Texas Tech University Athletics
Monday, November 14
Lubbock, Texas
7 p.m.
Texas Tech Athletics
vs
Louisiana Tech
PREVIEW: No. 23 Red Raiders close homestand against LA Tech
November 12, 2022 | Men's Basketball
7 p.m., Monday | TV: ESPN+ | Lubbock, Texas
No. 23ย Texas Tech is on a 23-game home winning streak going into the third game of the season where it hosts Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. on Monday at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders (2-0) will close out a three-game homestand to open the season after wins over Northwestern State and Texas Southern during the first week, while the Bulldogs (1-0) earned a 78-61 home win over Mississippi College (NCAA Division II) last Monday in their opener. Texas Tech travels to Hawaii later in the week to play three games in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational beginning against No. 9 Creighton on Monday, November 21. ย
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โข Mark Adams is in his second season leading the Texas Tech program where he is now 29-10 overall and 20-0 at homeโฆ A 1979 Tech graduate, Adams led the Red Raiders to a 27-10 overall record and 12-6 conference mark in his first season as the head coachโฆ He was named the Associated Press Big 12 Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year
โข Tech returned only one starter (Kevin Obanor) and three lettermen (Daniel Batcho, KJ Allen and Obanor) from last year's team while welcoming in five transfers (D'Maurian Williams, Fardaws Aimaq, Jaylon Tyson, De'Vion Harmon, Kerwin Walton) and five true freshmen (Lamar Washington, Pop Isaacs, Robert Jennings, CJ Williams, Elijah Fisher)
โข GAME TWO: Obanor led Tech with 13 points and seven rebounds in the 78-54 win over Texas Southern on Thursday nightโฆ Obanor now has 90 games in double-figure scoring and hit 900 career rebounds in the gameโฆ He was joined in double figures by Tyson who had a career-high 13 points and Harmon who had 12 points and a team-high three assistsโฆ Tech won the game by 24 points and only trailed for 42 seconds
โข GAME ONE: Batcho led Tech with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the win over Northwestern Stateโฆ It was his first career start, first double-double, career-high in scoring and third career game in double-figure reboundsโฆ Obanor and Walton had nine points each in the win, while Tyson had eight points and five rebounds
โข The Red Raider starters for the first two games this season has been Obanor, Batcho, Isaacs, Tyson and Harmonโฆ They are 2-0 as a starting unit
โข Tech is coming off a season where it reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the sixth time in program history and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight time โ a new Tech recordโฆ The Red Raiders advanced to the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 Championship Final, 2021 Second Round and 2022 Sweet 16โฆ Tech has an 11-4 record over the past four tournaments
โข Tech started last season with a 6-0 record before a loss at Providence College in the Big 12-BIG EAST Battleโฆ It was the eighth time in program history to begin a year with six straight wins
โข 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
โข Corey Williams returned as an assistant coach for his second season at Tech while Steve Green and Al Pinkins joined the staff as assistant coaches during the offseasonโฆ Pinkins returned to Tech after four seasons at Florida following working at Tech from 2016-18โฆ He was the interim head coach at Florida in the 2022 NITโฆ Green was at South Plains College for the past 23 seasons where he was a national championโฆ Adams has built a staff that also includes: Rick Cooper (chief of staff), Taylor Sinclair (director of operations), Sean Sutton (advisor), Darryl Dora (player personnel), Matt Scherbenske (director of recruiting), George Neilson (director of scouting), Darby Rich (strength & conditioning), John Bloom (assistant strength & conditioning), Luke Adams (player development), Cooper Anderson (coordinator of operations), Jamaal Scott (academics) and Briana Whitaker (executive associate)
โข Tech went 18-0 at home last season, including 9-0 in Big 12 playโฆ The team is scheduled to play 17 home games this season and is currently 2-0
โข Tech's program record is 35 straight home victoriesโฆ That streak started with four wins at the end of the 1993-94 season before a pair of 13-0 runs (1994-95 and 1995-96) and then five home wins to start the 1996-97 season
โข The Red Raiders finished No. 1 in defensive efficiency for the second time in four seasons last yearโฆ After two games, the Red Raiders are 8th in the category on Kenpomโฆ Tech also topped the Kenpom.com category in 2019 and were No. 9 in 2020
โข Tech has won 17 straight non-conference home games without a loss since an overtime defeat to Kentucky on Jan. 25, 2020โฆ The 17 straight wins come after the program had won 54 non-conference home games in a row before the loss to the Wildcats in a Big 12-SEC Challenge matchup
โข Tech finished with an 18-0 record at home in 2021-22 season which was only matched by Kentucky going 18-0 at Rupp Arenaโฆ Outscored opponents 79.7 to 58.8 per game with opponents shooting 39.1 percentโฆ 16 of the 18 home wins were by double-digits with the only ones not by 10 or more being victories over Kansas (75-67, +8) and Kansas State (73-68, +5)โฆ Tech's last home loss came on February 9, 2021 against No. 14 West Virginia
