
RED RAIDER PREVIEW: at No. 4 Baylor
March 01, 2020 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will begin the final week of the regular season with a road game against No. 4 Baylor at 8 p.m. on Monday at the Ferrell Center in Waco.
The Red Raiders (18-11, 9-7 Big 12) are looking to respond from dropping a pair of games against Oklahoma and Texas last week, while the Bears (25-3, 14-2) are coming off a 75-72 road loss at TCU last Saturday. Baylor earned a 57-52 win over Tech back on Jan. 7 in Lubbock in the second game of the conference season. The programs have split the regular-season series against each other the past four years with BU last sweeping the home-and-away format in the 2015 season. Tech leads the all-time series with an 80-59 advantage, but is 29-36 all-time in Waco.
Texas Tech will finish the regular season by hosting No. 1 Kansas at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders earned a 70-57 win over then No. 1-ranked Louisville on Dec. 10 at the Jimmy V Classic in New York for the program's first victory over a top-ranked team. Tech is 1-2 this season against top-10 teams.
With a 72.5 winning percentage (190-72) as a NCAA coach, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard has the 11th best percentage among active coaches and is 94-42 leading the Red Raiders. Beard, who was an assistant coach at Texas Tech for Bob Knight and Pat Knight from 2001-11, has led the Red Raiders to a 13-3 record at home this season and to a 63-8 record at home over the past four years. Under Beard the past three seasons, Tech is 14-6 in the month of March. The Red Raiders are led in scoring by Ramsey (15.5 ppg.) who is fifth in the Big 12 and graduate transfer Chris Clarke who is at 6.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game along with a 2.05 assist-to-turnover ratio which all rank in the top-10 within the Big 12. Davide Moretti is second on the NCAA active career leader list in free-throw percentage at 90.4 percent (209 of 231) and leads the Big 12 this season at 89.8 percent (12th nationally). Beard was named the 2019 AP National Coach of the Year and the 2018 and 2019 Big 12 Coach of the Year.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Texas Tech leads the Big 12 by shooting 35.9 percent on 3-pointers (209 of 582) after hitting seven against Texas and with 16.38 turnovers forced (20th nationally) and 15.4 assists per game (24th nationally). The Red Raiders are second in the conference with a 1.12 assist-to-turnover ratio, a 45.3 shooting percentage, 75.6 free-throw percentage, scoring 72.4 points per game, a 2.7 turnover margin and are third with 7.9 steals per game. Defensively, Tech is limiting opponents to 63.2 points per game which ranks fifth in the conference and is holding teams to 40.9 percent shooting. Individually, Ramsey is fifth in the conference at 15.5 points per game which is the 12th most for a freshman nationally. He leads the Big 12 by shooting 42.6 percent on 3-pointers (55 of 129), is fifth at 44.6 percent from the field (141 of 316) and is 11th with 1.40 steals per game. Moretti ranks 12th nationally by going 88 of 98 from the free-throw line this season, while Clarke is third in the Big 12 in assists per game (4.7) and ninth with his 6.5 rebounds per game.
BIG 12 STANDINGS: Texas Tech is in third place in the Big 12 standings with two regular season games remaining before the start of the Big 12 Championships in Kansas City. With their 9-7 conference mark, the Red Raiders are behind No. 1 Kansas (15-1) and No. 2 Baylor (14-2) in Big 12 play and are ahead of Texas and Oklahoma who are both at 8-8. Tech split its regular-season series with Texas, WVU (7-9), Oklahoma State (5-11) and Oklahoma and swept Iowa State (5-11) and Kansas State (2-14). The Red Raiders will complete the regular season by hosting the Jayhawks at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and Baylor will be broadcasted on ESPN with Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla and Holly Rowe 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 follow the game at @TexasTechMBB.Â
PROGRAM MARKS: Texas Tech experienced its best season in program history after going 31-7 overall 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 and an appearance in the NCAA tournament this season would be the first time in program history that the Red Raiders have made the tournament three straight seasons.
