RED RAIDER PREVIEW: vs. TCU

Tuesday, March 2

Lubbock, Texas

6 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

TCU

March 01, 2021 | Men's Basketball

GAME NOTES PRESS CONFERENCE

TCU at No. 18 Texas Tech | 6 p.m., Tuesday | TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

LUBBOCK, Texas – Not to jinx it, but No. 18 Texas Tech and TCU are set to play at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena in a game that was added last week following multiple postponements throughout the season due to Covid protocols and weather issues.

The Red Raiders (15-8, 7-7 Big 12) are coming off a 68-59 win over Texas last Saturday, while TCU (12-10, 5-8 Big 12) secured a 76-72 win at Iowa State. Both teams snapped three-game losing streaks with their Saturday afternoon wins. TTU and TCU were originally scheduled to play their first matchup against each other on Jan. 20 in Fort Worth before a Covid postponement and had their Feb. 17 game in Lubbock postponed due to weather that did not allow for travel. This will be the only game between the two programs in the regular season.

Mac McClung leads Texas Tech by averaging 16.8 points per game and is third in the Big 12 by averaging 18.4 points in conference games. McClung is coming off a game where he led the Red Raiders with 16 points against the Longhorns, while Terrence Shannon, Jr. is averaging 12.8 points per game after scoring 11 in the win. Kevin McCullar is second in the Big 12 with 2.1 steals per game in conference games after having four against Texas and Kansas and is also sixth in the Big 12 with 7.0 rebounds per conference game. Kyler Edwards leads the team with 2.7 assists per game after dishing out four against UT and 18 in the past five games, while Marcus Santos-Silva filled the stat sheet with 10 points and nine rebounds in the win over the Longhorns. Santos-Silva leads TTU with 25 blocked shots which is the fifth most in the conference.

Texas Tech is currently eighth in the nation with a 5.2 turnover margin advantage and with 387 made free throws this season, while the team is 25th with 11.0 turnovers per game. The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 by holding opponents to only 63.2 points per game and are statistically second by forcing 16.2 turnovers per game. Tech has allowed only seven opponents to score over 70 points this season and has limited 10 under 60 points after holding the Longhorns to 59.
RJ Nembhard leads TCU at 16.9 points per game after scoring 19 points at Iowa State where he was 8-for-8 at the free-throw line, while Mike Miles also scored 19 points and is now averaging 14.3 points per game. TCU is 3-3 on the road in conference games with road wins at Oklahoma State, Kansas State and ISU. Kevin Samuel leads the Horned Frogs with 8.4 rebounds and is the Big 12 leader with 40 blocks, while Nembhard tops the team with 82 assists (4.1 per game). He is averaging 16.5 points per Big 12 game this season.

UP NEXT: The Red Raiders will also host Iowa State at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the USA in their home finale before finishing the regular season at Baylor. Tech and BU will play at 3 p.m. on Sunday in Waco before the start of the Big 12 Championship next week in Kansas City.

MEDIA: The game will be featured on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Chuckie Kempf and Tim Welsh on the call, while Geoff Haxton and Chris Level will broadcast locally on Double T 97.3 and the Texas Tech Sports Network. The Red Raiders will also be on ESPN+ for Thursday's matchup against ISU before finishing off the regular season with an ESPN matchup at Baylor.

RED RAIDER REPORT: McClung leads the Red Raiders this season by scoring 16.8 points per game overall and 18.4 per Big 12 game after a week where he scored 16 in the win over Texas after going for 17 points at Oklahoma State. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 1 to honor his performances at West Virginia and LSU and was also named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Jan. 18 following a game-winner at Texas and 24 points against Baylor. A junior Gate City, Virginia who transferred from Georgetown this season, he is averaging 16.8 points in the past five games. He went for a season-high 30 points at West Virginia and then had 22 in the road win at LSU. McClung has scored 20 or more in 10 games this season with his most recent coming with 23 points at Kansas State where he was 8-for-17 from the field and 6 of 9 at the line. For the season, McClung has made 41 3-pointers which leads the team after going 2-for-4 from beyond the arc against UT. He's also 96-for-118 at the free-throw line (81.4 percent) after making 6 of 7 at the line in the 16-point performance against the Longhorns. McClung reached 1,000 points in his career at LSU and comes into the matchup against Texas with 1,097 points through 73 games in his collegiate career. He scored a career-high 38 points as a freshman for the Hoyas against Little Rock on Dec. 12, 2018. In his season-high against WVU, McClung went 11-for-21 from the field with four 3-pointers. He has made two or more 3-pointers in 14 games this season, four 3-pointers in two games and has made five or more free throws in 10 games. He has led Tech in scoring in 12 games this season and now has 50 games in his career scoring in double digits.

