Texas Tech University Athletics
Saturday, January 14
Austin, Texas
7 p.m.
Texas Tech Athletics
at
No. 10 Texas
PREVIEW: Red Raiders, No. 10 Longhorns to resume rivalry
January 12, 2023 | Men's Basketball
7 p.m., Saturday | TV: ESPN | Austin, Texas
LUBBOCK, Texas โ Texas Tech has won four straight games in Austin over No. 10 Texas going into a 7 p.m. Big 12 matchup between the two rivals on Saturday in its first game ever at the Moody Center. ย The Red Raiders have won 8 of the last 10 meetings in the series which will reach 154 games this weekend but are now looking to stop a four-game losing streak to open conference play.
Tech (10-6, 0-4 Big 12) is coming off an 84-50 loss at No. 14 Iowa State on Tuesday, while the Longhorns (14-2, 3-1 Big 12) stormed back from down 18 points to earn a 79-75 win over No. 17 TCU on Wednesday night at home. Tech, which had not lost consecutive games since the 2020-21 season, will now look to avoid a 0-5 start to its conference schedule for the first time since 2015 when that team started 0-6.ย
Kevin Obanor leads the Red Raiders with 15.8 points per game this season and comes into the matchup against the Longhorns with 1,929 points and 986 rebounds in his career. De'Vion Harmon led Tech in the loss against the Cyclones with 14 points, four assists and five steals and is now averaging 12.5 points, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Pop Isaacs returned from missing the game against Oklahoma due to being in concussion protocol and finished with 10 points, three assists and three steals in Ames. A starter in 15 of 16 games as a true freshman, Isaacs is averaging 11.2 points per game. Daniel Batcho leads Tech with three double-doubles, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game to go along with averaging 11.2 points, while Jaylon Tyson is adding 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Tyson transferred to Tech at midterm last season after beginning his career with the Longhorns. Obanor and Harmon have started all 16 games, while Tyson and Isaacs have started 15. Tech comes into the third Saturday of the Big 12 schedule with an 0-2 record in road games.
Marcus Carr leads the Longhorns with 17.3 points per game, 70 assists and 28 steals coming into the matchup against Tech after going for 11 points and seven assists against TCU. Timmy Allen led UT with 17 points in the win over the Horned Frogs and is now at 10.6 points per game for the season, while Tyrese Hunter is adding 11.3 points and 61 assists. Sir'Jabari Rice added 15 points and six rebounds as a reserve against TCU while Dylan Disu added three blocks. Carr, Hunter, Allen and freshman Dillon Mitchell have started all 16 games while Disu has started 15. Texas is 10-1 on its new home court this season with its only loss coming against Kansas State in a 116-103 decision on January 3. Home wins also include knocking off Gonzaga and Creighton before getting to 10 home victories on Wednesday against TCU.
SERIES NOTES
The Longhorns own an 88-65 all-time advantage in the series with began on December 15, 1939 in Austin. UT won that game 48-28. The Red Raiders have owned the series in recent years though, taking 8 of the last 10 and sweeping the regular-season series in 3 of the last 4 years. Tech won both matchups last year, including securing a 61-55 win on February 19 in its final trip to the Erwin Center. This will be the first time in six meetings that both teams are not ranked. Texas is at No. 10 in the national polls this weekโฆ The last time an unranked Tech team beat the Longhorns was on March 1, 2008 when UT was at No. 5 and the Red Raiders secured an 83-80 victory in Lubbockโฆ Tech's four-game winning streak in Austin has come after not winning in Austin since 1996.