POLLS: Texas Tech dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 Poll after beging at No. 22 last week and is at No. 23 in the NCAA NET Rankings after its loss to the Longhorns. Baylor fell back to No. 4 following its loss at TCU. The Bears were also ranked No. 4 in the first matchup against the Red Raiders this season. Tech has been ranked in 12 of 18 weeks after starting the season ranked No. 13 in the preseason poll for the highest ranking in program history coming into a season. Kansas comes in at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 after its win over Baylor on Saturday that moved the Bears back to No. 2 followed by Gonzaga, Dayton and San Diego State to round out this week's top-5. West Virginia is at No. 20 this week to give the conference four ranked teams in the poll. The Red Raiders, who have been as high as No. 11 this season, are 2-6 this season against teams currently ranked, including earning a 70-57 win over Louisville (ranked No. 1 at time) and splitting with West Virginia.
PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 104 games (76 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.
Ramsey was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the third time this season on Monday, Feb. 24 after going for 25 points in the win over Iowa State where he also had a career-high seven assists and is coming off a game against Texas where he led Tech with 13 points and six assists. He leads the Big 12 by shooting 42.6 percent on 3-pointers and is fifth in scoring at 15.5 points per game. A freshman from Arlington with 387 total points this season, Ramsey is currently 55-for-129 on 3-pointers and has made at least two in the past eight of the past 10 games and in 15 games overall. A 6-foot-4 guard, he has scored in double-figures in 20 of 25 games played this season with a Big 12-high coming at Kansas where he scored 26 by going 5-for-8 on 3-pointers after scoring 21 against West Virginia by also connecting on 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc. Ramsey, who scored 20 points in the first matchup against Baylor, has hit five 3-pointers in four games this season and had a previous career-high four assists at Oklahoma State where he also scored 14 points. He was named an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection coming into the season before earning three weekly awards so far this year. Ramsey scored a career-high 27 points in a win over Long Island where he hit five 3-pointers for the first of four times this season and has already scored 20 or more points in seven of 25 games played. He missed four games due to a left hamstring injury he suffered with 10 minutes remaining against Iowa, but has started 19 straight games since his return. In conference play, Ramsey is averaging 15.1 points per game and is at 13.8 points per game in the past five games.
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.
A guard from Italy, Moretti is averaging 12.9 points per game after going for 11 points with three 3-pointers against the Longhorns. He was limited to a season-low three points at Oklahoma last Tuesday after going 1-for-5 from the field with one 3-pointer. In his third season at Tech, he has scored 940 career points with 163 made 3-pointers and going 209-for-231 from the line. He's averaging 12.6 points per game through 16 conference games this season with a career-high 25 points against West Virginia after dropping 15 against Kentucky in the final non-conference game on the schedule. Moretti has started 67 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 27 of 29 games this season and in 79 of 104 games in his career. Moretti, who was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team on Feb. 20 for the second straight year and to the Big 12 All-Academic First Team, 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. Before his career-high 25-point performance in the home win West Virginia, Moretti had a career-best 23 points earlier this season against Creighton where he made three 3-pointers. His free-throw prowess is highlighted by him going 12-for-12 from the line last season against Oklahoma State, an 8-for-8 showing to help knock off Louisville and then 9-for-9 display against the Mountaineers. Moretti has led Tech in scoring eight times this season and 13 times in his career. In the first matchup against Baylor this season, Moretti scored eight points after going 0-for-6 on 3-pointers. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 15 straight games since not making one against the Bears. He currently ranks ninth all-time in program history with the 163 3-pointers made in his career and is only 60 points shy of 1,000.
Edwards is averaging 11.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game after being limited to five points and three rebounds in the loss against the Longhorns. He has recorded four assists in four of the past six games. A sophomore from Arlington, he has started all 29 games this season after playing a reserve role in all 38 as a freshman where he averaged 5.5 points per game. This season, more than doubling that average, Edwards has scored in double figures in 16 games with a career-high 24 points in the first matchup at Kansas State where he went 9-for-14 from the field with three 3-pointers before going 5-for-6 on 3-pointers in the 22-point performance in the first matchup against the Cyclones. He earned Big 12 Player of the Week after the two-game stretch and is currently averaging 12.2 points per game through the first 16 conference games. He now has three or more assists in 18 games with a career-high six at No. 3 Kansas and had a career-high nine rebounds at West Virginia. As a freshman, he scored a season-high 19 points after going 7-for-7 from the field with four 3-pointers against Northern Colorado and then had 12 points against Virginia in the NCAA National Championship Final. He's currently scored 20 or more points three times this season and is at 551 points for his career, including scoring 10 points in the first matchup against Baylor with two 3-pointers.