Shannon led Tech with 18 points at OSU last Monday where he made six shots and was 5-for-8 at the free-throw line and is coming off scoring 11 points in the win over Texas. He was named one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Award last Wednesday. Dealing with an ankle issue, he was coming off scoring five points at KU after 13 points in the home loss to WVU. He was limited to only 10 minutes of play in the second half at KSU with the ankle injury where he scored only two points. He had led the team in scoring in the previous two games after scoring a season-high 23 in the win at LSU before going for 15 points against Oklahoma. He's currently averaging 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in conference games and is at 12.8 points per game for the season. A sophomore from Chicago, Shannon has scored in double-digits in 17 games and 20 or more in four games. Against LSU he also added 10 rebounds to his 23-point performance for his first career double-double. He would score the final six points of the win, first on a layup off a steal to take a 72-71 lead before knocking down four free throws to ice the game. He's currently 76-for-96 on free throws (78.4 percent) this season and is 163 of 202 (80.7 percent) for his career after going 5-for-8 at OSU and 1-for-2 against UT. Shannon has scored 565 points, has 222 rebounds and 52 steals through 51 games of his career. He scored a career-high 24 points last season as a freshman at DePaul and also had a career-best 11 rebounds at Kansas last season. Shannon has made 19 3-pointers this season through 22 games played after having nine through 29 games as a freshman. He is a Julius Erving Award Finalist this season after being named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team last year. Shannon has now scored in double digits in 17 games this season after going 5-for-7 from the field for his 11 points against the Longhorns.

McCullar went for 10 points, four steals, three assists and five rebounds in the win over Texas after scoring 12 points against Kansas and Oklahoma State in the previous two games. He is now averaging 10.6 points and 6.6 rebounds for the season. He also grabbed nine rebounds at KU and had seven rebounds and four steals at OSU. His back-to-back four steals against UT and OSU matched a career high that he's now had five times through 43 games in his career. McCullar hit a career-best three 3-pointers (3-for-4) and also matched a career-high with four assists against KSU where he scored 15 points. The other four-assist game coming in the first matchup at WVU. A redshirt sophomore from San Antonio, McCullar missed the first nine games of the season due to an injury suffered in the preseason but emerged as one of the top players in the conference. He has recorded two double-doubles this season, first with 15 points and 11 rebounds at Iowa State and then again with a 10/10 double-double at home against No. 2 Baylor. He has three double-digit rebounding performances in his career after also having 11 rebounds last season at Iowa State. McCullar scored a career-high 16 points in the win at Texas where he was 6-for-7 from the field, including going 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. McCullar redshirted during the historic run to the 2019 NCAA Final Four before playing in 29 games last season. He has now scored 324 points and has 186 rebounds through 43 games of his career. He has recorded two or more steals in nine of 14 games played this season where he is averaging a team-best 1.8 steals per game.
Santos-Silva grabbed nine rebounds against Texas and also had 10 points in the win after he went for nine rebounds, eight points and three blocked shots in the overtime loss at OSU. He also produced 12 points and eight rebounds in the loss at KU where he reached the 1,000-point milestone in his career. He is now averaging 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He leads the Red Raiders with 1.1 blocks per game (25 total) this season with five in the past three games. He recorded a career-high five assists in the win at Kansas State and now has 26 assists for the season. Tech's only senior, Santos-Silva is in his first season with the program after transferring from VCU. He comes into the matchup against TCU with 1,022 points in his career along with 769 rebounds and 117 blocks through 120 games. He has recorded two double-doubles this season with 10 points and 13 rebounds against Northwestern State before going for 12 points and 10 rebounds against Sam Houston State. He also had double-digit rebounding performances with 11 rebounds against Baylor and then 12 rebounds against LSU in Baton Rouge. Santos-Silva scored a season-high 14 points in the first matchup against Kansas State and has nine double-digit scoring games this season (five in-conference). At VCU, he had a pair of 26-point games highlighted by a 26-point, 22-rebound double-double against Rhode Island on March 15, 2019 and 16 double-doubles. He leads Tech with 25 blocks this season, including career-high performances with four blocks in games against Abilene Christian and the home game against Oklahoma State. He's led the team in rebounding in nine games.