RED RAIDER STORYLINES
โข Mark Adams is in his second season leading the Texas Tech program where he is now 37-16 overall and 26-2 at homeโฆ A 1979 Tech graduate, Adams led the Red Raiders to a 27-10 overall record, 12-6 conference mark, to the Big 12 Championship final and the NCAA Sweet 16 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 Yearโฆ His 27 wins last season were the most by a first-year Tech head coach
โข Tech has lost four straight games for the first time since the end of the 2019-20 seasonโฆ Tech was coming off a season where it did not lose back-to-back games under Adams
โข Tech is currently 0-4 against ranked opponents this season with a loss to No. 10 Creighton before falling to No. 18 TCU, No. 3 Kansas and No. 14 Iowa State in the opening weeks of Big 12 play
โข Tech is 8-2 at home, 0-2 on the road and 2-2 in neutral-court games this season
โข Tech is 0-1 in overtime games this season with a 68-63 OT loss against Oklahoma
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, Elijah Fisher, Robert Jennings, CJ Williams)
โข Tech was 12-6 in Big 12 play last season, including going 9-0 in home gamesโฆ The Red Raiders advanced to the Big 12 Championship Finals where they lost to Kansas
โข Tech had a 29-game home winning streak end with its first Big 12 home game this season after going 8-0 at home in non-conference playโฆ The last home loss before falling to No. 3 Kansas on January 3 and then Oklahoma came back on February 9, 2021, against No. 14 West Virginia in an 82-71 defeat
โข Tech's program record remains at 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 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 Tech 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)
โข Tech had its season-best six-game winning streak end with the loss at TCU in its Big 12 opener on New Year's Eve in Fort Worthโฆ It started the season with three straight wins before falling against Creighton in Maui
โข Tech came into Big 12 play having scored over 100 points in three straight gamesโฆ The program had not scored 100+ points in three straight games since the 1965-66 seasonโฆ Tech had not scored over 100 points in two straight games since 1996 in a 111-101 win over Fresno State and a 122-105 loss to New Mexico Stateโฆ The Red Raiders are now 70-4 all-time when scoring over 100 pointsโฆ The 111 points against HCU were just outside the top-10 scoring performances in program historyโฆ The most points scored in a game is 128 against Texas in 2004
โข Tech is hitting 48.5 percent of its shots this season; opponents are being limited to 41.1 percentโฆ The Red Raiders limited Louisville to only 22.4 percent shooting and also held Northwestern State to only 28.4 in their best defensive efforts of the seasonโฆ In four Big 12 games, Tech is shooting 40.7 percent and opponents are at 45.2 percent
โข The 14 3-pointers by Tech against South Carolina was the most since they hit a program-best 16 against Kansas in 2019โฆ Tech made 13 3s against Jackson State for a previous season-highโฆ Tech had its worst 3-point shooting performance of the season against OU by going just 2-for-18 from beyond the arc in the overtime loss
โข Tech forced a season-high 30 turnovers from Jackson State and scored 47 points off those turnoversโฆ Tech had 19 steals in the game led by Obanor who had four while Isaacs, Washington and Williams had three steals eachโฆ The program record for steals in a game is 24 against Nicholls in 2002โฆ The 19 matched the second-most ever for a Red Raider team
โข The 50-point win over Jackson State was the 14th time in program history a Tech team has won by 50 or more
โข Tech has won six games by 20 or more points this season, including the 50-point win over JSU, topping HSU by 44, winning by 39 over SC State and a 34-point win over Louisville in Mauiโฆ The Red Raiders have held five opponents under 60 points, two under 50 and one under 40 with Louisville scoring only 38 points
โข Tech had an 11-point halftime lead on TCU before the Horned Frogs came back to winโฆ It was the first time this season Tech lost a game when leading at halftime
โข Tech overcame an 11-point deficit against Nicholls for its largest comeback this season
โข Tech trailed Iowa State by 19 at halftime and lost by 34โฆ Both were the largest margins this seasonโฆ Creighton had won by 11 for Tech's only double-digit loss this season
โข As a program, Tech advanced to 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 tournamentsโฆ The program has made the Sweet 16 in three of the past four tournaments
โข The Red Raiders finished No. 1 in defensive efficiency for the second time in four seasons last yearโฆ Tech also topped the Kenpom.com category in 2019 and were No. 9 in 2020
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 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 12,000โฆ Tech is averaging 13,288 fans through its 10 homes this season after having 14,385 against Kansas and 14,082 on Saturday with Oklahoma in townโฆ Tech is currently 16th nationally in average attendance and second within the Big 12
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ROSTER REPORT
