PREVIEW: Texas Tech, Tennessee set for Jimmy V Classic matchup

LUBBOCK, Texas – A pair of 6-1 teams will play for the first time in 68 seasons with Texas Tech taking on No. 13 Tennessee at 6 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday in the 2021 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.

The Red Raiders (6-1) are coming off their only loss of the season after falling 72-68 at Providence College on Wednesday in the Big 12-BIG EAST Battle, while the Volunteers (6-1) earned a 69-54 road win over Colorado on Saturday afternoon in Boulder. Texas Tech is playing in Madison Square Garden for the fourth time in five seasons and returns after earning a 70-57 win over No. 1 Louisville in the 2019 Jimmy V Classic.

"They are really pushing the ball and getting up quick shots this season," said Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams of Tennessee. "They are a really good 3-point shooting team. On paper, they are as good offensively as they are defensively. They are very good team that rebounds well and don't give up many baskets without fouling. They are a well-coached team that will not beat themselves. We'll have to take it to them and outscore and defend them. They won't be giving us anything."

Tech comes into the matchup leading the nation with 17.0 offensive rebounds per game, is second with a 15.6 rebounding advantage, third in scoring margin at 26.0 and 11th by forcing 19.3 turnovers per game. The Red Raiders also lead the Big 12 with 8.4 3-pointers made per game and by scoring 85.4 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech is 1-0 all-time against Tennessee with an 88-71 win on Dec. 3, 1953 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Against the SEC, Tech is 132-144 against current SEC opponents after a 76-71 win over LSU last year during the regular season before a 68-66 loss to Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Red Raiders will host Mississippi State in January for the Big 12-SEC Challenge.

POLLS: Texas Tech is receiving votes in the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches Poll, but remains unranked this season after spending the entire 2020-21 season in the rankings for the first time in program history. A new poll will be posted on Monday. TTU was as high as No. 7 last season and finished the year at No. 21. While not in the polls, the Red Raiders are currently No. 17 in the Kenpom.com ranking and No. 20 in the site's adjusted defensive efficiency ranking. Over the past four years Tech has ranked in the KENPOM.COM: Adjusted defensive efficiency at No. 17 (2021), No. 9 (2020) and No. 1 (2019).

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: Tech is playing its first ranked opponent of the season. As a program, Tech is 61-215 all-time against ranked opponents, including going 16-24 over the past five years. The Red Raiders were 3-8 last season against ranked teams with two wins over Texas (No. 4 and No. 14) and a home win over Oklahoma which was at No. 9.

GAME COVERAGE: The matchup between Texas Tech and Tennessee will be broadcasted on ESPN with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Holly Rowe and on ESPN Radio with Sean Kelley and Bob Valvano. Locally, the Texas Tech Sports Network's flagship station Double T 97.3 in Lubbock will carry the game on radio with Geoff Haxton and Clark Lammert. Fans can also follow the game at @TexasTechMBB. The Red Raiders and Volunteers will be followed by a matchup between Syracuse and Villanova.

RED RAIDER ROSTER REPORT: The Tech roster of 14 is made up of five returners, seven NCAA Division I transfers, one junior college transfer and one high school signee. An experienced team, the Red Raiders have four super seniors in Davion Warren, Bryson Williams, Marcus Santos-Silva and Adonis Arms and five players who are currently in graduate school in Kevin Obanor, Warren, Williams, Santos-Silva and Arms.

Terrence Shannon, Jr. leads the Red Raiders in scoring with 16.5 points per game after going for 17 at Providence College where he was 6-for-11 from the field with two 3-pointers. A junior from Chicago, Shannon is in his third season at Tech after electing to return following going through the NBA Draft process over the summer. Shannon did not play in the first three games this season for the Red Raiders as a review of that process was being completed before he returned to play in the fourth game of the year against Incarnate Word. Shannon has scored in double figures in all four games he's played in this season and in 40 games through 61 in his career. He had a season-high 18 points in the team's 56-point win over Omaha and is currently shooting 11-for-25 (44.0 percent) on 3-pointers with two or more in each of the four games he's played in. Shannon has scored 710 points in his career with a high of 24 points as a freshman at DePaul. He is earned 2021 All-Big 12 Third Team honors and is on the preseason watch lists for the Naismith, Wooden and West awards.