โข This will be the second of five regular-season games on Monday for the Red Raiders with two coming in the Big 12 schedule... The final game of the NCAA basketball season is on Monday, April 3 in Houston, Texas
โข The Red Raiders had a sell-out (15,098) for their 2022-23 season-opener against Northwestern State after they finished 11th nationally in average attendance last season with 13,973 fans per game and 251,515 total... Tech had five sell-outs last season and established a new program record by exceeding capacity at 15,300 fans in attendance against Texasโฆ There were 12 games of 14,000+ in attendance and all 18 exceeded 12,000
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ROSTER REPORT
โข Kevin Obanor has started all 39 games since he joined the Red Raiders last season and is coming off leading the team with 13 points and seven rebounds in the win over Texas Southernโฆ With his performance, he now has 900 career rebounds and has had 90 games where he has scored in double figuresโฆ He had nine points and four rebounds in the season opener against Northwestern Stateโฆ He finished last season with double-doubles in each of the three NCAA Tournament gamesโฆ Obanor, who is a fifth-year senior, started his college career with three seasons at Oral Roberts before transferring to Tech last seasonโฆ He has 1,698 points, 900 rebounds, 172 3-pointers and 35 double-doubles in his careerโฆ Obanor earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection last season and is on the All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention list along with the Julius Erving Award Watch List to start this yearโฆ Last season, he scored a season-high 23 points and also had 13 rebounds in the home win over Baylor before going for 15 points and 15 rebounds in the win over Notre Dame to reach the Sweet 16โฆ Obanor had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Duke to finish the season.
โข Daniel Batcho recorded the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Northwestern State before having seven points and four rebounds against Texas Southernโฆ He has started the first two games of the season after playing 33 as a reserve last seasonโฆ Batcho's 12 points were a career-high after he had scored eight in games last season against Incarnate Word and Alabama Stateโฆ In the season opener, he went 4-for-5 from the field, 4-for-5 at the free-throw line and matched the team-high with four assistsโฆ A Paris, France native, Batcho had a career-high 11 rebounds in the overtime win over Tennessee last season at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classicโฆ He would go off for four blocked shots, six points and three rebounds against West Virginia for his best Big 12 game.
โข Jaylon Tyson scored a career-high 13 points in the win over Texas Southern where he was 6-for-11 from the field after he had eight points and had five rebounds in his Texas Tech debut against Northwestern Stateโฆ Tyson has started both games this seasonโฆ He transferred to Tech at midterm last season but did not play in a game for the Red Raidersโฆ Against Northwestern State, Tyson made his first collegiate start and was 3-for-4 from the field, including going 2-for-3 on 3-pointersโฆ His 3-poitner on Tech's second possession of the season-opener was the first basket this season for the Red Raidersโฆ He began his career at the University of Texas where he played in eight games with career-high 11 points coming against Houston Christianโฆ A Plano, Texas native, Tyson was an all-state performer and state champion at John Paul IIโฆ His younger brother is a freshman on the University of Colorado football team.
โข De'Vion Harmon went off for 12 points, three assists and two steals in the win over Texas Southern after beginning his Tech career with seven points and four assists against Northwestern Stateโฆ Harmon transferred from Oregon where he played last season after two years at Oklahomaโฆ Harmon, a Denton, Texas native who was a Class 6A All-State performer at Guyer HS, has played in 93 games in his college career where he has 947 points, 193 assists and 110 stealsโฆ Harmon averaged 10.8 points per game and had 71 assists last season for the Ducks after averaging 12.9 points per game for the Sooners as a sophomoreโฆ Harmon started 34 of 35 games last year and a season-high 21 points coming against Stanfordโฆ His career-high 23 points came in his first game as a freshman at Oklahoma against UTSA on November 5, 2019 and then again as a sophomore for the Sooners against Oklahoma State on February 27, 2021. ย
โข Kerwin Walton has played a key reserve role for the Red Raiders in the first two games, including playing the most minutes in the Texas Southern game he logged 24 minutesโฆ Walton led the Tech bench with nine points and four rebounds against Northwestern State and had five points against TSUโฆ He played the last two seasons at North Carolina before transferring to Tech during the summerโฆ He has made 82 3-pointers through 62 games in his career with a career-high five 3-pointers made in a game against Louisville in his freshman seasonโฆ Walton is 82-for-209 (39.2 percent) from beyond the arc, including making a UNC freshman 3-point percentage record with 58 3-pointers where he started 20 games during his first season in Chapel Hillโฆ Walton, a Hopkins, Minnesota native, averaged 8.2 points per game as a freshman for the Tar Heels with a career-high 19 points coming in that game against Louisvilleโฆ He experienced the Final Four last season as a member of UNC which finished as the national runner-up.