Holyfield is averaging 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and is sixth in the Big 12 with 1.6 blocked shots per game after having 27 in the past 11 games (45 total). He had five rebounds and five points in the first matchup against Baylor. At Iowa State, he had four blocked shots and scored 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting but is coming off a game against Texas where he was limited to three points and one blocked shots. A grad transfer from SFA, Holyfield has scored 1,337 points in his career where he has played and started in 130 games. He has recorded three or more blocks in eight games this season with four in games against Kansas and West Virginia before having three against OU and then the season-high five in the first matchup against Texas. Holyfield matched a season-high with 21 points in the home game against OU when he went 8-for-12 from the field and was 2 of 2 on 3-pointers after scoring 19 at Kansas with a season-high three 3-pointers. He leads the Red Raiders with a 53.7 shooting percentage after going 4-for-5 against the Wildcats and 3-for-4 at ISU for a week where he was 7-for-9. He was limited to five points at Oklahoma after going 2-for-7 before going just 1-for-2 against Texas. Along with scoring 21 against OU, he also had 21 in a non-conference win over Houston Baptist and 20 against Bethune-Cookman. Those performances earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 11, 2019. In Big 12 play, Holyfield is averaging 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Clarke, who scored his conference-high with 11 points at Oklahoma to go along with six rebounds last Tuesday, is a grad transfer who played three seasons at Virginia Tech before transferring to Texas Tech. He led Tech with five rebounds and had four points in the loss to Texas. He is averaging 6.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 5.6 points per game for the Red Raiders and comes into this week having scored 886 points, securing 700 rebounds and contributing 341 assists through 107 games in his collegiate career. A guard from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Clarke leads the Red Raiders with two double-doubles this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa and then 14 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Miss. He recorded a career-high 11 assists in the win over Houston Baptist. Clarke, who was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 23 after averaging a double-double in wins over Southern Miss and UTRGV, has led Tech in rebounding 15 games this season with a high of 12 coming against Tennessee State and Louisville. He had five rebounds, four assists and five points in the first matchup against Baylor.
Shannon scored 10 points and had five rebounds in 20 minutes of play against Texas last Saturday and is now averaging 10.1 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game. A freshman guard from Chicago, Shannon is second on the team with 85 free throws made (82.5 percent) and has scored in double figures in 14 of 27 games played. He scored a career-high 24 points in his hometown return at DePaul on Dec. 4 where he was 9-for-18 from the field, hit two 3-pointers and was 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. Shannon scored a conference-high 23 points in the home win over West Virginia after going 12-for-14 from the free-throw line and also making 5 of 8 shots from the field. He had a season-high 11 rebounds at Kansas and also had eight points against the Jayhawks. Shannon was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 16, 2019 after scoring 18 points against Southern Miss and 13 in the win over Louisville. He comes into the second matchup against Baylor averaging 8.2 points per game in conference play. Shannon had seven rebounds in the first matchup against the Bears, but was limited to four points. Â Â
Kevin McCullar has started the past four games and is coming off scoring 12 points against Texas after going for a team-leading 13 points against Oklahoma where he also had five rebounds and three assists. He recorded a career-high with 11 rebounds and also had six points at Iowa State after he made the first start of his career against Kansas State where he scored nine points and led the Red Raiders with six rebounds. McCullar, who is averaging 11.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in the past five games, was coming off a career-high 15 points at Oklahoma State where he was 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. A redshirt freshman from San Antonio, McCullar graduated 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 23 games this season before starting the past four games and is averaging 5.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game for the season. Prior to his career-high 15 points in Stillwater, McCullar had scored 10 points in games against Kansas State, UTRGV, Long Island and TCU where he was 3-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. A 6-foot-6 guard, he had a career-high two blocked shots against the Longhorns three weeks ago in the nine-block game by the Red Raiders. He's currently shooting 49.2 percent from the field (58-for-118) after going 5-for-6 against Texas. After his 11-rebound performance on Saturday, he has led the team in rebounding in five games this season.