Bryson Williams is averaging 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game to begin his super senior season at Tech. A Fresno, California native, Williams played two seasons at Fresno State and two at UTEP before transferring to Tech over the summer to utilize a fifth season of eligibility. He currently has scored 1,718 points and has 784 rebounds through 128 games played in his college career. Williams scored a season-high 22 points in the opener against North Florida by going 9-for-11 from the field and has two games with nine rebounds (Grambling, Omaha) on his resume this season but was limited to a season-low four points and two rebounds at Providence College. He is currently fourth in the Big 12 by shooting 58.7 percent from the field and eighth with 37 field goals made. An All-C-USA selection the past two seasons, he has made 687 baskets in his career.

Kevin McCullar is averaging 14.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in his third season playing for the Red Raiders. A San Antonio native, McCullar was a redshirt during the program's run to the 2019 NCAA Championship final and is the only current player who was on that roster. McCullar scored a career-high 24 points in the win over Grambling in the second game this season where he was 9 of 18 from the field and has scored in double figures in four of five games played his season after going for 10 in the loss at Providence College. McCullar missed games against Omaha and Lamar with a non-COVID illness before returning to the starting lineup in Rhode Island. A 2021 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, McCullar has 453 points and 247 rebounds through 54 games in his career. He currently is averaging 1.6 steals per game and has 77 steals in his career, including leading the team last season with 34 steals. A junior on the roster, he still has three years of eligibility remaining.

Mylik Wilson leads with 3.7 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.7 blocks per game this season where he is also adding 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds. A transfer from Louisiana, Wilson has started five of seven games and is seventh nationally with a 5.20 assist-to-turnover ratio with 26 assists and only five turnovers. Wilson had a season-high seven assists in the season-opening win over North Florida and has four or more assists in four games this season. Wilson is a junior with three years of eligibility remaining after playing two seasons at Louisiana. He currently has 194 assists, 702 points and 324 rebounds through 62 games played in his collegiate career.

Obanor is coming off a game at Providence where he scored 12 points with two 3-pointers after scoring a season-high 20 points in the home win over Lamar. A senior from Houston who is in his first season at Tech after three years at Oral Roberts, Obanor has scored 1,380 points and has 486 rebounds through 93 games of his collegiate career. He is coming off a junior season where he had 15 double-doubles and averaged 18.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game at ORU where he recorded double-doubles in three NCAA Tournament games en route to the Sweet 16. Obanor has hit three 3-pointers in three of seven games this season and is currently 14-for-32 on 3-pointers after going 2-for-4 at PC. He is averaging 10.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game coming into the matchup against Tennessee.

Davion Warren is averaging 12.1 points per game through seven games as a Red Raider after going for 21.2 points per game as a senior at Hampton University last season. A Buffalo, New York native, Warren ranked 14^th nationally in scoring last season and is the fourth leading returner. He scored a season-high 19 points in the win over Grambling in the second game of the season and has scored in double figures in four of seven games with 14 points against Omaha. He is coming off going for eight points at Providence College. Warren is currently 18 of 21 on free throws (85.7 percent) which ranks second in the Big 12. After beginning his career with two seasons at Olney Central College, Warren played two seasons at Hampton where he earned his bachelor's degree. He currently has 962 points through 66 games at the NCAA level.