โข KJ Allen contributed four points and four rebounds in the win over Texas Southern after he had two points in 11 minutes against Northwestern State in the openerโฆ He played in 19 games as a reserve last season for the Red Raiders with a season-high six points coming in games against Kansas State and Omahaโฆ A Los Angeles, California native, Allen added a season-best eight rebounds in the conference game against Kansas Stateโฆ He finished his first season in Lubbock by going 16-for-30 from the fieldโฆ Allen was featured on the Netflix documentary Last Chance U while playing at East Los Angeles College where he averaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
โข D'Maurian Williams scored six points in 13 minutes of play in his Texas Tech debut against Northwestern State and followed it with five points against Texas Southernโฆ Williams now has 742 points, 132 assists, 58 steals and 220 rebounds through 59 games in his careerโฆ He is in his first season at Tech after transferring from Gardner-Webb where he played the past two seasonsโฆ An Arizona native, Williams won a national championship after high school at Putnam Science Academy (Connecticut)โฆ He averaged in double-figures both seasons at Gardner-Webb, going for 10.8 points per game as a freshman before averaging 14.5 points per game last season as a sophomoreโฆ He had a career-high 27 points against Columbia International last season and made six 3-pointers against Western Colorado.
โข Fardaws Aimaq is an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection and is also on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Watch List for the top center in college basketball. A transfer from Utah Valley, Aimaq has recorded 1,056 points, 918 rebounds, 99 blocked shots and 41 double-doubles in his careerโฆ His 41 double-doubles are the fifth most for an active player in the nationโฆ He earned the 2020-21 WAC Player of the Year honors as a sophomore after leading the nation with 15.0 rebounds to go along with 13.9 points per game and is coming off a junior season where he went for 18.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per gameโฆ He was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year the previous two seasonsโฆ During his career, he's averaged 11.1 rebounds per game which is the third best career mark nationallyโฆ Aimaq will be sidelined with a foot injury to begin the season with no official timetable for his return.
โข Five freshmen made their debuts during the opening week with Lamar Washington, Pop Isaacs, Robert Jennings, CJ Williams and Elijah Fisher each making an impactโฆ Isaacs has been in the starting lineup to begin the season, contributing six points and two assists in both gamesโฆ He is currently 3-for-7 from beyond the arc to begin the seasonโฆ Isaacs, a Las Vegas native, averaged 23 points as a senior at Coronado High School where he was named the Southern Nevada Offensive Player of the Year. Along with his prep career, he won a Gold Medal playing with the USA Basketball U16 teamโฆ Fisher is averaging 6.0 points per game after scoring a career-high seven against Texas Southern after having five points in the season openerโฆ A Toronto, Ontario, Canada native, Fisher averaged 28 points and 13 rebounds during his junior seasonโฆ Fisher was a consensus five-star recruit and ranked No. 15 by ESPN for the 2023 class. He reclassified to play this season and enrolled at Tech a year earlyโฆ Jennings had six points in 10 minutes against Northwestern State before having three rebounds and two points against Texas Southernโฆ He was 2-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free-throw line for the Red Raidersโฆ A Desoto, Texas native, Jennings averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds last season while playing for the Texas Alliance of Christian Athletes (home school)โฆ He also played at Desoto HS before finishing at homeโฆ Washington scored four points against Texas Southern after he had four assists (matched team-high) and three points in the opener against Northwestern State... Washington was the 2021 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year while playing at Jefferson High School as a junior before playing at Compass Prep in Arizona last season as a senior... He produced 2,135 points, 705 rebounds and 823 assists during his high school careerโฆ CJ Williams was a four-time all-state performer at Fayetteville HSโฆ He is the son of Tech assistant coach Corey Williams.
