PREVIEW: No. 19 Red Raiders, Wildcats set for Saturday showdown

LUBBOCK, Texas – Round five of the Big 12 fight takes No. 19 Texas Tech to Manhattan, Kansas for a matchup against Kansas State at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Bramlage Coliseum.

The Red Raiders (13-3, 3-1 Big 12) are coming off a 78-57 win over Oklahoma State on Thursday and the 65-62 victory at No. 1 Baylor on Tuesday, while the Wildcats (8-7, 0-4 Big 12) dropped a 60-57 decision to TCU on Wednesday in their only game this week. KSU is currently 6-3 on its home court but with losses to Texas and the Horned Frogs to start Big 12 play. Tech has had three-game Big 12 winning streaks in the past two seasons but looks to extend it to four for the first time since 2019 when the team ended the conference schedule with nine straight wins.

Texas Tech comes into the matchup ninth in the nation with a 9.4 rebounding margin, 11th by limiting teams to only 37.4 percent shooting this season and is currently No. 4 in the Kenpom.com defensive efficiency. The Red Raiders are 12th throughout the NCAA by holding teams to only 58.4 points per game and own a 16.8 scoring margin after its 21-point win over Oklahoma State. Kevin Obanor led Tech in scoring for the second time this season after going for 17 points in the win over Oklahoma State, while Marcus Santos-Silva recorded the 13th double-double of his career with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Red Raiders matched a season-high with nine 3-pointers and secured the win with five players scoring in double figures with Adonis Arms having 13, Davion Warren adding 12 and Bryson Williams contributing 11 points and six rebounds. Obanor and Arms had three 3-pointers each.

KSU holds a 24-22 all-time advantage in the series, but Tech has won four in a row and eight of 10 over the Wildcats. The two programs were 2019 Big 12 regular-season co-champions.

The Red Raiders will return from Kansas State to host Iowa State on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Cyclones handed Tech its only Big 12 loss this season, a 51-47 outcome with the Red Raiders playing the game with only seven players due to a combination of injuries and health and safety protocols.

QUICK FACTS
Matchup: No. 19 Texas Tech (13-3, 3-1) at Kansas State (8-7, 0-4)
Venue: Bramlage Coliseum (12,528)
Tip: 11 a.m., Saturday
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Ted Emrich (play-by-play), Tim Welsh (analyst)
Radio (Texas Tech Sports Network): 97.3 Double T FM
Radio Talent: Geoff Haxton (play-by-play), Chris Level (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Radio Channels: Ch. 199
Series History: Kansas State leads 24-22 (Tech has won 8 of 10)

RED RAIDER ROSTER REPORT
The Tech roster of 14 is made up of five returners, six NCAA Division I transfers, one junior college transfer, a walk-on who joined at midterm 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.

McCullar returned from missing the first two Big 12 games to fill the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win over Baylor and then providing seven points and four assists against Oklahoma State. A junior from San Antonio, McCullar played as a reserve for the first time this season at Baylor in his return before starting against OSU. He played 30 minutes in both games. McCullar is averaging 12.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals through 12 games played this season. He has had three or more assists in nine games and already has 44 assists this season after having 41 through 20 games played last season. McCullar is the only player on the roster who was part of the 2019 Final Four team where he was a redshirt freshman after he graduated high school early and enrolled at Tech midyear. He has now played in 61 games in his Red Raider career and has 536 points, 289 rebounds and 106 assists. McCullar was a 2021 All-Big 12 honorable mention selection.

Arms went for 13 points against Oklahoma State after leading the team with 14 points and nine rebounds against Baylor along with matching McCullar with five assists. Making his seventh straight start after playing the first nine as a reserve, Arms is currently averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in Big 12 play and is at 8.9 points and 2.4 assists per game for the season. He went 7 of 13 from the field against the Bears and had his third game with five assists this season in the win over the top-ranked team in the nation. His nine rebounds were a season-high and only one shy of giving him his first double-double. A super senior at his fourth college, Arms began his career at Mesa Community College, Northwest Nazarene and Winthrop before deciding to transfer to Tech this season.

