PREVIEW: No. 13 Red Raiders ready for Big 12/SEC Challenge

LUBBOCK, Texas – No. 13 Texas Tech ventures outside conference play to host Mississippi State at 5 p.m. on Saturday in a Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (15-5, 5-3 Big 12) are 5-3 all-time in the crossover event after a win at LSU, while the Bulldogs (13-6, 4-3 SEC) are 1-2 in the challenge after a victory over Iowa State in last year's games. Tech is coming off a 94-91 double-overtime loss at No. 5 Kansas on Monday night and MSU took an overtime loss at No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday in games leading into this weekend.

Bryson Williams is coming off a season-high 33 points for the Red Raider at Kansas after going 14-for-19 from the field and 4-for-4 on 3-pointers. Tech currently has five players scoring in double figures, led by Williams who is now at 13.7 points per game this season and 1,900 through 141 career games. Terrence Shannon, Jr. is adding 12.0 points through 10 games played this season, while Kevin McCullar is at 11.0 ppg., Davion Warren is scoring 10.5 after going for 15 at KU and Kevin Obanor is now averaging 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds after a 17-point, eight-rebound performance in Lawrence. Williams is currently second in the Big 12 by shooting 54.0 percent from the field, while McCullar is eighth in the conference with a 3.6 assists per game.

Tech is currently 12-0 at home and has a 14-game non-conference home winning streak going coming into the matchup. The Red Raiders are 10-2 in non-conference play going into their final matchup against a non-Big 12 team in the regular season, while MSU is looking for its first true road win (0-3) and is 9-3 in its non-conference play. Tech's last loss in a non-conference home game came against Kentucky on Jan. 25, 2020 with the Wildcats taking a 76-74 overtime win that snapped a 54-game non-conference home winning streak.

QUICK FACTS
Matchup: Mississippi State (13-6, 4-3 SEC) at No. 13 Texas Tech (15-5, 5-3 Big 12)
Venue: United Supermarkets Arena (15,098)
Tip: 5:05 p.m., Saturday
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Rich Hollenberg (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. 81
Series History: Texas Tech leads 2-0 all-time

Texas Tech – Big 12-SEC Challenge History
Date, Matchup; Location
01/30/2021: Texas Tech 76, LSU 71; Baton Rouge, Louisiana
01/25/2020: Kentucky 76, Texas Tech 74 (OT); Lubbock, Texas
01/26/2019: Texas Tech 67, Arkansas 64; Lubbock, Texas
01/27/2018: Texas Tech 70, South Carolina 63; Columbia, South Carolina
01/28/2017: Texas Tech 77, LSU 64; Lubbock, Texas
01/30/2016: Arkansas 75, Texas Tech 68 (OT); Fayetteville, Arkansas
12/03/2014: Texas Tech 46, Auburn 44; Lubbock, Texas
11/14/2013: Alabama 76, Texas Tech 64; Tuscaloosa, Alabama

NATIONAL POLLS/STAT REPORT
Texas Tech moved up to No. 13 in the Associated Press Men's Basketball Top 25 and No. 14 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll on Monday. The Red Raiders are currently 15th in the nation with teams only shooting 38.2 percent and 18th by limiting opponents to just 60.8 points per game with only three opponents scoring over 70 all season. Tech leads the Big 12 by limiting opponents to only 38.2 percent shooting. The Red Raiders are 17th nationally with a 13.9 scoring margin after the 13-point win over WVU and three-point loss to KU and are fourth in the Big 12 by shooting 47.0 percent offensively. Tech shot 46.6 percent against Kansas. Tech is currently 4-3 against teams who were ranked at the time of play with wins over No. 1 Baylor, No. 6 Kansas, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 15 Iowa State. The losses came to Gonzaga in the Jerry Colangelo Classic on Dec. 18 in Arizona and in the Big 12 opener against Iowa State on Jan. 5 in Ames, Iowa. It is the first time in program history with four top-15 wins in a regular season. Along with the polls, Tech comes into Saturday's matchup against MSU at No. 13 in the Kenpom.com ratings at No. 15 in the NCAA NET Rankings. The Red Raiders are currently fourth in the Kenpom.com defensive efficiency rating behind LSU, VCU and San Diego State in the category. Tech was not in the AP Top 25 in the preseason or for the first five weeks before entering at No. 25 on Dec. 13 after topping Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic. The Red Raiders were at No. 25 for four straight polls before moving up to No. 19 last week after their win over then-No. 6 Kansas in the first of two straight top-10 wins.