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THE BULLDOGS
โข Louisiana Tech is led by head coach Talvin Hester who was a Texas Tech assistant last season during Mark Adams' first year
โข LA Tech is a C-USA program from Ruston, Louisiana
โข Karl Malone played at LA Tech from 1982-85 before his NBA career with the Utah Jazz that led to a 2010 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame
โข Hester helped lead the Red Raiders to the 2022 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in his only season in Lubbock
โข Hester's staff also includes former Texas Tech staff members Darshawn McClellan who is now an assistant coach and Brooke Reed (Director of Operations)
โข The Bulldogs were 24-10 last season, including going 12-6 in C-USA actionโฆ Their season ended with an 82-73 loss in the C-USA Tournament Championship game to UABโฆ Head coach Eric Konkol took over the head job at Tulsa following the season
โข LA Tech opened its season with a 78-61 win over Mississippi College (Division II) last Monday in Ruston
โข Keaston Willis led the Bulldogs with 20 points in a game where he was 4-for-10 on 3-pointersโฆ Willis is from Sulphur Springs and began his career at Incarnate Wordโฆ He averaged 12.1 points last season for the Bulldogs and earned All-Southland Second Team honors
โข Four Bulldogs scored in double figures in their opener with Cobe Williams leading the reserves with 16 points and freshman Jordan Crawford adding 15 points on a 6-for-9 shooting performanceโฆ Isaiah Crawford had 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the starting lineup
โข LA Tech will travel to play at Louisiana on Thursday in Lafayette, Louisiana after playing in Lubbock
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THE SERIES
โข Texas Tech leads the series 7-2, including the past two games
โข The Red Raiders earned an 86-31 win on December 5, 2007 in the last matchupโฆ Martin Zeno led Tech with 16 points in the xxx โ point win
โข The series began in 1939 with Texas Tech traveling to play a pair of games in Ruston, Louisianaโฆ The Red Raiders won the first game 44-23 on December 20, 1939 and then edged out a 30-28 win the next day
โข Texas Tech is 3-1 against the Bulldogs in Lubbock with a loss coming on December 7, 2005 at the USA
โข This will be the second November matchup in the series with the teams also playing on November 27, 1981 โ an 89-75 win by the Red Raiders
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RANKINGS
โข Tech entered the season at No. 24 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll
โข Tech has now earned a preseason ranking three times in program history
โข The Red Raiders opened the 2019-20 season at No. 13 after reaching the Final Four for their highest preseason ranking and were No. 14 to begin the 2020-21 season
โข Tech was unranked to begin last season before entering the polls at No. 25 following an overtime win over Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic
โข It took Tech five weeks before it earned the ranking last season but remained ranked for the rest of the season
โข Tech was as high as No. 9 during February and finished the season at No. 14
โข Tech's highest AP ranking in program history came at No. 6 in February of 2018 (16th Week Poll)โฆ The 2018-19 team was No. 8 in the final week of the regular season and No. 7 throughout the postseason that led to the 2019 National Championship Final
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OFF AND RUNNING
โข Tech has now won 23 straight season openers and is 71-27 in the first game of a season all-time
โข This year was the 25th straight season Tech opened its season at home
โข Tech's last loss to begin a season came against Indiana on November 19, 1999โฆ That game was the first-ever in the USA which was then known as United Spirit Arenaโฆ The game featured Andy Ellis scoring a career-high 30 points in front of 15,050 fans for a sellout
โข Tech lost its first-ever season opener with a 37-25 loss to Daniel Baker on January 25, 1926
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DOMINATING THE PAINT
Texas Tech started the season with a 28-8 scoring advantage over Northwestern State and 42-30 against Texas Southern in the paintโฆ The Red Raiders outscored 35 of 37 opponents inside the paint last season by a combined 1,230-654 scoring advantage. Game-by-game points from the paint are listed below.
TTU 54 - UNF 20; TTU 30 - GRM 16; TTU 38 โ PVAMU 20; TTU 40 โ UIW 24; TTU 54 โ UNO 10; TTU 26 โ LMR 20; TTU 30 โ PC 22; TTU 28 โ TENN 26; TTU 40 โ ARK ST. 12; TTU 26 โ GONZ 16; TTU 40 โ EWU 4; TTU 36 โ ALB ST. 8; TTU 28 โ ISU 6; TTU 44 โ KU 18; TTU 36 โ BU 22; TTU 30 โ OSU 20; TTU 30 โ ISU 26; TTU 30 โ WVU 16; TTU 46 โ KU 40; TTU 44 โ MISS ST. 16; TTU 30 โ UT 24; TTU 34 โ WVU 10; TTU 30 โ OU 18; TTU 38 โ TCU 20; TTU 28 โ BU 22; TTU 26 โ UT 10; TTU 34 โ OU 16; TTU 40 - TCU 30; TTU 36 โ KSU 10; TTU 22 โ OSU 26; TTU 42 - ISU 14; OU 26 - TTU 22; TTU 36 โ KU 30; TTU 38 โ MSU 16; TTU 24 โ ND 10; TTU 42-Duke 36.
