PREVIEW: at No. 17 West Virginia

Saturday, January 11

Morgantown, West Virginia

5 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

No. 17 West Virginia

January 09, 2020 | Men's Basketball

GAME NOTES BEARD SHOW TTSN RADIO LIVE STATS TTU CAREER STATS RANKINGS

No. 22 Red Raiders at No. 17 West Virginia | 5 p.m. (CST), Saturday | TV: ESPN | RADIO: TTSN

By: Wes Bloomquist

LUBBOCK, Texas – No 22 Texas Tech is set for its second ranked vs. ranked Big 12 matchup of the week when it travels to play No. 17 West Virginia at 5 p.m. (CST) on Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia at the WVU Coliseum. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN.

The Red Raiders (10-4, 1-1 Big 12) are coming off a 57-52 loss to No. 4 Baylor on Tuesday that snapped a 15-game home winning streak and 10-game conference win streak, while WVU (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) ran away with a 55-41 win at Oklahoma State on Monday following a 60-53 loss at No. 3 Kansas last Saturday. Tech, which opened conference play with an 85-50 win over OSU last Saturday, will be playing its second true road game of the season while the Mountaineers are playing their first home game since an 83-53 win over Nicholls State on Dec. 14. WVU is 6-0 at home, while Tech is 0-1 on the road after falling 65-60 in overtime at DePaul on Dec. 4. Texas Tech is currently 1-1 against ranked opponents this season with a 70-57 win over Louisville which was ranked No. 1 at the time of the Dec. 10 game in New York before the five-point loss to the Bears.

With a 73.7 winning percentage (182-65) as a NCAA coach, Chris Beard has the eighth best percentage among active coaches and is 86-35 at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are led in scoring by freshman Jahmi'us Ramsey (17.7 ppg.) and graduate transfer Chris Clarke who is at 8.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. Tech is scoring 75.1 points per game, is shooting 45.0 percent and is averaging 17.2 assist per game which ranks 11th nationally. The team, which has nine double-digit win margins, owns a 13.2 scoring margin of victory and is limiting opponents to just 35.9 percent shooting through two conference games. After holding OSU to 28.8 percent shooting and to 50 points last Saturday and Baylor to 4 of 13 on 3-pointers, Texas Tech is limiting opponents to 61.9 points per game and 39.4 percent shooting through 14 games.

GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and West Virginia will be broadcasted on ESPN with Rich Hollenberg and Fran Fraschilla 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.

POLLS: Texas Tech is ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 for the second straight week while moving up to No. 21 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and to No. 35 in the NCAA NET Rankings. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll for the best starting position in program history and have been as high as No. 11 in the second week of this season. The team dropped out of the polls after a pair of losses to Iowa and Creighton at the Las Vegas Invitational before reentering after the 13-point victory over top-ranked Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Beard is 21-11 against ranked opponents as Tech's head coach.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: The Red Raiders come into the second weekend of Big 12 play ranked 11th nationally and second in the conference with 17.2 assists per game and leading the conference with 229 free throws made. Tech has assisted on 241 of its 362 shots this season after having 13 assists against Baylor. Tech's single-season program record for assists is 19.50 per game during the 1994-95 season. The team is 27th nationally and third in the conference with a 1.28 assist-to-turnover ratio and third in the B12 by scoring 75.1 points per game and winning by a 13.2 scoring margin. The team's defense is currently holding opponents to 39.4 percent shooting which ranks fifth. Individually, Davide Moretti leads the Big 12 at 92.2 percent (47 of 51) this season and is the NCAA active career leader at 91.3 percent (168 of 184). Chris Clarke is second in the Big 12 with 82 total assists and 5.9 assists per game, while his 2.65 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third in the conference and 25th nationally. Due to missing four games with injury, Jahmi'us Ramsey is not accounted for in the official stat rankings but would be second in scoring at 17.7 points per game behind only Devon Dotson who leads the conference with 18.6 points per game for Kansas. His 48.3 percentage on 3-pointers is the best in the conference with Desmond Bane (TCU) at 43.7 percent.

SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech went 2-1 against West Virginia last season by sweeping the regular season series before falling 79-74 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championships. The Red Raiders earned their first-ever win in Morgantown with a 62-59 win on Jan. 2, 2019 led by 18 points from Jarrett Culver and 12 from Davide Moretti. Tech would follow that win with an 81-50 win at home for what was the largest conference margin of victory before last Saturday's 35-point win over Oklahoma State with Moretti scoring 11 points in that game. TTU and WVU began their series in the 2005 NCAA Sweet 16 with the Red Raiders falling 65-60 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Mountaineers lead the all-time series with a 13-5 advantage, including going 6-1 at home against the Red Raiders. With Beard on the sidelines, the two programs have split the last eight matchups.

RANKED vs. RANKED: Texas Tech is 17-21 all-time in ranked vs. ranked matchups in program history after the loss to Baylor. The Red Raiders were 6-3 in the matchups last season, including going 2-1 in conference games with home wins over Oklahoma and Kansas and a road loss at KU. Beard is 21-11 against ranked opponents at Tech after the win over Louisville which is the first top-ranked opponent win in program history. In ranked vs. ranked matchups, Texas Tech is 1-10 on the road with its only win coming at Kansas on Jan. 2, 2018.

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 1,435-1,117 all-time after its loss to Baylor on Tuesday.

PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 89 games (68 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. Clarke is second in the Big 12 with 5.9 assists and seventh with 8.6 rebounds per game this season while also scoring 6.9 points per game. A grad transfer from Virginia Tech, Clarke has scored 825 points, secured 638 rebounds and has 292 assists through 93 games played in his career. He was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 23, 2019 after a double-double for the week against Southern Miss and UTRGV. Clarke leads Texas Tech with two double-doubles this season, six games with double-digit rebounding performances and has flirted with obtaining a triple-double in multiple games. His double-doubles came with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Miss after going for 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa.

Through 14 games, Clarke has 82 assists which is the 37th most in the nation and has him approaching program marks. Matt Mooney led the Red Raiders with 126 assists through 38 games played last season which is the 15th most for a single-season in program history. John Roberson holds the all-time season record at Tech with 212 by averaging 6.42 assists per game in the 2008-09 season. The only triple-double in Texas Tech history came from Mark Davis who had 28 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists against Texas on Feb. 20, 1994. Davis finished his career with 19 double-doubles which is the sixth most in program history.

Holyfield is the most experienced player on the roster having started 115 games in his career. A grad transfer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, he started his career by playing three seasons at SFA before sitting out last year with an injury. He transferred to Tech having already scored 1,081 points and is now at 1,217 points, 666 rebounds and 147 blocks in his career. Holyfield is averaging 9.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders and leads the team with 14 blocked shots through 14 starts this season. He scored 17 points in the win over Oklahoma State where he also had seven rebounds before finishing the Baylor game with five rebounds and five points. He scored a season-high 21 points against Houston Baptist after having 20 against Bethune-Cookman to secure Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 11. Holyfield had a season-high nine rebounds against UTRGV and currently leads the Red Raiders by shooting 58.4 percent from the field, highlighted by going 9 of 10 against HBU and 8 of 11 against BCU.

Jahmi'us Ramsey and Terrence Shannon, Jr. are emerging as one of the most electric freshmen duo in the conference with the duo accounting for 32.2 percent of the team's scoring. A guard from Arlington, Ramsey leads the Red Raiders with 17.7 points per game and is also adding 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 steals through 10 games played. He is coming off a 20-point performance against Baylor where he scored 14 points in the second half with four 3-pointers. He finished the game shooting 5 of 10 on 3-pointers and leads the Red Raiders by shooting 48.3 percent from beyond the arc (28 of 58) this season. He also had five 3-pointers against LIU and is 13 of 21 from beyond the arc in the past three games after hitting four against CSU Bakersfield and Oklahoma State. Ramsey, who has scored 20 or more points in four games this season, missed four games this season due to a hamstring injury he suffered with 10 minutes remaining against Iowa and returned against UTRGV on Dec. 21. He scored 15 points in his return against the Vaqueros and then went off for 20 against CSU Bakersfield before opening conference play. Ramsey has led the team in scoring in seven of the 10 games he's played in this season, including his career-high 27 against Long Island and going for 25 against Houston Baptist. Prior to the start of the season he was named an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection and then earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 25 after his scoring explosion against LIU where he was 10 of 16 from the field with a career-high five 3-pointers.