โข Kevin Obanor has started all 53 games since he joined the Red Raiders last season and is leading the team with 15.8 points per game this season after a season-high 26 points against Kansas and then 15 against Oklahomaโฆ He was limited to single-digit scoring for only the third time this season at Iowa State where he had seven points on 2-for-4 shootingโฆ He is now averaging 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds through three Big 12 gamesโฆ Obanor was 8-for-14 from the field and 4-of-8 on 3-pointers against the Jayhawks in 37 minutes of playโฆ Obanor has scored in double figures in 14 of 17 games this season, 102 in his career and is shooting 85-for-168 (50.6 percent) from the field this seasonโฆ Obanor had scored a previous season-high 25 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Eastern Washington for his first double-double of the season and went for 24 points with a season-best five 3-pointers against South Carolina State... It was his first double-double of the season and the 36th in his career... He now has 623 points as a Red Raider and 1,929 points through 139 games in his career...ย He finished last season with double-doubles in each of the three NCAA Tournament games against Montana State (10 points/11 rebounds), Notre Dame (15/15) and Duke (10/10)โฆ Obanor, who is a Houston native, started his college career with three seasons at Oral Roberts before transferring to Tech last seasonโฆ Obanor earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection last season and was 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 While at ORU, Obanor scored 39 points against Omaha in a game where he hit six 3-pointers for his career-highโฆ Six of his 36 double-doubles have come in the NCAA Tournament with three during ย ORU's Sweet 16 run before last season.
โข Daniel Batcho leads Tech with 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game to go along with scoring 11.2 points per game this seasonโฆ Batcho missed the game against OU with a dislocated finger on his right hand but returned at Iowa State where he provided three blocks, three rebounds and four rebounds in 32 minutesโฆ He has 11 blocked shots through three Big 12 games played after also having five at TCU and then three more against KUโฆ Prior to conference play, he had a 12/10 performance against Houston which was his third double-double of the season and the fourth game with 10 or more rebounds this seasonโฆ A 6-foot-11 sophomore from France, Batcho recorded a career-high 13 rebounds and his second career double-double with 15 points against Georgetown before having 14 points and nine rebounds against Nichollsโฆ Batcho, who has led Tech in scoring in three games and in rebounding in eight, had scored in double figures in five straight games for the first time in his career coming into Big 12 actionโฆ He scored a career-high 21 points against Ohio State where he was 7 of 10 from the field and 6 of 7 at the free-throw line in Mauiโฆ He had scored a career-high 17 points against Creighton in Maui where he was 7-for-12 from the field in 24 minutes on the court before his 21-point performance against the Buckeyesโฆ His six blocks against Louisiana Tech are tied for the third most in program history with Tariq Owens owning the single-game record with eight in a win over Memphis in 2018 and Will Flemons second with seven against Texas A&M in 1990โฆ A reserve in 33 games last season at Tech, he came into this season with a career-high 11 rebounds in the overtime win over Tennessee last season at Madison Square Garden in the 2021 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 De'Vion Harmon matched his career-high with 23 points against Oklahoma with 21 of those points coming in the second half and followed the performance with a team-high 14 points, four assists, five steals and five rebounds at Iowa Stateโฆ Averaging 13.5 points through four Big 12 games, he led Tech in all four of those statistical categories in the game against the Cyclonesโฆ Against Oklahoma, Harmon was 9-for-15 from the field in the game and also hit five free throws before going 6-for-13 from the field in Ames, Iowaโฆ Along with his 23 points against the Sooners, he also led Tech with three assistsโฆ Harmon is averaging 12.5 points per game and leads the Red Raiders with 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game through 16 games this seasonโฆHe had scored in double figures in five straight games after going for 13 points at TCU but was limited to four points against KUโฆ Harmon had went for a season-high 22 points and had a career-high nine assists in the win over Houston Christian leading into conference playโฆ A senior in his first season at Tech, he has played in 107 career games, scoring 1,128 points to go along with 245 assists and 143 stealsโฆ He had matched his previous career-best with six assists against Ohio State in Maui and has had three or more assists in 10 of 15 gamesโฆ Harmon averaged 10.8 points per game and had 71 assists last season at Oregon last season after averaging 12.9 points per game at Oklahoma 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.