Avery Benson, who is in his third year at Texas Tech and is averaging 1.8 ppg. and 1.5 rpg., 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 had a career-high four assists performance where he also had three rebounds against TCU and followed the performance by scoring four points in 12 minutes at OSU. He has a Big 12 career-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 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) on 3-pointers and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line this year. Russel Tchewa matched his season-high with six points after going 3-for-4 from the field against TCU three weeks ago and also had three rebounds in nine minutes of play. A 7-foot center from Cameroon, Tchewa is averaging 1.7 points in 21 games played this season while freshman guard Clarence Nadolny is at 2.0 points per game and redshirt freshman Andrei Savrasov is at 1.2 ppg. Savrasov, who redshirted last year during the run to the NCAA National Championship Final, was named to the All-Big 12 Academic Team and has scored a career-high six points against Creighton and at home against TCU. 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 29 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 12-5 with the starting rotation of Holyfield, Moretti, Edwards, Shannon and Ramsey. The Red Raiders have gone with the starting lineup of McCullar, Moretti, Ramsey, Holyfield and Edwards the past four games against Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Texas. Tech is 2-2 with the new starting rotation.
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 a 94-42 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. Along with being six wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 190-72 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.
A NEW SHINE: Through 18 weeks, Texas Tech has already had four different players earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Week with Ramsey earning three Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors. The weekly award has gone to TJ Holyfield (Nov. 11), Jahmi'us Ramsey (Nov. 25/Feb. 3/Feb. 24), Terrence Shannon, Jr. (Dec. 16) and Clarke (Dec. 23).
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. Linguistically, Tchewa speaks French, Italian and English for the most languages on the team that also includes Moretti (Italian, English), Nadolny (French, English), Savrasov (Russian, English) and Ntambwe (French, English).
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.Â
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.
KNOCKING OFF NO. 1: The Red Raiders earned their first-ever win over a No. 1-ranked team with a 70-57 victory over No. 1 Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 10, 2019 at Madison Square Garden. Moretti led Tech with 18 points after going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, while Shannon had 13 points and Benson went 3-for-3 from the field and scored a career-high 10 points. Tech limited the Cardinals to only 34.0 percent shooting in the game and forced 18 turnovers.
WIRE-TO-WIRE: Texas Tech started on a 5-0 run in its home win over Kansas State for its sixth wire-to-wire victory that also includes never trailing against Eastern Illinois, Bethune-Cookman, Tennessee State, Iowa State (Jan. 18), West Virginia (Jan. 29), TCU (Feb. 10). The loss at Kansas is the only game the Red Raiders have not had a lead in this season.
HISTORIC MARGIN: Texas Tech earned a 46-point win over TCU on Feb. 10 for the largest Big 12 margin of victory in program history after shooting 61.5 percent from the field and making a season-high 13 3-pointers. The previous mark was also established this season with a 35-point win over Oklahoma State in the conference opener on Jan. 4. Prior to this season, an 81-50 win over West Virginia on Feb. 4, 2019 was the largest conference margin of victory in program history. Tech now has three Big 12 wins of over 30 points this season after its 87-57 victory over Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 22 in Ames.
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. Tech has not played an overtime game in conference play this season.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: 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.
3-POINT DISPLAY: The Red Raiders hit a season-high 13 3-pointers against TCU where they finished the game 13-for-22 with five players hitting shots from beyond the arc. Moretti and Edwards both had four 3-pointers each in the game, while Ramsey and Savrasov hit two and Holyfield one. Tech was just three 3-pointers away from the program record of 16 that last year's team made against Kansas in a home victory over the Jayhawks. Tech has made 209 3-pointers this season at a 35.9 percentage.
30-POINT MARGINS: Texas Tech has five wins this season of 30 points or more, including a program-record three in conference play, giving Beard 19 wins by that margin (or more) during his four seasons leading the Red Raiders. Those 19 wins are the second most in program history behind only 20 by Polk Robison. Under Bob Knight, Tech won 16 games by a 30-plus margin. This season, Tech has won by the 30-plus margin over Bethune-Cookman (35), Long Island (30), Oklahoma State (35), TCU (46) and Iowa State (30). Last year's team established the program record with six.
ATTENDANCE: Along with winning on their home court, the Red Raider fans are establishing themselves as one of the top fan bases in the nation. The program has had five sellouts this season (Eastern Illinois, Bethune-Cookman, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas) and are averaging 13,992 per game which ranks 18th nationally, second in the Big 12 and is the best in the state of Texas.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will compete in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships next week in Kansas City which will be held from March 11-14 at the Sprint Center. The Red Raiders have not won the tournament in their program history.