Marcus Santos-Silva is in his second season at Tech after playing three years at VCU. A super senior from Taunton, Massachusetts, he has produced 1,116 points and 842 rebounds through 133 games in his collegiate career. Santos-Silva is averaging 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders this season with a high of 12 rebounds in the win over Lamar and 13 points in the opener against North Florida. Santos-Silva has 26 games in his career with double-digit rebounds after his 12-rebound performance against Lamar. He leads the Big 12 with 3.29 offensive rebounds per game with a season-high five offensive rebounds in the win over Lamar. He has two or more offensive rebounds in each of the first seven games this season and 339 offensive rebounds in his career. Arms has been a consistent player off the bench for Adams throughout the first seven games where he is averaging 7.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. A Milwaukee native, Arms is at his fourth college after also playing at Mesa Community College, Northwest Nazarene and Winthrop. He had a season-high seven rebounds at Providence and also scored six points in the game. Arms scored a season-high 12 points in the win over Incarnate Word and has three games with two or more 3-pointers. He played in the NCAA Tournament last season with Winthrop, scoring 10 points in a loss to Villanova in the opening round.

Tech's bench is deep with Daniel Batcho, Chibuzo Agbo, Clarence Nadolny, KJ Allen and Sardaar Calhoun poised to make impacts. Batcho is a freshman from Paris France who transferred from Arizona where he redshirted last season before deciding to transfer. He had a career-high 10 rebounds and also scored six points int eh win over Omaha after producing eight rebounds and eight points against Incarnate Word. The tallest Red Raider at 6-foot-11, Batcho is averaging 4.1 rebounds per game. Tech's only true freshman, Ethan Duncan, will redshirt this season after suffering an off-season shoulder injury that required surgery.

OUR LEADER: Mark Adams is in his first season as the head coach at Texas Tech after working as the associate head coach for the program for five seasons. His 6-0 start was the best beginning to a season for a first-year head coach at Tech. Adams, who is the 18^th head coach in program history, has won 560 games as a head coach and is in 26th season in a head coaching role with previous head coach experience at Howard College (2004-13), UTRGV (1992-97), West Texas A&M (1987-92), Wayland Baptist (1983-87) and Clarendon College (1981-82). Adams was named Tech's 18^th head coach in program history on April 6, 2021 having already amassed a 554-244 overall record in the lead role. He led Howard College to the 2010 NJCAA National Championship and Wayland Baptist to the 1985 NAIA National Championship Finals with a runner-up finish. Adams coached Jae Crowder at Howard College. As an assistant under Chris Beard, Adams helped Little Rock to the NCAA Tournament before unprecedented success at Texas Tech where the Red Raiders advanced to the 2018 Elite Eight and 2019 NCAA National Championship Final. Tech advanced to the 2021 NCAA Tournament which is the first time the program has made three straight tournament appearances. Adams has been inducted to the Hall of Fame at Wayland Baptist, West Texas A&M, Howard College and the NJCAA. His defense was the top-ranked unit in Kenpom in adjusted defense. Adams has surrounded himself by an experienced staff that includes head coaching experience in Corey Williams (Stetson), Barret Peery (Portland State) and Sean Sutton (Oklahoma State).

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS: On a four-game winning streak after its 69-54 win over Colorado, the Volunteers come into Tuesday's matchup at 6-1 after going 18-9 last season. Kennedy Chandler leads the Volunteers by scoring 16.1 points per game and with 33 assists and 17 steals through seven games, while Santiago Vescovi is at 15.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game coming into the matchup against Tech. Olivier Nkamhoua leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per game, eight blocks and is scoring 9.1 ppg., while Justin Powell is scoring 9.5 points per game.

Tennessee is led by head coach Rick Barnes who is 733-388 in his 35th season as a head coach. Barnes led the Texas Longhorns for 17 seasons, going 402-180 during his impressive run in Austin. He is in his seventh season in Knoxville and has led the Volunteers to a 129-74 record coming into the game.