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. The program has five players who have played over 100 games in their career in Obanor (106), Warren (139), Williams (141), Santos-Silva (146) and Arms (124).

Williams has scored in double figures in all eight of Tech's conference games this season after going for a season-high with his 33 points at Kansas where he was 14-for-19 from the field and 4-for-4 on 3-pointers. His 33 points were only one point shy of his career-high of 34 while playing at UTEP. He had scored 13 points in the win over West Virginia and leading the Red Raiders with 16 points against Iowa State before the first 30-point performance for a Red Raider this season. He led Tech in scoring for the seventh time this season at KU after he had also led the team with his 16 points in the win over the Cyclones and is now averaging 13.7 points per game for the season and 17.3 in Big 12 games. Williams, who leads Tech by shooting 46.9 percent on 3-pointers with 23 makes with six in the past two games, recorded 20 or more points for the 28th time in his career at KU after also leading the Red Raiders with 20 points in the loss at Kansas State. A super senior in his first season at Tech, he also scored 22 points in the season opener against North Florida and now has 94 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 1,900 points, 840 rebounds and 89 blocked shots through 141 games in his career.

Obanor is coming off a game at Kansas where he had 17 points and eight rebounds and is now averaging 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds for the season. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday after he had scored 18 points in the win over WVU along with contributing 15 points and eight rebounds in the victory over Iowa State. Obanor is now averaging 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in Big 12 play and has now scored 1,512 points in his career. He also 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 scored a season-high 20 points in the non-conference win over Lamar where he hit three 3-pointers. He has made 25 3-pointers for the season and is now 147-for-370 (39.7 percent) for his career. He has recorded 30 double-doubles, has scored in double figures in 75 games and grabbed 785 rebounds through 106 career games. Obanor has made a 3-pointer in 13 of 120 games this season and leads Tech with 25 made 3-pointers.

Shannon scored a season-high 23 points in the win over West Virginia by going 7-for-12 from the field and hitting three 3-pointers before scoring five points at Kansas. He made his return to the lineup against at Kansas State on Jan. 15 after he had missed the previous seven games against Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas, Iowa State, Alabama State, Eastern Washington and Gonzaga with an injury. He is now averaging 11.4 points per game through 10 games played this season. Before missing seven straight games, he had recorded his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Tennessee at the Jimmy V Classic. 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 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. 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 six of 10 games he's played in this season and in 42 games through 67 in his career. He has scored 764 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.

McCullar was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List on Thursday. He is coming off a game at KU where he had four assists, three rebounds and a season-low two points after he had seven points, four assists and five rebounds in the win over WVU. A stat sheet stuffer, he is now averaging 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals through 16 games played this season. McCullar had returned from missing the first two Big 12 games to record 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win over then No. 1 Baylor on Jan. 11 and has played in six straight games. A junior from San Antonio, McCullar has had three or more assists in 12 games and already has a team-leading 58 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 65 games in his Red Raider career and has 558 points, 308 rebounds, 120 assists and 94 steals. McCullar, who is averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds through six Big 12 games played, was a 2021 All-Big 12 honorable mention selection.

Warren scored 15 points and matched a season-high with five assists at Kansas on Monday and is now averaging 10.5 points with 11 double-figure scoring performances through 20 starts this season. In his first season at Tech after transferring from Hampton, Warren is averaging 9.4 points per Big 12 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 29 steals after having two more against Kansas and has also contributed 33 assists. His five assists matched another five-assist performance earlier this season against North Florida in the opener. 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 1,805 points in his career.

Arms is currently averaging 7.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in Big 12 play and is at 8.0 points and 2.1 assists per game for the season. He had 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. 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. He's scored 1,520 points in his career.

Nadolny is averaging 4.4 points and 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game. At Kansas, he was limited to two points in eight minutes. He had a team-high three steals in the win over Oklahoma State before providing six points at Kansas State. Nadolny had made three straight starts to open Big 12 before playing the past five back as a reserve and is currently averaging 6.3 points and leads the team with 13 steals in conference play. 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 65 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 by going 6 of 13 from the field in 34 minutes of play. 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.