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The Red Raiders (18-11, 9-7 Big 12) are looking to respond from dropping a pair of games against Oklahoma and Texas last week, while the Bears (25-3, 14-2) are coming off a 75-72 road loss at TCU last Saturday. Baylor earned a 57-52 win over Tech back on Jan. 7 in Lubbock in the second game of the conference season. The programs have split the regular-season series against each other the past four years with BU last sweeping the home-and-away format in the 2015 season. Tech leads the all-time series with an 80-59 advantage, but is 29-36 all-time in Waco.
Texas Tech will finish the regular season by hosting No. 1 Kansas at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders earned a 70-57 win over then No. 1-ranked Louisville on Dec. 10 at the Jimmy V Classic in New York for the program's first victory over a top-ranked team. Tech is 1-2 this season against top-10 teams.
With a 72.5 winning percentage (190-72) as a NCAA coach, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard has the 11th best percentage among active coaches and is 94-42 leading the Red Raiders. Beard, who was an assistant coach at Texas Tech for Bob Knight and Pat Knight from 2001-11, has led the Red Raiders to a 13-3 record at home this season and to a 63-8 record at home over the past four years. Under Beard the past three seasons, Tech is 14-6 in the month of March. The Red Raiders are led in scoring by Ramsey (15.5 ppg.) who is fifth in the Big 12 and graduate transfer Chris Clarke who is at 6.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game along with a 2.05 assist-to-turnover ratio which all rank in the top-10 within the Big 12. Davide Moretti is second on the NCAA active career leader list in free-throw percentage at 90.4 percent (209 of 231) and leads the Big 12 this season at 89.8 percent (12th nationally). Beard was named the 2019 AP National Coach of the Year and the 2018 and 2019 Big 12 Coach of the Year.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Texas Tech leads the Big 12 by shooting 35.9 percent on 3-pointers (209 of 582) after hitting seven against Texas and with 16.38 turnovers forced (20th nationally) and 15.4 assists per game (24th nationally). The Red Raiders are second in the conference with a 1.12 assist-to-turnover ratio, a 45.3 shooting percentage, 75.6 free-throw percentage, scoring 72.4 points per game, a 2.7 turnover margin and are third with 7.9 steals per game. Defensively, Tech is limiting opponents to 63.2 points per game which ranks fifth in the conference and is holding teams to 40.9 percent shooting. Individually, Ramsey is fifth in the conference at 15.5 points per game which is the 12th most for a freshman nationally. He leads the Big 12 by shooting 42.6 percent on 3-pointers (55 of 129), is fifth at 44.6 percent from the field (141 of 316) and is 11th with 1.40 steals per game. Moretti ranks 12th nationally by going 88 of 98 from the free-throw line this season, while Clarke is third in the Big 12 in assists per game (4.7) and ninth with his 6.5 rebounds per game.
BIG 12 STANDINGS: Texas Tech is in third place in the Big 12 standings with two regular season games remaining before the start of the Big 12 Championships in Kansas City. With their 9-7 conference mark, the Red Raiders are behind No. 1 Kansas (15-1) and No. 2 Baylor (14-2) in Big 12 play and are ahead of Texas and Oklahoma who are both at 8-8. Tech split its regular-season series with Texas, WVU (7-9), Oklahoma State (5-11) and Oklahoma and swept Iowa State (5-11) and Kansas State (2-14). The Red Raiders will complete the regular season by hosting the Jayhawks at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and Baylor will be broadcasted on ESPN with Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla and Holly Rowe 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 follow the game at @TexasTechMBB.Â
PROGRAM MARKS: Texas Tech experienced its best season in program history after going 31-7 overall 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 and an appearance in the NCAA tournament this season would be the first time in program history that the Red Raiders have made the tournament three straight seasons.
POLLS: Texas Tech dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 Poll after beging at No. 22 last week and is at No. 23 in the NCAA NET Rankings after its loss to the Longhorns. Baylor fell back to No. 4 following its loss at TCU. The Bears were also ranked No. 4 in the first matchup against the Red Raiders this season. Tech has been ranked in 12 of 18 weeks after starting the season ranked No. 13 in the preseason poll for the highest ranking in program history coming into a season. Kansas comes in at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 after its win over Baylor on Saturday that moved the Bears back to No. 2 followed by Gonzaga, Dayton and San Diego State to round out this week's top-5. West Virginia is at No. 20 this week to give the conference four ranked teams in the poll. The Red Raiders, who have been as high as No. 11 this season, are 2-6 this season against teams currently ranked, including earning a 70-57 win over Louisville (ranked No. 1 at time) and splitting with West Virginia.
PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 104 games (76 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.
Ramsey was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the third time this season on Monday, Feb. 24 after going for 25 points in the win over Iowa State where he also had a career-high seven assists and is coming off a game against Texas where he led Tech with 13 points and six assists. He leads the Big 12 by shooting 42.6 percent on 3-pointers and is fifth in scoring at 15.5 points per game. A freshman from Arlington with 387 total points this season, Ramsey is currently 55-for-129 on 3-pointers and has made at least two in the past eight of the past 10 games and in 15 games overall. A 6-foot-4 guard, he has scored in double-figures in 20 of 25 games played this season with a Big 12-high coming at Kansas where he scored 26 by going 5-for-8 on 3-pointers after scoring 21 against West Virginia by also connecting on 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc. Ramsey, who scored 20 points in the first matchup against Baylor, has hit five 3-pointers in four games this season and had a previous career-high four assists at Oklahoma State where he also scored 14 points. He was named an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection coming into the season before earning three weekly awards so far this year. Ramsey scored a career-high 27 points in a win over Long Island where he hit five 3-pointers for the first of four times this season and has already scored 20 or more points in seven of 25 games played. He missed four games due to a left hamstring injury he suffered with 10 minutes remaining against Iowa, but has started 19 straight games since his return. In conference play, Ramsey is averaging 15.1 points per game and is at 13.8 points per game in the past five games.
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.
A guard from Italy, Moretti is averaging 12.9 points per game after going for 11 points with three 3-pointers against the Longhorns. He was limited to a season-low three points at Oklahoma last Tuesday after going 1-for-5 from the field with one 3-pointer. In his third season at Tech, he has scored 940 career points with 163 made 3-pointers and going 209-for-231 from the line. He's averaging 12.6 points per game through 16 conference games this season with a career-high 25 points against West Virginia after dropping 15 against Kentucky in the final non-conference game on the schedule. Moretti has started 67 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 27 of 29 games this season and in 79 of 104 games in his career. Moretti, who was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team on Feb. 20 for the second straight year and to the Big 12 All-Academic First Team, 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. Before his career-high 25-point performance in the home win West Virginia, Moretti had a career-best 23 points earlier this season against Creighton where he made three 3-pointers. His free-throw prowess is highlighted by him going 12-for-12 from the line last season against Oklahoma State, an 8-for-8 showing to help knock off Louisville and then 9-for-9 display against the Mountaineers. Moretti has led Tech in scoring eight times this season and 13 times in his career. In the first matchup against Baylor this season, Moretti scored eight points after going 0-for-6 on 3-pointers. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 15 straight games since not making one against the Bears. He currently ranks ninth all-time in program history with the 163 3-pointers made in his career and is only 60 points shy of 1,000.
Edwards is averaging 11.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game after being limited to five points and three rebounds in the loss against the Longhorns. He has recorded four assists in four of the past six games. A sophomore from Arlington, he has started all 29 games this season after playing a reserve role in all 38 as a freshman where he averaged 5.5 points per game. This season, more than doubling that average, Edwards has scored in double figures in 16 games with a career-high 24 points in the first matchup at Kansas State where he went 9-for-14 from the field with three 3-pointers before going 5-for-6 on 3-pointers in the 22-point performance in the first matchup against the Cyclones. He earned Big 12 Player of the Week after the two-game stretch and is currently averaging 12.2 points per game through the first 16 conference games. He now has three or more assists in 18 games with a career-high six at No. 3 Kansas and had a career-high nine rebounds at West Virginia. As a freshman, he scored a season-high 19 points after going 7-for-7 from the field with four 3-pointers against Northern Colorado and then had 12 points against Virginia in the NCAA National Championship Final. He's currently scored 20 or more points three times this season and is at 551 points for his career, including scoring 10 points in the first matchup against Baylor with two 3-pointers.