Through two Big 12 games, Ramsey is averaging 19.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game to start conference play. He is shooting 46.4 from the field, 52.9 percent on 3-pointers and has four assists and four steals in the games against OSU and Baylor.

Shannon is averaging 11.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders through 14 where he has started each game this season. He led the Red Raiders with seven rebounds against Baylor after a game against Oklahoma State where he scored 13 points and had five rebounds. Shannon leads Tech 53 free throws made which ranks fourth in the conference and his 84.1 percentage is sixth. He scored a career-high 24 points at DePaul in the team's only true road game to this point after going 9 of 18 from the field and also hitting four free throws. Shannon was limited to four points against Baylor for his lowest scoring performance in a season where he has scored in double digits in eight games. A guard from Chicago, Shannon also added eight rebounds in his hometown return against DePaul to start a streak of four straight double-figure scoring performances. He finished the game on Saturday against Oklahoma State going 5 of 7 from the field and provided five rebounds. He had a season-high nine rebounds against Iowa in Las Vegas and was 8 of 9 from the free-throw line against Southern Miss where he scored 18 points. Shannon leads the Red Raiders with 53 free throws made and is shooting 84.1 on free-throws 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.

Moretti is scoring 12.8 points per game and is tied with Ramsey for the team lead with 28 3-pointers made this season. A junior from Italy, he scored eight points in the loss to Baylor after going for 13 against Oklahoma State where he hit two 3-pointers. For his career, Moretti has made 127 3-pointers (39.8 percent) and is the NCAA active career leader at 91.3 percent (168 of 184) from the free-throw line. He is currently leading the Big 12 at 92.2 percent this season where he is 47 of 51 after going 2 of 3 against Baylor. He is 10th nationally with Bryson Robinson (New Orleans) leading the nation at 96.7 percent. Moretti scored a career-high 23 points earlier this season against Creighton in an overtime loss and has scored in double figures in 10 of 14 game this season and in 37 games in his career. A 6-foot-2 guard, he was named an All-Big 12 Third Team selection last season and came into this year on the Bob Cousy Award Watch List.

Kyler Edwards comes into the game against WVU averaging 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game after going for 10 points against Baylor on Tuesday night. A sophomore from Arlington, Edwards had a career-high four blocked shots in the game against the Bears and now has 19 total blocks through 52 games in his career. He has started all 14 games this season after playing a reserve role in all 38 last season as a freshman where he averaged 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in his first season. Edwards hit two 3-pointers against Baylor and now has five games this season with two or more 3-pointers in a game. He is third on the team with 18 3-pointers made and with 47 total assists. A 6-foot-4 guard, Edwards scored a career-high 20 points against CSU Bakersfield where he had three 3-pointers and was 7 of 9 from the free-throw line and has scored in double figures in eight of 14 games this season. His previous career-best game came last season against Northern Colorado where he had 19 points after shooting 7 of 7 from the field with a career-high four 3-pointers. He had a career-high eight rebounds against Creighton earlier this season in Las Vegas and matched a career-best with six assists against Long Island.

Avery Benson and Kevin McCullar have provided the Red Raiders a spark from the bench through 14 games of the season. Benson is averaging 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game, including a career-high 10 points in the win over then-No. 1 ranked Louisville where he hit the first shot of the game for the Red Raiders with a 3-pointer and also had a blocked shot at the halftime buzzer. A redshirt sophomore from Arkansas, Benson finished the game against the Cardinals shooting 3 of 3 from the field and is currently shooting 63.2 percent for the season. He played in 20 games last season during the historic run. McCullar matched a career-high with 10 points in the win over UTRGV after he went 3 of 4 from the field and 4-for-5 at the free-throw line in 16 minutes of play. Last Saturday against OSU, McCullar scored seven points in eight minutes of play in his first Big 12 game. A redshirt freshman from San Antonio, McCullar is averaging 3.9 points per game and is also providing 1.9 rebounds. He also had 10 points in the win over Long Island and had a career-high five rebounds in the win over Louisville at Madison Square Garden.

