PREVIEW: No. 14 Tech, No. 23 Texas to renew rivalry

LUBBOCK, Texas – A longstanding rivalry will be renewed and intensified when No. 14 Texas Tech hosts No. 23 Texas at 8 p.m. on Tuesday in a Big 12 fight at the United Supermarkets Arena. The game between teams with identical records is the 152nd in the series that dates back to 1939, but is the first in the return of UT head coach Chris Beard who led the Red Raiders to unprecedented heights over the past five seasons.

The Red Raiders (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) and head coach Mark Adams are coming off an emphatic 76-50 win over Mississippi State last Saturday, while the Longhorns (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) hung on for a 52-51 win over Tennessee in their Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup. Tech has won seven of 10 against Texas, including sweeping the regular-season series last season before falling in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals. The 16-5 start for Adams matches Bob Knight (2001-02 season) for the best start for a first-year Tech head coach through 21 games. Beard was 15-6 in his first season of 2016-17 at Tech with Adams as his associate head coach.

Bryson Williams was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday and leads the Red Raiders with 13.5 points per game for the season and 17.3 points per Big 12 game. Williams earned the honor after going off for 33 points last Monday in the 94-91 overtime loss at Kansas before scoring 10 points against MSU to extend a streak of double-figure scoring performances to nine games. He's currently second in the Big 12 by shooting 54.4 percent from the field.

Five players are averaging double-figure scoring for Tech coming into the 22nd game of the season with Terrence Shannon, Jr. (12.0), Kevin McCullar (10.5), Kevin Obanor (10.4) and Davion Warren (10.3) all producing this season. Adonis Arms is averaging 8.4 points per game after leading the Red Raiders with a season-high 16 points in the win over Mississippi State. Arms has led Tech in scoring in four games this season, while Williams has in seven, McCullar and Shannon in four each and Obanor twice. The Red Raiders are coming off their second 20-assist game of the season and are averaging 14.4 assists per game this season.

Tech is currently 13-0 at home this season matching Gonzaga, Providence and Kentucky for the most home wins in the nation this season without a loss. The Red Raiders extended their overall 15-game non-conference home winning streak with the victory over MSU last weekend and already have four Big 12 home wins over Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and West Virginia on their resume. Tech is 35-29 against Texas at home in the series history, including a 68-59 win last season on Feb. 27, 2021 and is 6-2 in the last eight matchups at the USA.

The Longhorns come to Lubbock with a 2-4 record on the road this season, including going 2-2 in Big 12 road games. Texas is led by Beard who is in his first season with the Longhorns after five seasons as the head coach at Texas Tech. Beard amassed a 112-55 record as the Red Raider head coach, guiding the program to the 2018 NCAA Elite 8 and 2019 NCAA National Championship Final – the first time for both accomplishments in program history.

QUICK FACTS
Matchup: Texas (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) at No. 13 Texas Tech (16-5, 5-3 Big 12)
Venue: United Supermarkets Arena (15,098)
Tip: 8:05 p.m., Tuesday
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Mark Neely (play-by-play), Chris Spatola (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 leads 88-63; In Lubbock: Tech leads 35-29; Last 10: Tech leads 7-3; Ranked vs. Ranked: Texas leads 4-2

NATIONAL POLLS/STATS
The Red Raiders dropped back one spot in the AP Poll on Monday after jumping from No. 18 to No. 13 in last week's rankings. The team has now been ranked for eight straight weeks following being unranked in the preseason poll and for the first five polls of the season. Tech entered the rankings at No. 25 on December 13 and was ranked No. 25 for four straight weeks before moving up to No. 19 and No. 18. Texas Tech comes into the matchup against the No. 23 Longhorns with a 4-3 record against ranked opponents this season, earning wins over No. 13 Tennessee (Dec. 7), No. 6 Kansas (Jan. 8), No. 1 Baylor (Jan. 11) and No. 15 Iowa State (Jan. 18). The losses came against No. 5 Gonzaga (Dec. 18) and No. 11 Iowa State (Jan. 5) and No. 5 Kansas (Jan. 24). Tech is currently 2-0 against ranked opponents at home this season with the wins over Kansas and Iowa State.