โข Pop Isaacs missed the game against OU due to being in concussion protocol but returned to contribute 10 points, three assists and three steals at Iowa State in 32 minutes of playโฆ A starter in 15 of 16 games, the game against OU was the first game he missed this seasonโฆ Isaacs led Tech with 17 points at TCU after matching a career-high with five 3-pointers before going off for 18 points with four 3-pointers against Kansasโฆ He has started Big 12 play by going 10-for-29 (34.5 percent) on 3-pointers and is averaging 15.0 ppg. through three conference games as a freshmanโฆ ย For the season, Isaacs is averaging 11.2 points, 2.7 assists and 1.4 stealsโฆ A freshman from Las Vegas, he scored a career-high 24 points and five 3-pointers in the win over Nichollsโฆ His 24 points were the most by a Red Raider in a game this season before Obanor went for his 25 against EWUโฆ Isaacs has now scored in double figures in nine games and is on a career-best with four straight games in double figuresโฆ Isaacs had a previous career-high four 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 13 points against Creightonโฆ He has made at least one 3-pointer in 13 of 15 games โฆ He comes into the matchup against Texas shooting 36-of-92 (39.1 percent) on 3-pointers this season.
โข Jaylon Tyson is averaging 9.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals in his sophomore seasonโฆ Tyson, who transferred from Texas last season, led Tech with nine rebounds against Kansas and added 10 points, three steals and three assists in the gameโฆ He is coming off a game at Iowa State where he was limited to five points and four reboundsโฆ His nine rebounds against KU matched a career-high that he also had earlier this season against Georgetownโฆ He was just one rebound shy of his first career double-doubleโฆ Tyson had scored in double figures in three straight games for the first time in his career before scoring eight points against TCU and comes into his first game as an opponent in Austin having scored in double figures in seven games after his 10 against the Jayhawksโฆ Tyson led Tech with four assists and also added four rebounds at TCU in the Big 12 openerโฆ He had a career-high 18 points against Georgetown where he was 4-for-5 on 3-pointersโฆ A starter in 15 of 16 games, Tyson transferred to Tech at midterm last season but did not play in a game for the Red Raidersโฆ Tyson is currently 19-for-45 (42.2 percent) on 3-pointers and has made at least one 3-pointer in 11 of 15 games playedโฆ He was 2-for-2 on 3-pointers against KU but then went 0-for-5 against OU and was 1-for-4 against ISUโฆ Against Northwestern State in his first game at Tech, Tyson made his first collegiate start and was 3-for-4 from the field, including going 2-for-3 on 3-pointers to finish with eight pointsโฆ His 3-pointer 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 freshman season-high 11 points coming against Houston Christian last season.
โข KJ Allen has missed the past two games against OU and ISU with a lower-body injuryโฆ He will be a game-time decision at Texasโฆ Allen scored nine points and had five rebounds against TCU in 20 minutes of play and had two points against KUโฆ He was 4-for-5 from the field and also came away with one steal against the Horned Frogsโฆ Allen went off for a career-high 15 points in the win over Jackson State by shooting 7-for-10 from the field before scoring six against Houston Christianโฆ A junior from Los Angeles, Allen had a season-high seven rebounds and scored five points in the win over EWU in 18 minutes off the benchโฆ In his second season at Tech, Allen is currently averaging 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game this seasonโฆ He had a previous season-high five rebounds against Creighton in the first game in Mauiโฆ Allen 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 Allen added a career-high 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 gameโฆ He was Adams' first signee.
โข Robert Jennings made his fourth start of his career against OU in a game where he contributed eight points (matched career-high) and three rebounds in a career-best 23 minutes of play before contributing three rebounds and two points back in a reserve role at Iowa Stateโฆ Jennings produced a career-high six rebounds as a reserve in the final non-conference game against SC StateโฆHe was coming off matching his career-highs with eight points and five rebounds against Houston Christianโฆ Jennings played in six minutes of action at TCU but did not score or have a reboundโฆ He had two points and one rebound against KUโฆ A freshman from Desoto, he established his career-high with eight points against Louisville in Maui after he went 3-for-5 from the field and also hit two free throws in 15 minutes of workโฆ He's currently averaging 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
โข Lamar Washington made his first career start against the Sooners in a game where he contributed six points and six rebounds in 36 minutes of play before having three rebounds and two assists in a reserve role at Iowa Stateโฆ Washington, who did not score at ISU, established a career-high with 12 points and five assists in the non-conference win over Nicholls after going 12-for-17 from the free-throw lineโฆ A key reserve in his freshman season, he is currently averaging 3.9 points, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.3 rebounds per gameโฆ Washington had three points and a rebound against TCU in the first Big 12 game of his career after he was averaging 7.8 points and 3.0 assists in the past five games coming into conference playโฆ He matched his season-best with three steals against Houston Christian and also scored seven pointsโฆ A freshman from Portland, Oregon, his career-best 12 points against Nicholls was the first time he scored in double figures and came with him going 0-for-1 from the field shootingโฆ 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 career.