MAUI JIM MAUI INVITATIONAL
โข Tech has made the trip to Hawaii three times in program history, but will be playing in the Maui for the first time
โข The Red Raiders played in the Rainbow Classic (Honolulu) in 1977 and 1982 and the Pearl Harbor Shootout (Laie, Hawaii) in the 1998-99 season
โข Tech is currently 2-7 in games played in the state of Hawaii
โข The Red Raiders will open the tournament against No. 9 Creightonโฆ Tech and the Bluejays played each other in the 2019 Las Vegas Classic with Creighton taking an 83-76 overtime win at the Orleans Arenaโฆ Creighton owns a 3-1 all-time advantage in the series
โข The tournament will be played on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Tech returning to Texas on Thursday afternoon
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BACK IN THE LONE STAR STATE
โข Tech will return from Hawaii for another three-game homestand, beginning against Georgetown on Wednesday, November 30 in the Big 12-BIG EAST Battle
โข Tech is 0-2 all-time against the Hoyas with matchups in 1986 and 1996โฆ Georgetown will make the trip to Lubbock for the first time
Red Raiders in NBA / G-League
Adonis Arms: Grand Rapids Gold
Jarrett Culver: Two-Way (Atlanta Hawks/College Park Skyhawks)
Mac McClung: Delaware Blue Coats
Norense Odiase: Greensboro Swarm
Jahmi'us Ramsey: Oklahoma City Blue
Davion Warren: College Park Skyhawks
Bryson Williams: Ontario Clippers
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โข Mark Adams is in his second season leading the Texas Tech program where he is now 29-10 overall and 20-0 at homeโฆ A 1979 Tech graduate, Adams led the Red Raiders to a 27-10 overall record and 12-6 conference mark in his first season as the head coachโฆ He was named the Associated Press Big 12 Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year
โข Tech returned only one starter (Kevin Obanor) and three lettermen (Daniel Batcho, KJ Allen and Obanor) from last year's team while welcoming in five transfers (D'Maurian Williams, Fardaws Aimaq, Jaylon Tyson, De'Vion Harmon, Kerwin Walton) and five true freshmen (Lamar Washington, Pop Isaacs, Robert Jennings, CJ Williams, Elijah Fisher)
โข GAME TWO: Obanor led Tech with 13 points and seven rebounds in the 78-54 win over Texas Southern on Thursday nightโฆ Obanor now has 90 games in double-figure scoring and hit 900 career rebounds in the gameโฆ He was joined in double figures by Tyson who had a career-high 13 points and Harmon who had 12 points and a team-high three assistsโฆ Tech won the game by 24 points and only trailed for 42 seconds
โข GAME ONE: Batcho led Tech with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the win over Northwestern Stateโฆ It was his first career start, first double-double, career-high in scoring and third career game in double-figure reboundsโฆ Obanor and Walton had nine points each in the win, while Tyson had eight points and five rebounds
โข The Red Raider starters for the first two games this season has been Obanor, Batcho, Isaacs, Tyson and Harmonโฆ They are 2-0 as a starting unit
โข Tech is coming off a season where it reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the sixth time in program history and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight time โ a new Tech recordโฆ The Red Raiders advanced to the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 Championship Final, 2021 Second Round and 2022 Sweet 16โฆ Tech has an 11-4 record over the past four tournaments
โข Tech started last season with a 6-0 record before a loss at Providence College in the Big 12-BIG EAST Battleโฆ It was the eighth time in program history to begin a year with six straight wins
โข 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
โข Corey Williams returned as an assistant coach for his second season at Tech while Steve Green and Al Pinkins joined the staff as assistant coaches during the offseasonโฆ Pinkins returned to Tech after four seasons at Florida following working at Tech from 2016-18โฆ He was the interim head coach at Florida in the 2022 NITโฆ Green was at South Plains College for the past 23 seasons where he was a national championโฆ Adams has built a staff that also includes: Rick Cooper (chief of staff), Taylor Sinclair (director of operations), Sean Sutton (advisor), Darryl Dora (player personnel), Matt Scherbenske (director of recruiting), George Neilson (director of scouting), Darby Rich (strength & conditioning), John Bloom (assistant strength & conditioning), Luke Adams (player development), Cooper Anderson (coordinator of operations), Jamaal Scott (academics) and Briana Whitaker (executive associate)
โข Tech went 18-0 at home last season, including 9-0 in Big 12 playโฆ The team is scheduled to play 17 home games this season and is currently 2-0
โข Tech's program record is 35 straight home victoriesโฆ That streak started with four wins at the end of the 1993-94 season before a pair of 13-0 runs (1994-95 and 1995-96) and then five home wins to start the 1996-97 season
โข The Red Raiders finished No. 1 in defensive efficiency for the second time in four seasons last yearโฆ After two games, the Red Raiders are 8th in the category on Kenpomโฆ Tech also topped the Kenpom.com category in 2019 and were No. 9 in 2020
โข Tech has won 17 straight non-conference home games without a loss since an overtime defeat to Kentucky on Jan. 25, 2020โฆ The 17 straight wins come after the program had won 54 non-conference home games in a row before the loss to the Wildcats in a Big 12-SEC Challenge matchup
โข Tech finished with an 18-0 record at home in 2021-22 season which was only matched by Kentucky going 18-0 at Rupp Arenaโฆ Outscored opponents 79.7 to 58.8 per game with opponents shooting 39.1 percentโฆ 16 of the 18 home wins were by double-digits with the only ones not by 10 or more being victories over Kansas (75-67, +8) and Kansas State (73-68, +5)โฆ Tech's last home loss came on February 9, 2021 against No. 14 West Virginia
โข This will be the second of five regular-season games on Monday for the Red Raiders with two coming in the Big 12 schedule... The final game of the NCAA basketball season is on Monday, April 3 in Houston, Texas
โข The Red Raiders had a sell-out (15,098) for their 2022-23 season-opener against Northwestern State after they finished 11th nationally in average attendance last season with 13,973 fans per game and 251,515 total... Tech had five sell-outs last season and established a new program record by exceeding capacity at 15,300 fans in attendance against Texasโฆ There were 12 games of 14,000+ in attendance and all 18 exceeded 12,000
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ROSTER REPORT
โข Kevin Obanor has started all 39 games since he joined the Red Raiders last season and is coming off leading the team with 13 points and seven rebounds in the win over Texas Southernโฆ With his performance, he now has 900 career rebounds and has had 90 games where he has scored in double figuresโฆ He had nine points and four rebounds in the season opener against Northwestern Stateโฆ He finished last season with double-doubles in each of the three NCAA Tournament gamesโฆ Obanor, who is a fifth-year senior, started his college career with three seasons at Oral Roberts before transferring to Tech last seasonโฆ He has 1,698 points, 900 rebounds, 172 3-pointers and 35 double-doubles in his careerโฆ Obanor earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection last season and is on the All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention list along with the Julius Erving Award Watch List to start this yearโฆ Last season, he scored a season-high 23 points and also had 13 rebounds in the home win over Baylor before going for 15 points and 15 rebounds in the win over Notre Dame to reach the Sweet 16โฆ Obanor had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Duke to finish the season.