The Red Raiders come into this week leading the Big 12 by holding opponents to just 38.3 percent shooting which ranks 14th nationally and are 17th in the country with teams averaging just 60.3 points per game. Only three opponents have scored of 70 points all season against the Tech defense which is currently third in the Kenpom.com defensive efficiency rating. Mississippi State was the 10th opponent held under 60 points this season and the 26-point win pushed Tech's margin of victory to 14.5 which is 14th nationally. Offensively, Tech had its best shooting performance of the season at 61.7 percent and is now at 47.6 percent for the season which ranks fourth in the conference and 31st nationally.

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 (107), Warren (140), Williams (142), Santos-Silva (147) and Arms (124).

Williams has scored in double figures in all eight of Tech's conference games this season and is coming off his ninth straight double-figure scoring performance after having 10 points in the win over Mississippi State. Williams scored a season-high 33 points at Kansas last Monday where he was 14-for-19 from the field and 4-for-4 on 3-pointers. He is second in the Big 12 by shooting 54.4 percent from the field and is now averaging 13.5 points per game for the season and 17.3 in Big 12 games. His 33 points at KU 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. Williams, who leads Tech by shooting 46.0 percent on 3-pointers with 23 makes with nine in the past five 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 95 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 1,910 points, 842 rebounds and 89 blocked shots through 142 games in his career.

Obanor went for 13 points and six rebounds against Mississippi State after a game at Kansas where he had 17 points and eight rebounds. He is now averaging 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds and has scored in double figures in four straight games for the first time this year. Obanor was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week last 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 1,525 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. 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 a team-best 27 3-pointers for the season and is now 149-for-374 (39.8 percent) for his career after going 2-for-4 against MSU. He has recorded 30 double-doubles, has scored in double figures in 76 games and grabbed 791 rebounds through 107 career games. Obanor has made at least one 3-pointer in 14 of 21 games this season.

Shannon did not play last Saturday against Mississippi State and will be a game-time decision against Texas. He 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 had 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 last week and is coming off a game where he had 4 assists and five rebounds against MSU. A stat sheet stuffer, he is now averaging 10.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals through 17 games played this season. McCullar missed the first two Big 12 games but returned to record 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win over then No. 1 Baylor on Jan. 11 and has played in seven straight games. A junior from San Antonio, McCullar has had three or more assists in 13 games and already has a team-leading 62 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 66 games in his Red Raider career and has 560 points, 313 rebounds, 124 assists and 96 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 last Monday before contributing seven points in the matchup against MSU. He is now averaging 10.3 points with 11 double-figure scoring performances through 21 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 30 steals after having two more against Kansas and one against MSU last week. His five assists at KU 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 1,813 points in his career.

Arms scored seven of Tech's first eight points in the win over Mississippi State and finished with a season-high 16 points and seven assists last Saturday. He is currently averaging 7.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in Big 12 play and is at 8.4 points and 2.3 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 1,536 points in his career with nine games in double figures this season. A Milwaukee native who moved to Arizona at 12-years-old, Arms has made 23 3-pointers this season after going 3-for-5 against MSU. He now has three games with three 3-pointers.

Santos-Silva led Tech with nine rebounds in the win over Mississippi State and also provided six points and two assists. He is the team-leader with 12 blocks this season after having one against Kansas and two against WVU. 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 was coming off contributing six rebounds and five points at Kansas. A super senior from Taunton, Massachusetts who played three seasons at VCU, he has produced 1,173 points, 136 blocks and 893 rebounds through a team-high 147 games in his collegiate career. Santos-Silva has a season-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 356 offensive rebounds in his career with at least one in the past six games. Santos-Silva started all 29 games for Tech last season and has played a reserve role in all 20 this season.

Mylik Wilson had a season-high 12 points against Mississippi State after hitting three shots and going 6 of 6 from the free-throw line. A transfer from Louisiana, he currently has 202 assists, 731 points and 337 rebounds through 71 games played in his collegiate career. He scored five points and had four rebounds at Kansas last Monday in 21 minutes of play before his first double-figure scoring performance as a Red Raider. He had missed five games after minor knee surgery but has played eight in a row – returning to lead Tech with five assists in the win over Kansas on Jan. 8 in his first game back. He leads Tech with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio with 34 assists and only 13 turnovers. He is also adding 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 16 games played. Wilson started five of the first six games of the season and had a season-high seven assists in the opener against North Florida.

Nadolny is averaging 4.2 points, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Nadolny had made three straight starts to open Big 12 before playing the past six 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.

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.

A true freshman from Lubbock, 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.

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PREVIEW: No. 14 Tech, No. 23 Texas to renew rivalry

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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