Williams is leading Tech with 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds through four Big 12 games after providing 11 points and six rebounds in the win over Oklahoma State. He was coming off 13 points and five rebounds in the win over Baylor after matching a season-high with 22 points in the win over Kansas. A super senior in his first season at Tech, Williams is averaging 11.9 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Red Raiders through 16 games. He also scored 22 points in the season opener against North Florida and now has 90 games in his career where he has scored in double figures. A Fresno, California native, Williams played two seasons at Fresno State before playing the past two at UTEP. Utilizing a fifth season, Williams is an experienced player with 1,818 points, 824 rebounds and 88 blocked shots through 137 games in his career.

Obanor led Tech with 17 points in the win over Oklahoma State after the game at Baylor where he scored 13 points and also had four rebounds. A senior from Houston, Obanor is averaging 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in his first season at Tech after three years at Oral Roberts. He has now scored 1,456 points and has 763 rebounds in his career. Obanor scored a season-high 20 points in the non-conference win over Lamar where he hit three 3-pointers. He has made 24 3-pointers for the season after going 3-for-5 against the Cowboys and is now 146-for-357 (40.9 percent) for his career. He has recorded 30 double-doubles and has scored in double figures in 72 games through 102 career games.

Nadolny had a team-high three steals in the win over Oklahoma State where he also had three rebounds. He had made his three straight starts but played 24 minutes against OSU as a reserve. He scored in double figures for the second time in his career against Baylor where he went for 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting against the Bears. A junior from France, Nadolny is in his third season at Tech and has played in 61 games – getting his first start of his career in the conference opener at Iowa State. He scored a career-high 17 points in the win over No. 6 Kansas last Saturday by going 6 of 13 from the field in 34 minutes of play. Through four Big 12 games, Nadolny is averaging 9.8 points and 3.0 steals per game. He had a career-high four steals in the loss at Iowa State where he also had nine points. Nadolny missed the first three games of the season due to off-season hip surgery and is currently averaging 4.9 points and 1.5 steals per game for the season.

Warren went for 12 points and five rebounds in the win over Oklahoma State to give him nine games scoring in double figures this season. At Baylor, he hit a pair of free throws with 22 seconds remaining to push the lead to three and the eventual final score. In his first season at Tech after transferring from Hampton, Warren is averaging 10.5 points per game as a starter in all 16 games. He scored a season-high 19 points in the non-conference win over Grambling and went for 12 points in the Big 12 opener against Iowa State. Warren is currently leading the Red Raiders with 23 steals and has also contributed 27 assists. Along with playing at Hampton, Warren began his collegiate career at Olney Central College where he played junior college basketball for two seasons. In his fifth season now, Warren has scored 1,763 points in his career.

Santos-Silva recorded his first double-double of the season and 13th of his career by going for 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Oklahoma State. He also had a strong performance against Kansas where he provided toughness along with seven points, four rebounds and two assists. He had two blocks at Baylor and was held scoreless. A super senior from Taunton, Massachusetts who played three seasons at VCU, he has produced 1,154 points and 870 rebounds through a team-high 142 games in his collegiate career. Santos-Silva is averaging 5.3 points and 4.0 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. He had five rebounds, three assists and scored four points against Iowa State, including a fastbreak dunk gave Tech a 42-40 lead with two minutes remaining against the Cyclones. Santos-Silva has 27 games in his career with double-digit rebounds after his 10 against OSU and has eight games with four or more rebounds this season. He currently has 349 offensive rebounds in his career with three against the Cowboys. Santos-Silva started all 29 games for Tech last season and has played a reserve role in all 16 this season.

Mylik Wilson had missed five games after minor knee surgery but returned to lead Tech with five assists in the win over Kansas. He also added five points and four rebounds in his Big 12 debut – playing 23 minutes in his return. Wilson had four points and an assist on Thursday against OSU. He leads Tech with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio with 32 assists and only 11 turnovers. He is also adding 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 11 games played. A transfer from Louisiana, Wilson has started five of 11 games he played in. Wilson had a season-high seven assists in the season-opening win over North Florida and has four or more assists in five games this season. Wilson is a junior with three years of eligibility remaining after playing two seasons at Louisiana. He currently has 200 assists, 711 points and 330 rebounds through 66 games played in his collegiate career.