โข Daniel Batcho recorded the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Northwestern State before having seven points and four rebounds against Texas Southernโฆ He has started the first two games of the season after playing 33 as a reserve last seasonโฆ Batcho's 12 points were a career-high after he had scored eight in games last season against Incarnate Word and Alabama Stateโฆ In the season opener, he went 4-for-5 from the field, 4-for-5 at the free-throw line and matched the team-high with four assistsโฆ A Paris, France native, Batcho had a career-high 11 rebounds in the overtime win over Tennessee last season at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classicโฆ He would go off for four blocked shots, six points and three rebounds against West Virginia for his best Big 12 game.
โข Jaylon Tyson scored a career-high 13 points in the win over Texas Southern where he was 6-for-11 from the field after he had eight points and had five rebounds in his Texas Tech debut against Northwestern Stateโฆ Tyson has started both games this seasonโฆ He transferred to Tech at midterm last season but did not play in a game for the Red Raidersโฆ Against Northwestern State, Tyson made his first collegiate start and was 3-for-4 from the field, including going 2-for-3 on 3-pointersโฆ His 3-poitner on Tech's second possession of the season-opener was the first basket this season for the Red Raidersโฆ He began his career at the University of Texas where he played in eight games with career-high 11 points coming against Houston Christianโฆ A Plano, Texas native, Tyson was an all-state performer and state champion at John Paul IIโฆ His younger brother is a freshman on the University of Colorado football team.
โข De'Vion Harmon went off for 12 points, three assists and two steals in the win over Texas Southern after beginning his Tech career with seven points and four assists against Northwestern Stateโฆ Harmon transferred from Oregon where he played last season after two years at Oklahomaโฆ Harmon, a Denton, Texas native who was a Class 6A All-State performer at Guyer HS, has played in 93 games in his college career where he has 947 points, 193 assists and 110 stealsโฆ Harmon averaged 10.8 points per game and had 71 assists last season for the Ducks after averaging 12.9 points per game for the Sooners as a sophomoreโฆ Harmon started 34 of 35 games last year and a season-high 21 points coming against Stanfordโฆ His career-high 23 points came in his first game as a freshman at Oklahoma against UTSA on November 5, 2019 and then again as a sophomore for the Sooners against Oklahoma State on February 27, 2021. ย
โข Kerwin Walton has played a key reserve role for the Red Raiders in the first two games, including playing the most minutes in the Texas Southern game he logged 24 minutesโฆ Walton led the Tech bench with nine points and four rebounds against Northwestern State and had five points against TSUโฆ He played the last two seasons at North Carolina before transferring to Tech during the summerโฆ He has made 82 3-pointers through 62 games in his career with a career-high five 3-pointers made in a game against Louisville in his freshman seasonโฆ Walton is 82-for-209 (39.2 percent) from beyond the arc, including making a UNC freshman 3-point percentage record with 58 3-pointers where he started 20 games during his first season in Chapel Hillโฆ Walton, a Hopkins, Minnesota native, averaged 8.2 points per game as a freshman for the Tar Heels with a career-high 19 points coming in that game against Louisvilleโฆ He experienced the Final Four last season as a member of UNC which finished as the national runner-up.
โข KJ Allen contributed four points and four rebounds in the win over Texas Southern after he had two points in 11 minutes against Northwestern State in the openerโฆ He played in 19 games as a reserve last season for the Red Raiders with a season-high six points coming in games against Kansas State and Omahaโฆ A Los Angeles, California native, Allen added a season-best eight rebounds in the conference game against Kansas Stateโฆ He finished his first season in Lubbock by going 16-for-30 from the fieldโฆ Allen was featured on the Netflix documentary Last Chance U while playing at East Los Angeles College where he averaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
โข D'Maurian Williams scored six points in 13 minutes of play in his Texas Tech debut against Northwestern State and followed it with five points against Texas Southernโฆ Williams now has 742 points, 132 assists, 58 steals and 220 rebounds through 59 games in his careerโฆ He is in his first season at Tech after transferring from Gardner-Webb where he played the past two seasonsโฆ An Arizona native, Williams won a national championship after high school at Putnam Science Academy (Connecticut)โฆ He averaged in double-figures both seasons at Gardner-Webb, going for 10.8 points per game as a freshman before averaging 14.5 points per game last season as a sophomoreโฆ He had a career-high 27 points against Columbia International last season and made six 3-pointers against Western Colorado.