Holyfield is averaging 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and is sixth in the Big 12 with 1.6 blocked shots per game after having 27 in the past 11 games (45 total). He had five rebounds and five points in the first matchup against Baylor. At Iowa State, he had four blocked shots and scored 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting but is coming off a game against Texas where he was limited to three points and one blocked shots. A grad transfer from SFA, Holyfield has scored 1,337 points in his career where he has played and started in 130 games. He has recorded three or more blocks in eight games this season with four in games against Kansas and West Virginia before having three against OU and then the season-high five in the first matchup against Texas. Holyfield matched a season-high with 21 points in the home game against OU when he went 8-for-12 from the field and was 2 of 2 on 3-pointers after scoring 19 at Kansas with a season-high three 3-pointers. He leads the Red Raiders with a 53.7 shooting percentage after going 4-for-5 against the Wildcats and 3-for-4 at ISU for a week where he was 7-for-9. He was limited to five points at Oklahoma after going 2-for-7 before going just 1-for-2 against Texas. Along with scoring 21 against OU, he also had 21 in a non-conference win over Houston Baptist and 20 against Bethune-Cookman. Those performances earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 11, 2019. In Big 12 play, Holyfield is averaging 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Clarke, who scored his conference-high with 11 points at Oklahoma to go along with six rebounds last Tuesday, is a grad transfer who played three seasons at Virginia Tech before transferring to Texas Tech. He led Tech with five rebounds and had four points in the loss to Texas. He is averaging 6.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 5.6 points per game for the Red Raiders and comes into this week having scored 886 points, securing 700 rebounds and contributing 341 assists through 107 games in his collegiate career. A guard from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Clarke leads the Red Raiders with two double-doubles this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa and then 14 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Miss. He recorded a career-high 11 assists in the win over Houston Baptist. Clarke, who was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 23 after averaging a double-double in wins over Southern Miss and UTRGV, has led Tech in rebounding 15 games this season with a high of 12 coming against Tennessee State and Louisville. He had five rebounds, four assists and five points in the first matchup against Baylor.
Shannon scored 10 points and had five rebounds in 20 minutes of play against Texas last Saturday and is now averaging 10.1 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game. A freshman guard from Chicago, Shannon is second on the team with 85 free throws made (82.5 percent) and has scored in double figures in 14 of 27 games played. He scored a career-high 24 points in his hometown return at DePaul on Dec. 4 where he was 9-for-18 from the field, hit two 3-pointers and was 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. Shannon scored a conference-high 23 points in the home win over West Virginia after going 12-for-14 from the free-throw line and also making 5 of 8 shots from the field. He had a season-high 11 rebounds at Kansas and also had eight points against the Jayhawks. Shannon was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 16, 2019 after scoring 18 points against Southern Miss and 13 in the win over Louisville. He comes into the second matchup against Baylor averaging 8.2 points per game in conference play. Shannon had seven rebounds in the first matchup against the Bears, but was limited to four points. Â Â
Kevin McCullar has started the past four games and is coming off scoring 12 points against Texas after going for a team-leading 13 points against Oklahoma where he also had five rebounds and three assists. He recorded a career-high with 11 rebounds and also had six points at Iowa State after he made the first start of his career against Kansas State where he scored nine points and led the Red Raiders with six rebounds. McCullar, who is averaging 11.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in the past five games, was coming off a career-high 15 points at Oklahoma State where he was 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. A redshirt freshman from San Antonio, McCullar graduated 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 23 games this season before starting the past four games and is averaging 5.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game for the season. Prior to his career-high 15 points in Stillwater, McCullar had scored 10 points in games against Kansas State, UTRGV, Long Island and TCU where he was 3-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. A 6-foot-6 guard, he had a career-high two blocked shots against the Longhorns three weeks ago in the nine-block game by the Red Raiders. He's currently shooting 49.2 percent from the field (58-for-118) after going 5-for-6 against Texas. After his 11-rebound performance on Saturday, he has led the team in rebounding in five games this season.