Edwards is coming off a game against Texas where he had 10 points and four assists and is now averaging 9.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and a team-leading 2.6 assists per game for the season. He filled the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists against WVU after also producing a game at KSU with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. A junior from Arlington, Edwards has been a part of 64 wins through 92 games as a Red Raider that includes playing in all 38 games a freshman during the run to the 2019 NCAA Championship Final. Edwards scored a season-high 19 points in wins over Abilene Christian and Iowa State this season and has now scored 777 points in his career. He's shooting 39-for-101 (37.0 percent) on 3-pointers this season and has made 118 3-pointers in his career. Edwards leads Tech with 62 assists this season, including a career-high seven assists in the opener against Northwestern State. He's recorded 18 assists in the past five games and has recorded three or more assists in 12 games this season. Edwards comes into the game against TCU with 199 assists in his career.

Peavy recorded a career-high seven rebounds at Kansas three games ago and is coming off a game against the Longhorns where he produced five points, four assists and five rebounds. He has started 22 of 23 games to begin his collegiate career where he is averaging 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. A true freshman who was the Texas Class 6A Player of the Year and a Class 6A State Champion at Duncanville HS, Peavy has scored a season-high 14 points in the season opener against Northwestern State and had a conference-high of 10 points at Kansas where he was 4-for-6 from the field and 2 of 4 at the line at Allen Fieldhouse to go along with his seven rebounds. He scored six points and had five rebounds against Baylor before also scoring six points at West Virginia. Peavy is shooting 45.5 percent from the field this season and has scored 126 points.

Tyreek Smith had a career-high eight rebounds in the win over Oklahoma at home before matching a career-high with three blocks at KSU where he also had five points. A redshirt freshman, Smith is averaging 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds through 23 games after having two points, two rebounds and a block against the Longhorns. Smith scored a career-high seven points in the non-conference wins over Northwestern State and Troy. Against Troy, he had a career-high three blocks that was matched at KSU. He's second on the team with 21 blocks this season. Burton is averaging 4.7 points and 1.3 assists per game. He's missed the past two games against OSU and UT with a toe injury and is listed as day-to-day. A junior from Charlotte, North Carolina who transferred from Wichita State, Burton has scored 628 points and has 256 assists through 88 games of his collegiate career. He scored a season-high 10 points in the win over Grambling in non-conference play and had a Big 12-best of nine at West Virginia where he was 4-for-7 from the field with one 3-pointer. Burton had a season-high five assists in the win over Northwestern State and has an 11-assist performance against Oklahoma State on his resume from Wichita State. Burton has made four starts and appeared in 17 games as a reserve this season.

Clarence Nadolny scored a season-high seven points against Oklahoma where he was 2-for-2 from the field, including hitting one 3-pointer before scoring three points at KSU. A sophomore from France, he had a season-best three assists at West Virginia in the first matchup where he played 17 minutes before scoring his seven points in 15 minutes against OU. He had a previous season-high of six points in the win over Corpus Christi and has a career-high of nine points last season against Houston Baptist as a freshman. He is currently 21 points away from 100 in his career. Avery Benson is currently averaging 1.6 points and 1.0 rebound per game. A redshirt junior, Benson is the only player on the current roster who was with the program when it advanced to the 2018 Elite 8. He is currently 5-for-7 on 3-pointers this season after hitting one at OSU. Benson had a career-high 10 points and two blocked shots last season in the win over No. 1 Louisville at the 2019 Jimmy V Classic in New York. Chibuzo Agbo and Vladislav Goldin are true freshman along with Peavy and have had some strong moments in their first season at Tech. A San Diego native, Agbo is averaging 1.8 points per game after scoring a Big 12-best four points in the win over Texas last Saturday where he made a layup and then two free throws in the final minute to help ice the game. He also scored two points at KU and his freshman resume also includes a season-high five points coming in the opener against Northwestern State. He had three points at West Virginia with a 3-pointer and also had two points at LSU. Agbo has hit six 3-pointers this season. Goldin is the tallest player on the roster at 7-foot-1 and is averaging 2.4 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. A forward from Russia, Goldin scored a career-high six points against Grambling in non-conference play and also added four rebounds in the win. Goldin played one minute against UT after he had not played since the win at Iowa State on Jan. 9 in Ames.