โข Fardaws Aimaq is an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection and is also on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Watch List for the top center in college basketball. A transfer from Utah Valley, Aimaq has recorded 1,056 points, 918 rebounds, 99 blocked shots and 41 double-doubles in his careerโฆ His 41 double-doubles are the fifth most for an active player in the nationโฆ He earned the 2020-21 WAC Player of the Year honors as a sophomore after leading the nation with 15.0 rebounds to go along with 13.9 points per game and is coming off a junior season where he went for 18.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per gameโฆ He was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year the previous two seasonsโฆ During his career, he's averaged 11.1 rebounds per game which is the third best career mark nationallyโฆ Aimaq will be sidelined with a foot injury to begin the season with no official timetable for his return.
โข Five freshmen made their debuts during the opening week with Lamar Washington, Pop Isaacs, Robert Jennings, CJ Williams and Elijah Fisher each making an impactโฆ Isaacs has been in the starting lineup to begin the season, contributing six points and two assists in both gamesโฆ He is currently 3-for-7 from beyond the arc to begin the seasonโฆ Isaacs, a Las Vegas native, averaged 23 points as a senior at Coronado High School where he was named the Southern Nevada Offensive Player of the Year. Along with his prep career, he won a Gold Medal playing with the USA Basketball U16 teamโฆ Fisher is averaging 6.0 points per game after scoring a career-high seven against Texas Southern after having five points in the season openerโฆ A Toronto, Ontario, Canada native, Fisher averaged 28 points and 13 rebounds during his junior seasonโฆ Fisher was a consensus five-star recruit and ranked No. 15 by ESPN for the 2023 class. He reclassified to play this season and enrolled at Tech a year earlyโฆ Jennings had six points in 10 minutes against Northwestern State before having three rebounds and two points against Texas Southernโฆ He was 2-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free-throw line for the Red Raidersโฆ A Desoto, Texas native, Jennings averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds last season while playing for the Texas Alliance of Christian Athletes (home school)โฆ He also played at Desoto HS before finishing at homeโฆ Washington scored four points against Texas Southern after he had four assists (matched team-high) and three points in the opener against Northwestern State... Washington was the 2021 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year while playing at Jefferson High School as a junior before playing at Compass Prep in Arizona last season as a senior... He produced 2,135 points, 705 rebounds and 823 assists during his high school careerโฆ CJ Williams was a four-time all-state performer at Fayetteville HSโฆ He is the son of Tech assistant coach Corey Williams.
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THE BULLDOGS
โข Louisiana Tech is led by head coach Talvin Hester who was a Texas Tech assistant last season during Mark Adams' first year
โข LA Tech is a C-USA program from Ruston, Louisiana
โข Karl Malone played at LA Tech from 1982-85 before his NBA career with the Utah Jazz that led to a 2010 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame
โข Hester helped lead the Red Raiders to the 2022 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in his only season in Lubbock
โข Hester's staff also includes former Texas Tech staff members Darshawn McClellan who is now an assistant coach and Brooke Reed (Director of Operations)
โข The Bulldogs were 24-10 last season, including going 12-6 in C-USA actionโฆ Their season ended with an 82-73 loss in the C-USA Tournament Championship game to UABโฆ Head coach Eric Konkol took over the head job at Tulsa following the season
โข LA Tech opened its season with a 78-61 win over Mississippi College (Division II) last Monday in Ruston
โข Keaston Willis led the Bulldogs with 20 points in a game where he was 4-for-10 on 3-pointersโฆ Willis is from Sulphur Springs and began his career at Incarnate Wordโฆ He averaged 12.1 points last season for the Bulldogs and earned All-Southland Second Team honors
โข Four Bulldogs scored in double figures in their opener with Cobe Williams leading the reserves with 16 points and freshman Jordan Crawford adding 15 points on a 6-for-9 shooting performanceโฆ Isaiah Crawford had 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the starting lineup
โข LA Tech will travel to play at Louisiana on Thursday in Lafayette, Louisiana after playing in Lubbock
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THE SERIES
โข Texas Tech leads the series 7-2, including the past two games