Avery Benson, who is in his third year at Texas Tech and is averaging 1.8 ppg. and 1.5 rpg., 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 had a career-high four assists performance where he also had three rebounds against TCU and followed the performance by scoring four points in 12 minutes at OSU. He has a Big 12 career-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 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) on 3-pointers and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line this year. Russel Tchewa matched his season-high with six points after going 3-for-4 from the field against TCU three weeks ago and also had three rebounds in nine minutes of play. A 7-foot center from Cameroon, Tchewa is averaging 1.7 points in 21 games played this season while freshman guard Clarence Nadolny is at 2.0 points per game and redshirt freshman Andrei Savrasov is at 1.2 ppg. Savrasov, who redshirted last year during the run to the NCAA National Championship Final, was named to the All-Big 12 Academic Team and has scored a career-high six points against Creighton and at home against TCU. 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 29 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 12-5 with the starting rotation of Holyfield, Moretti, Edwards, Shannon and Ramsey. The Red Raiders have gone with the starting lineup of McCullar, Moretti, Ramsey, Holyfield and Edwards the past four games against Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Texas. Tech is 2-2 with the new starting rotation.
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 a 94-42 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. Along with being six wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 190-72 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.
A NEW SHINE: Through 18 weeks, Texas Tech has already had four different players earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Week with Ramsey earning three Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors. The weekly award has gone to TJ Holyfield (Nov. 11), Jahmi'us Ramsey (Nov. 25/Feb. 3/Feb. 24), Terrence Shannon, Jr. (Dec. 16) and Clarke (Dec. 23).
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. Linguistically, Tchewa speaks French, Italian and English for the most languages on the team that also includes Moretti (Italian, English), Nadolny (French, English), Savrasov (Russian, English) and Ntambwe (French, English).
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.Â
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.
KNOCKING OFF NO. 1: The Red Raiders earned their first-ever win over a No. 1-ranked team with a 70-57 victory over No. 1 Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 10, 2019 at Madison Square Garden. Moretti led Tech with 18 points after going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, while Shannon had 13 points and Benson went 3-for-3 from the field and scored a career-high 10 points. Tech limited the Cardinals to only 34.0 percent shooting in the game and forced 18 turnovers.
WIRE-TO-WIRE: Texas Tech started on a 5-0 run in its home win over Kansas State for its sixth wire-to-wire victory that also includes never trailing against Eastern Illinois, Bethune-Cookman, Tennessee State, Iowa State (Jan. 18), West Virginia (Jan. 29), TCU (Feb. 10). The loss at Kansas is the only game the Red Raiders have not had a lead in this season.
HISTORIC MARGIN: Texas Tech earned a 46-point win over TCU on Feb. 10 for the largest Big 12 margin of victory in program history after shooting 61.5 percent from the field and making a season-high 13 3-pointers. The previous mark was also established this season with a 35-point win over Oklahoma State in the conference opener on Jan. 4. Prior to this season, an 81-50 win over West Virginia on Feb. 4, 2019 was the largest conference margin of victory in program history. Tech now has three Big 12 wins of over 30 points this season after its 87-57 victory over Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 22 in Ames.
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. Tech has not played an overtime game in conference play this season.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: 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.
3-POINT DISPLAY: The Red Raiders hit a season-high 13 3-pointers against TCU where they finished the game 13-for-22 with five players hitting shots from beyond the arc. Moretti and Edwards both had four 3-pointers each in the game, while Ramsey and Savrasov hit two and Holyfield one. Tech was just three 3-pointers away from the program record of 16 that last year's team made against Kansas in a home victory over the Jayhawks. Tech has made 209 3-pointers this season at a 35.9 percentage.
30-POINT MARGINS: Texas Tech has five wins this season of 30 points or more, including a program-record three in conference play, giving Beard 19 wins by that margin (or more) during his four seasons leading the Red Raiders. Those 19 wins are the second most in program history behind only 20 by Polk Robison. Under Bob Knight, Tech won 16 games by a 30-plus margin. This season, Tech has won by the 30-plus margin over Bethune-Cookman (35), Long Island (30), Oklahoma State (35), TCU (46) and Iowa State (30). Last year's team established the program record with six.
ATTENDANCE: Along with winning on their home court, the Red Raider fans are establishing themselves as one of the top fan bases in the nation. The program has had five sellouts this season (Eastern Illinois, Bethune-Cookman, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas) and are averaging 13,992 per game which ranks 18th nationally, second in the Big 12 and is the best in the state of Texas.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will compete in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships next week in Kansas City which will be held from March 11-14 at the Sprint Center. The Red Raiders have not won the tournament in their program history.
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Players Mentioned
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