game in Big 12 play and has also provided 23 steals and 11 blocked shots this 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.

Holyfield is the most experienced player on the team with 121 collegiate games played and having started all 121. A 6-foot-8 forward from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holyfield is averaging 10.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders this season after playing three seasons at SFA. He missed the 2018-19 season due to injury before deciding to make the move to Lubbock as a graduate transfer. He has started all 20 games this season and is coming off a game against WVU where he scored 11 points and had a season-high four blocked shots. He leads Tech with 1.1 blocked shots per game with six games with two or more. For his career, Holyfield has scored 1,253 points, pulled down 691 rebounds and has 155 blocked shots. He scored a season-high 21 points against Houston Baptist after having 20 in the prior game against Bethune-Cookman in a week that earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors on Nov. 11. Along with leading the team in blocks, he also tops Tech by shooting 53.6 percent from the field.

Edwards comes into the matchup against Kansas averaging 11.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, including going off for a career-high 24 points at Kansas State on Jan. 14 and then dropping 22 on Iowa State two weeks ago. A guard from Arlington, Edwards is averaging 12.6 points per game in Big 12 play and had 18 points and seven rebounds last Saturday in the overtime loss to Kentucky. He is coming off being limited to a season-low five points against West Virginia after getting into early foul trouble and fouling out for the second time this season. Edwards hit a career-high five 3-pointers in his 22-point performance against Iowa State and is currently third on the team with 29 3-pointers made this season. A reserve in all 38 games as a freshman, Edwards has started all 20 this season where he has recorded 11 double-digit scoring performances and had a career-high nine rebounds in the first matchup against West Virginia. Edwards, who averaged 5.5 points per game as a freshman, has now scored 444 points through 58 games in his career and has helped the Red Raiders to 44 victories. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Jan. 20 after averaging 23.0 points per game in the wins over Kansas State and Iowa State.

Shannon scored the second most points in his freshman season Wednesday night when he had 23 against the Mountaineers by going 12 of 14 from the free-throw line and also went 5 of 8 from the field. A guard from Chicago, Shannon was 1-for-1 from beyond the arc in the game and has now made six 3-pointers this season and leads the Red Raiders with 76 made free throws (84.4 percent). He has scored in double figures in 12 of 18 games played, including going off for 24 points in his hometown return against DePaul on Dec. 4. In the overtime game against DePaul, Shannon was 9 of 18 from the field and 4-for-5 at the free-throw line. He comes into his first matchup against Kansas averaging 12.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, including averaging 12.2 through his first five conference games after missing two due to injury. Shannon is shooting 45.9 percent from the field and has pulled down five or more rebounds in eight games after leading Tech with seven rebounds against the Mountaineers to go along with his 23 points. He has scored in double figures in four straight games, including going for 12 points against Kentucky and 11 in the win over Iowa State. Shannon was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 16 after his performance against DePaul and scoring 13 in the win over Louisville in non-conference play.

Avery Benson and Kevin McCullar continue providing sparks from the bench for the Red Raiders with McCullar averaging 4.2 points per game after scoring six against Kentucky and Benson at 2.4 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 19 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 2.1 rebounds per game to go along with his scoring and also has 18 steals. McCullar missed Wednesday's game against WVU due to injury. He's currently shooting 46.9 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 was coming off a game against Iowa State where he had three points, but was held scoreless in the past two games against TCU and Kentucky. He has a Big 12-high of five points at WVU in the first matchup where he also provided four rebounds in 18 minutes. Benson played in 20 games last season and is currently 8 of 17 (47.1 percent) on 3-pointers and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line this year. Two players on the Tech roster have not played this season with Joel Ntambwe having his NCAA transfer request denied and Tyreek Smith missing all 18 games due to injury. Ntambwe averaged 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game at UNLV as a freshman last season before deciding to transfer to Tech. He scored a career-high 31 points against Wyoming last year where he started all 31 games and recorded four double-doubles.

Texas Tech is currently 9-3 with the starting rotation of Holyfield, Moretti, Edwards, Shannon and Ramsey. The starting five of Holyfield, Clarke, Moretti, Edwards and Ramsey had started the four games before Shannon returned to the starting five against Kentucky last Saturday.

KANSAS NOTES: KU sophomore Devon Dotson leads the conference by averaging 18.0 points per game this season and has also added 82 assists and 41 steals. Udoka Azubuike is leading the Jayhawks with 9.5 rebounds per game and is also providing 12.8 points per game, while Ochai Agbaji is scoring 10.5 ppg. and has 30 steals. Along with Azubuike and Agbaji, Marcus Garrett has started all 20 games this season and is at 9.3 points per game and leads KU with 92 assists. The Jayhawks are scoring 76.0 points per game and are limiting opponents to 60.4 ppgs and 37.3 percent shooting. KU has reeled off five straight wins over Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas State, Tennessee and Oklahoma State. Their lone loss came to Baylor in a 67-55 decision on Jan. 11 in Lawrence.

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 89-38 record coming into the game at Kansas. 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 11 wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 185-68 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.

A NEW SHINE: Through 13 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. Burnett was named to the McDonald's All American Games on Jan. 23 to become the first player in Red Raider history to earn the honor. 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) and then the 76-74 overtime decision against Kentucky, Texas Tech is now 51-52 all-time in overtime contests and 4-6 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 Oklahoma at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

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Players Mentioned

Brandone Francis

Avery Benson

Chris Clarke

Jarrett Culver

Kyler Edwards

TJ Holyfield

Kevin McCullar

Matt Mooney

Davide Moretti

Joel Ntambwe

Norense Odiase

Tariq Owens

Jahmi'us Ramsey

Terrence Shannon, Jr.

Tyreek Smith