โข The Red Raiders earned an 86-31 win on December 5, 2007 in the last matchupโฆ Martin Zeno led Tech with 16 points in the xxx โ point win
โข The series began in 1939 with Texas Tech traveling to play a pair of games in Ruston, Louisianaโฆ The Red Raiders won the first game 44-23 on December 20, 1939 and then edged out a 30-28 win the next day
โข Texas Tech is 3-1 against the Bulldogs in Lubbock with a loss coming on December 7, 2005 at the USA
โข This will be the second November matchup in the series with the teams also playing on November 27, 1981 โ an 89-75 win by the Red Raiders
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RANKINGS
โข Tech entered the season at No. 24 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll
โข Tech has now earned a preseason ranking three times in program history
โข The Red Raiders opened the 2019-20 season at No. 13 after reaching the Final Four for their highest preseason ranking and were No. 14 to begin the 2020-21 season
โข Tech was unranked to begin last season before entering the polls at No. 25 following an overtime win over Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic
โข It took Tech five weeks before it earned the ranking last season but remained ranked for the rest of the season
โข Tech was as high as No. 9 during February and finished the season at No. 14
โข Tech's highest AP ranking in program history came at No. 6 in February of 2018 (16th Week Poll)โฆ The 2018-19 team was No. 8 in the final week of the regular season and No. 7 throughout the postseason that led to the 2019 National Championship Final
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OFF AND RUNNING
โข Tech has now won 23 straight season openers and is 71-27 in the first game of a season all-time
โข This year was the 25th straight season Tech opened its season at home
โข Tech's last loss to begin a season came against Indiana on November 19, 1999โฆ That game was the first-ever in the USA which was then known as United Spirit Arenaโฆ The game featured Andy Ellis scoring a career-high 30 points in front of 15,050 fans for a sellout
โข Tech lost its first-ever season opener with a 37-25 loss to Daniel Baker on January 25, 1926
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DOMINATING THE PAINT
Texas Tech started the season with a 28-8 scoring advantage over Northwestern State and 42-30 against Texas Southern in the paintโฆ The Red Raiders outscored 35 of 37 opponents inside the paint last season by a combined 1,230-654 scoring advantage. Game-by-game points from the paint are listed below.
TTU 54 - UNF 20; TTU 30 - GRM 16; TTU 38 โ PVAMU 20; TTU 40 โ UIW 24; TTU 54 โ UNO 10; TTU 26 โ LMR 20; TTU 30 โ PC 22; TTU 28 โ TENN 26; TTU 40 โ ARK ST. 12; TTU 26 โ GONZ 16; TTU 40 โ EWU 4; TTU 36 โ ALB ST. 8; TTU 28 โ ISU 6; TTU 44 โ KU 18; TTU 36 โ BU 22; TTU 30 โ OSU 20; TTU 30 โ ISU 26; TTU 30 โ WVU 16; TTU 46 โ KU 40; TTU 44 โ MISS ST. 16; TTU 30 โ UT 24; TTU 34 โ WVU 10; TTU 30 โ OU 18; TTU 38 โ TCU 20; TTU 28 โ BU 22; TTU 26 โ UT 10; TTU 34 โ OU 16; TTU 40 - TCU 30; TTU 36 โ KSU 10; TTU 22 โ OSU 26; TTU 42 - ISU 14; OU 26 - TTU 22; TTU 36 โ KU 30; TTU 38 โ MSU 16; TTU 24 โ ND 10; TTU 42-Duke 36.
MAUI JIM MAUI INVITATIONAL
โข Tech has made the trip to Hawaii three times in program history, but will be playing in the Maui for the first time
โข The Red Raiders played in the Rainbow Classic (Honolulu) in 1977 and 1982 and the Pearl Harbor Shootout (Laie, Hawaii) in the 1998-99 season
โข Tech is currently 2-7 in games played in the state of Hawaii
โข The Red Raiders will open the tournament against No. 9 Creightonโฆ Tech and the Bluejays played each other in the 2019 Las Vegas Classic with Creighton taking an 83-76 overtime win at the Orleans Arenaโฆ Creighton owns a 3-1 all-time advantage in the series
โข The tournament will be played on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Tech returning to Texas on Thursday afternoon
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BACK IN THE LONE STAR STATE
โข Tech will return from Hawaii for another three-game homestand, beginning against Georgetown on Wednesday, November 30 in the Big 12-BIG EAST Battle
โข Tech is 0-2 all-time against the Hoyas with matchups in 1986 and 1996โฆ Georgetown will make the trip to Lubbock for the first time
Red Raiders in NBA / G-League
Adonis Arms: Grand Rapids Gold
Jarrett Culver: Two-Way (Atlanta Hawks/College Park Skyhawks)
Mac McClung: Delaware Blue Coats
Norense Odiase: Greensboro Swarm
Jahmi'us Ramsey: Oklahoma City Blue
Davion Warren: College Park Skyhawks
Bryson Williams: Ontario Clippers
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ยUSA already in midseason form ??#WreckEm | @asbtx1 pic.twitter.com/DtKxOvefka
โ Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) November 11, 2022
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/ Men's BasketballTuesday, September 22
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