Texas Tech is currently 8-2 with the starting rotation of Holyfield, Moretti, Edwards, Shannon and Ramsey.

OPPONENT 14: West Virginia is coming off a 55-41 win over Oklahoma State on Monday where it limited the Cowboys to 29.2 percent shooting from the field and 1 of 20 on 3-pointers after falling 60-53 against No. 3 Kansas in Lawrence last Saturday. The Mountaineers are currently 6-0 on their home court this season and also an impressive win over No. 11 Ohio State (then No. 2) on Dec. 29 in a game played in Cleveland. WVU leads the Big 12 by limiting opponents to 35.7 percent from the field and 23.5 percent on 3-pointers, while it is holding teams to 60.36 points per game with seven opponents scoring under 60 points.

Oscar Tshiebwe leads WVU with 12.2 points and is adding 9.3 rebounds per game to start his freshman season, while sophomore Derek Culver is at 9.8 rebounds and 10.4 points per game. A 6-foot-9 forward, Tshiebwe scored 12 points and had eight rebounds against the Cowboys and Culver had 12 rebounds and nine points in the win. Miles McBride, a freshman guard who is at 9.2 points per game in a reserve role, added 10 points against OSU and leads the team with 32 assists after dishing out three in Stillwater. WVU is also getting 9.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game from Jermaine Haley and 8.2 points per game from sophomore Emmitt Matthews, Jr. who led the Mountaineers with 28 points in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinal matchup last season against the Red Raiders. Tshiebwe is currently ninth in the conference with 1.14 blocked shots per game. In the team's conference opener at Kansas, Tshiebwe led the team with 17 points and 17 rebounds, while McBride had 13 points in 20 minutes off the bench.

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 86-35 record coming into the game against Baylor. 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 14 wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 182-65 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.

A NEW SHINE: Through nine 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. Newcomers are accounting for 65.2 percent of the team's scoring and 71.7 percent of rebounds this season.

ATTENDANCE: Under coach Beard, Texas Tech has seen attendance soar over the past four years and is currently drawing 13,928 fans per game this season which is the most in Texas, the second best in the Big 12 and is 18th nationally. The Red Raiders have sold out three games at 15,098 capacity this season in games against Baylor, Eastern Illinois and Bethune-Cookman. In the state of Texas, Tech's attendance is followed by Texas which is drawing 9,264 to the Frank Erwin Center in Austin which ranks 42nd nationally, Baylor (7,231), Houston (6,623), Texas A&M (6,513), TCU (6,073) and UTEP (5,843). Prior to Beard's hiring, Texas Tech averaged 8,418 fans in the 2015-16 season. That figure grew to 9,027 in his first season, to 10,740 in the second year and was at 12,098 last season. The program record for season attendance is 13,743 in the 2001-02 campaign. Tech sold out four games last season and 11 times during the Beard era.

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 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 is now with the Memphis Hustle in the G-League, while Owens established a new program single-season record with 92 blocked shots and is with Odiase on the Northern Arizona Suns (G-League). 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.

RADIO SHOW: The Chris Beard Radio Show will make its debut at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 at Rudy's and will once again be hosted by Geoff Haxton. Show dates for the season are Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6 and Feb. 13.

WE PUBLISHED A BOOK: The story of the 2018-19 season has been chronicled in a commemorative book titled Raider Power: Texas Tech's Journey From Unranked to the Final Four. The Texas Tech Athletic Communications Office produced book is filled with images from our photographers and stories from throughout the season. The book is available online and in stores. It is published by the TTU Press.

UP NEXT: Texas Tech will travel to play Kansas State (7-7, 0-2 Big 12) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at the Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. The Red Raiders and Wildcats were Big 12 Co-Champions last season with the teams going 14-4 in the regular season and splitting the home-and-away series with the home team winning each game. KSU leads the all-time series 24-18, but under Beard the Red Raiders are 4-2 against the Wildcats coming into the matchup. Kansas State plays at TCU on Saturday in Fort Worth before returning home to host the game.