Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Rise To No. 14 Nationally
December 14, 2020 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Rising three spots following a four-game winning streak, the Texas Tech men's basketball team is back at No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and also No. 14 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. The Red Raiders were at No. 17 in both polls last week and were at No. 14 in the AP Preseason Top 25.
The Red Raiders (6-1) will begin Big 12 play this week by hosting No. 5 Kansas (6-1) at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Jayhawks remain at No. 5 in both polls for the second straight week after being at No. 7 in the first poll. Tech is 0-1 in top-25 matchups this season after falling to No. 6 Houston in a neutral-court matchup on Nov. 29 in Fort Worth. The Cougars were at No. 17 at the time and have leaped in the polls with a 4-0 record since the win.
Tech has run off wins over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (77-57), Abilene Christian (51-44), Grambling (81-40) and Troy (80-46) following its only loss of the season. Chris Beard is coming off a milestone win after reaching win No. 100 as the Tech head coach last Saturday and is now 100-45 leading the program. He was named the 2019 Associated Press National Coach of the Year and is a two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year.
Gonzaga remains the top-ranked team in the nation followed by Baylor, Iowa and Michigan State in the rankings followed by the Jayhawks and Houston. The Big 12 is also represented by West Virginia at No. 8 and No. 11 Texas. The Red Raiders were originally scheduled to play No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 19 in Phoenix at the Jerry Colangelo Classic but had the game canceled due to COVID-19 when the NCAA pushed the start of the season back.
Mac McClung leads the Red Raiders at 14.1 points per game and now has 22 assists after a season-high six assists in last Saturday's win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Terrence Shannon, Jr. led Tech with 15 points and seven rebounds in the victory and is now scoring 11.8 points per game, while Kyler Edwards is averaging 11.3 points and leads the team with 3.6 assists per. Marcus Santos-Silva has recorded two double-doubles and is coming off a game against the Islanders where he had 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Santos-Silva leads Tech with 10 blocks following a career-high four blocks in the win over Abilene Christian last Wednesday and then three more against A&M-Corpus Christi.
Texas Tech enters the week in the top-10 of three national categories and in the top-25 of 11. The Red Raiders lead the nation with 197 free throws attempted and are second with 133 made, while defensively the team ranks seventh by limiting opponents to only 51.6 points per game and are 18th with teams shooting only 35.5 percent. With four straight games of forcing 20 or more turnovers and having only committed four turnovers against Corpus Christi, the team's 8.4 turnover margin advantage ranks 11th throughout the nation and tops the Big 12. Tech is 12th nationally and leads the Big 12 with 60 steals, is 13th with 110 assists and 14th with 31 blocked shots.
The game against Kansas will be broadcasted on ESPN and will be followed by the first true road game of the season against Oklahoma on Tuesday, Dec. 22 in Norman, Oklahoma.
Â
The Red Raiders (6-1) will begin Big 12 play this week by hosting No. 5 Kansas (6-1) at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Jayhawks remain at No. 5 in both polls for the second straight week after being at No. 7 in the first poll. Tech is 0-1 in top-25 matchups this season after falling to No. 6 Houston in a neutral-court matchup on Nov. 29 in Fort Worth. The Cougars were at No. 17 at the time and have leaped in the polls with a 4-0 record since the win.
Tech has run off wins over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (77-57), Abilene Christian (51-44), Grambling (81-40) and Troy (80-46) following its only loss of the season. Chris Beard is coming off a milestone win after reaching win No. 100 as the Tech head coach last Saturday and is now 100-45 leading the program. He was named the 2019 Associated Press National Coach of the Year and is a two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year.
Gonzaga remains the top-ranked team in the nation followed by Baylor, Iowa and Michigan State in the rankings followed by the Jayhawks and Houston. The Big 12 is also represented by West Virginia at No. 8 and No. 11 Texas. The Red Raiders were originally scheduled to play No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 19 in Phoenix at the Jerry Colangelo Classic but had the game canceled due to COVID-19 when the NCAA pushed the start of the season back.
Mac McClung leads the Red Raiders at 14.1 points per game and now has 22 assists after a season-high six assists in last Saturday's win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Terrence Shannon, Jr. led Tech with 15 points and seven rebounds in the victory and is now scoring 11.8 points per game, while Kyler Edwards is averaging 11.3 points and leads the team with 3.6 assists per. Marcus Santos-Silva has recorded two double-doubles and is coming off a game against the Islanders where he had 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Santos-Silva leads Tech with 10 blocks following a career-high four blocks in the win over Abilene Christian last Wednesday and then three more against A&M-Corpus Christi.
Texas Tech enters the week in the top-10 of three national categories and in the top-25 of 11. The Red Raiders lead the nation with 197 free throws attempted and are second with 133 made, while defensively the team ranks seventh by limiting opponents to only 51.6 points per game and are 18th with teams shooting only 35.5 percent. With four straight games of forcing 20 or more turnovers and having only committed four turnovers against Corpus Christi, the team's 8.4 turnover margin advantage ranks 11th throughout the nation and tops the Big 12. Tech is 12th nationally and leads the Big 12 with 60 steals, is 13th with 110 assists and 14th with 31 blocked shots.
The game against Kansas will be broadcasted on ESPN and will be followed by the first true road game of the season against Oklahoma on Tuesday, Dec. 22 in Norman, Oklahoma.
Â
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballPostgame Press Conference: vs. Alabama (NCAA Tournament Second Round)
Monday, March 23
Press Conference: NCAA Tournament Second Round Preview
Saturday, March 21
Postgame Press Conference: vs. Akron (NCAA Tournament First Round)
Friday, March 20
A Round One Celebration
Friday, March 20