A freshman from Memphis, Chandler scored a career-high 27 points in the win at Colorado on Saturday in Boulder where he was 13-for-20 from the field. Vescovi added 13 points in the road win. Chandler, who is a Bob Cousy Award candidate as a freshman, was a five-star recruit and at No. 12 in the class by ESPN. Tennessee advanced to the 2021 NCAA Tournament but lost 70-56 to Oregon State in the opening round.

ABOUT THE 2021 JIMMY V CLASSIC: The Jimmy V Classic, named for legendary college men's basketball coach and former ESPN commentator Jim Valvano, annually raises money and awareness for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, which was founded by Valvano in 1993 to fund game-changing cancer research and scientists to eradicate the disease. The men's classic began in 1995, while the women's event debuted in 2002. Both events are part of ESPN's V Week initiative, which utilizes platforms to provide important messaging to sports fans about the importance of cancer research. To date, ESPN has helped raise more than $134 million dollars for the V Foundation. The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State University basketball coach and ESPN commentator. The V Foundation has funded more than $260 million in cancer research grants nationwide. Event proceeds benefit cancer research funded by the V Foundation. The Foundation awards game-changing grants through a competitive process strictly supervised by a Scientific Advisory Committee. For more information on the V Foundation, please visit v.org.

2019 JIMMY V CLASSIC: Davide Moretti scored 18 points, Terrence Shannon, Jr. added 13 and Avery Benson had a career-high 10 points and two blocked shots to help lead Texas Tech to a 70-57 win over No. 1-ranked Louisville at the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 10, 2019 at Madison Square Garden. Tech was unranked going into the game after dropping its previous three games coming into the matchup. The win was the first over a top-ranked team in Tech's program history. Shannon, McCullar and Nadolny are the only Red Raiders on the current roster who played in the game. Shannon was 4-for-9 from the field and 5 of 6 at the free-throw line for his 13 points. McCullar had five rebounds and two points in 11 minutes of play, while Nadolny had one rebound in four minutes.

TECH AT MSG: Texas Tech is 3-6 all-time at Madison Square Garden. Tech will be playing at MSG for the fourth time in five seasons after beginning the stretch with a loss against Seton Hall at the Under Armour Reunion in 2017 before securing a 70-57 win over No. 1 Louisville on Nov. 10, 2019.

04/01/2003 • vs. St. John's L • 64-63
04/03/2003 • vs. Minnesota W • 71-61
11/26/2003 • vs. Utah W • 65-54
11/28/2003 • vs. Georgia Tech L • 85-65
11/17/2005 • vs. [16] Syracuse L • 81-46
11/18/2005 • vs. [19] Wake Forest L • 78-73 • 2OT
11/30/2017 • vs. Seton Hall L • 89-79
12/20/2018 • vs. [2] Duke L • 69-58
11/10/2019 • vs. [1] Louisville W • 70-57

EARLY SEASON STREAK: Tech started the season with a 6-0 record which was the eighth time in program history to begin a year with six straight wins. The Red Raiders began the 1929-30 season with a 12-0 record for the best start in program history and were 10-0 to begin the 2018-19 season before a loss to Duke at Madison Square Garden. The loss at Providence College snapped the winning streak.

UP NEXT: Texas Tech will return home to host Arkansas State on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at the United Supermarkets Arena before playing No. 3 Gonzaga on Saturday, Dec. 18 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Red Raiders are currently on an 11-game winning streak in non-conference home games after starting the season with a 4-0 record in the games. The Red Wolves are currently 4-2 going into a Saturday game against Central Arkansas and will also play Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State before coming to Lubbock. The game is set for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.

PREVIEW: Texas Tech, Tennessee set for Jimmy V Classic matchup

Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

KJ Allen

Adonis Arms

Daniel Batcho

Avery Benson

Sardaar Calhoun

Ethan Duncan

Kevin McCullar

Clarence Nadolny

Kevin Obanor

Marcus Santos-Silva

Terrence Shannon, Jr.

Davion Warren

Bryson Williams

Mylik Wilson

Related Videos