Terrence Shannon, Jr. has missed the past seven games against Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas, Iowa State, Alabama State, Eastern Washington and Gonzaga with an injury and is listed as a game-time decision for Saturday's game at Kansas State. He is scoring a team-best 14.3 points per game after recording his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Tennessee, but then having a season-low two points against Arkansas State in limited minutes in his last action on the court. His 12 rebounds against the Volunteers were a career-high and it was his second career double-double after he had a 23/10 performance last season at LSU. He was coming off 17 points 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 five of six games he's played in this season and in 41 games through 63 in his career. He also scored 18 points in the team's 56-point win over Omaha and is currently shooting 11-for-30 (36.7 percent) on 3-pointers with two or more in each of the five games he's played in. Shannon has scored 730 points in his career with a high of 24 points as a freshman at DePaul. He earned 2021 All-Big 12 Third Team honors and is on the Preseason All-Big 12 team and watch lists for the Naismith, Wooden and West awards.

At full strength, Tech's bench is strong with Daniel Batcho, Chibuzo Agbo and KJ Allen 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 secured a career-high 11 rebounds in the win over Tennessee where he also scored four points and had two blocked shots and is now coming off going for nine rebounds and eight points against Alabama State. Batcho had 10 rebounds and also scored six points in the 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 and 3.2 points per game. He had two rebounds and recorded his team-best 10th blocked shot in the win over OSU.

Tech's only true freshman, Ethan Duncan, is redshirting this season after suffering an off-season shoulder injury that required surgery. Austin Timperman made his debut against EWU after becoming eligible at midterm. A walk-on from The Woodlands, Timperman transferred to Tech as a student last year after being in UTSA's team during the 2019-20 season where he played in six games. Sardaar Calhoun entered the transfer portal on Jan. 11 and is no longer with the team.

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 18th head coach in program history, has won 561 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 18th 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).

POLLS
Texas Tech is up six spots to No. 19 in the Associated Press Top 25 after four straight weeks at No. 25. Along with Baylor and Tech, the Big 12 is represented by Kansas which fell back to No. 9 after its loss to TTU, No. 15 Iowa State and No. 22 Texas. No. 2 Gonzaga, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Southern Cal round out the top-5 while Houston is up a spot to No. 11. Oklahoma and West Virginia continue to receive votes but are just outside the Top 25 in the Week 10 poll. Tech's ranking at No. 19 makes it five straight weeks in the poll after first entering on December 13 following a win over then-No. 13 Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic.

TECH VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Tech is now 3-2 against ranked opponents this season after knocking off No. 1 Baylor, No. 6 Kansas and a 57-52 overtime win over then-No. 13 Tennessee at the Jimmy V Classic. The losses came at No. 11 Iowa State to open Big 12 play after a 69-55 loss to No. 5 Gonzaga in the Jerry Colangelo Classic. As a program, Tech is 64-217 all-time against ranked opponents after going 16-24 in the previous five seasons. The Red Raiders were 3-8 in the 2020-21 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.

RED RAIDERS vs. TOP-10 OPPONENTS
Tech has now beat a top-10 opponent in eight straight seasons , a top-5 opponent in seven straight seasons and has 26 wins over top-10 teams in program history. The Red Raiders have 12 wins over top-10 teams since the 2015 season. Tech went 2-4 against top-10 opponents last season with a 79-77 road win over Texas in Austin on Jan. 13, 2021 before knocking off No. 9 Oklahoma with a 57-52 win in Lubbock on Feb. 1, 2021. The Red Raiders dropped their conference opener last season to No. 5 Kansas at home and fell twice to Baylor before No. 10 Arkansas topped them in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

PREVIEW: No. 19 Red Raiders, Wildcats set for Saturday showdown

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Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

KJ Allen

Adonis Arms

Daniel Batcho

Ethan Duncan

Kevin Obanor

Marcus Santos-Silva

Austin Timperman

Davion Warren

Bryson Williams

Mylik Wilson