Santos-Silva leads Tech with 12 blocks this season after having one against Kansas and two against WVU in the past two games. He 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 and is coming off contributing six rebounds and five points at Kansas. He had a strong performance against Kansas in the first matchup also where he provided toughness along with seven points, four rebounds and two assists. A super senior from Taunton, Massachusetts who played three seasons at VCU, he has produced 1,167 points, 136 blocks and 884 rebounds through a team-high 146 games in his collegiate career. Santos-Silva has a high of 12 rebounds coming in the win over Lamar and 13 points in the opener against North Florida. 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 354 offensive rebounds in his career with at least one in the past five games. Santos-Silva started all 29 games for Tech last season and has played a reserve role in all 20 this season.

Mylik Wilson scored five points and had four rebounds at Kansas on Monday in 21 minutes of play. He had missed five games after minor knee surgery but has played seven in a row – returning to lead Tech with five assists in the win over Kansas on Jan. 8. He leads Tech with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio with 33 assists and only 13 turnovers. He is also adding 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 15 games played. A transfer from Louisiana, Wilson has started five of 15 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 201 assists, 719 points and 335 rebounds through 70 games played in his collegiate career.

Tech's bench is strong with young talent in Daniel Batcho, Chibuzo Agbo and KJ Allen who are poised to make impacts whenever they get on the court. Batcho is a freshman from Paris France who transferred from Arizona where he redshirted last season before deciding to transfer while Agbo is a sophomore who has played in 34 games as a Red Raider. Batcho secured a career-high 11 rebounds in the win over Tennessee where he also scored four points and had two blocked shots. Batcho had 10 rebounds and also scored six points in the win over Omaha after producing eight rebounds and eight points against Incarnate Word. He's coming off three points and two rebounds at KU after grabbing four rebounds against Iowa State for his Big 12 best. The tallest Red Raider at 6-foot-11, Batcho is averaging 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 points per game. Agbo scored a career-high seven points against Omaha this season and had six points in the 2021 NCAA Tournament against Arkansas where he hit two second-half 3-pointers in the second-round matchup. Allen is in his first season at Tech after transferring from East Los Angeles College where he averaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds, had 11 double-doubles and starred in the Netflix series Last Chance U: Basketball during his freshman season of 2019-20.

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. At midyear, Tech added Jaylon Tyson to the roster after he decided to transfer from the University of Texas. Tyson will be able to practice with the team, but is not eligible to play until the 2022-23 season.

MISSISSIPPI STATE REPORT
The Bulldogs come into Lubbock with a 13-6 overall record after an 82-74 overtime loss at Kentucky on Tuesday night after a 78-60 win over Ole Miss last Saturday. MSU is averaging 75.4 points per game and is limiting opponents to 66.2 for the season. Iverson Molinar leads the Bulldogs with 18.4 points per game and with 81 assists. Brooks Garrison is adding 11.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while Shakeel Moore is at 11.1 ppg. to give MSU four players in double figures. Molinar is coming off scoring 30 points against Kentucky where he was 13-for-21 from the field in a game where the team shot 42.9 percent from the field. Along with their win over Ole Miss, the Bulldogs have SEC wins over Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama.
Mississippi State is second in the SEC with a 8.2 rebounding margin advantage and by forcing 11.9 turnovers per game after Kentucky had 17 turnovers. The Bulldogs will host South Carolina on Tuesday in their next game.

2022 Big 12/SEC Challenge – Saturday, January 29
Baylor at Alabama
Missouri at Iowa State
Kentucky at Kansas
Kansas State at Ole Miss
Oklahoma at Auburn
Oklahoma State at Florida
LSU at TCU
Tennessee at Texas
Mississippi State at Texas Tech
West Virginia at Arkansas

UP NEXT: Texas Tech will host Texas at 8 p.m. on Tuesday (ESPN2) in the first matchup of the season between the two programs. The Red Raiders went 2-0 against the Longhorns in the regular season last year. Tech has won seven of the last 10 games in the series and is 35-29 at home against UT.

PREVIEW: No. 13 Red Raiders ready for Big 12/SEC Challenge

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Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

KJ Allen

Adonis Arms

Daniel Batcho

Ethan Duncan

Kevin McCullar

Kevin Obanor

Marcus Santos-Silva

Austin Timperman

Davion Warren

Bryson Williams

Mylik Wilson

Texas Tech University Athletics