โข D'Maurian Williams hit a 3-pointer in overtime against the Sooners to cut it to one and finished with five points and five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench but did not score at Iowa State in seven minutes off the benchโฆ He made five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 17 points in the non-conference win over Jackson State with all 17 coming in the second halfโฆ Williams did not play against TCU and scored three against Kansas in 11 minutesโฆ A junior from Arizona, Williams made his first start at Tech against Nicholls in place of Tyson who was injuredโฆ He played against JSU as a reserve, going 5-for-7 on 3-pointers after coming into the game with only three made 3-pointers through eight games playedโฆ Williams scored a previous season-high 10 points against Louisville after hitting two 3-pointers and going 4-for-5 at the free-throw lineโฆ He is currently averaging 4.3 points this seasonโฆ Williams now has 787 points, 142 assists, 65 steals and 242 rebounds through 70 games in his careerโฆ He is in his first season at Tech after transferring from Gardner-Webb where he played the past two seasonsโฆWilliams 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 sophomore.
โข Kerwin Walton was 2-for-2 on 3-pointers and finished with six points at Iowa Stateโฆ Walton had scored eight points in the two games against Houston Christian and Jackson State before hitting one 3 and finishing with three points against SC Stateโฆ He is averaging 3.1 points through 15 games played as a Red Raider reserveโฆ Walton led the Tech bench with nine points and four rebounds against Northwestern State in the season-opener and had five points against TSU and LA Techโฆ He had not scored in the previous five games before his eight against JSU and HCUโฆ Walton played the last two seasons at North Carolina before transferring to Tech during the summerโฆ He has made 91 3-pointers through 75 games in his career with a career-high five 3-pointers made in a game against Louisville in his freshman seasonโฆ Walton is 91-for-230 (39.6 percent) from beyond the arc for his career, 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 Elijah Fisher scored a season-high eight points after going 3-for-4 from the field against Jackson State before scoring five points in each of the wins over SC State and HCUโฆ Fisher had two points and matched a career-high with three rebounds against OU in eight minutes of playโฆ He is now averaging 3.1 points per game with a previous season-best seven points coming against Texas Southern in the second game of the seasonโฆ A reserve in all 14 games, he is 17-for-36 (47.2 percent) from the field this seasonโฆ Along with his eight points, Fisher added a career-best three rebounds in the win over Jackson State in Houstonโฆ His first-year resume also includes scoring three points and having two rebounds in the loss to Ohio Stateโฆ 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 classโฆ He reclassified to play this season and enrolled at Tech a year early.
โข CJ Williams scored his first career points against Louisville with a pair of free throws and his first bucket with a layup against South Carolina Stateโฆ Williams did not play against TCUโฆ A freshman guard, he has played in five games this season after making his debut in the opener against Northwestern Stateโฆ He is the son of Tech assistant coach Corey Williams
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. โฆ Aimaq is a key part to the Tech roster this season but has been sidelined with a foot injury and has no official timetable for his returnโฆ 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 nationally.
RANKINGS
โข Tech fell out of the AP Top 25 in the 11/28 rankings after its losses in Maui and has remained unranked the past four weeksโฆ The Red Raiders had been receiving votes each week until last week
โข Tech is now 0-4 this season against ranked opponents with losses against No. 10 Creighton, No. 18 TCU, No. 3 Kansas and No. 14 Iowa State (rankings as of game played)
โข Tech had moved up two spots in the AP Poll (11/21) for the second straight week and was at No. 21 entering the Maui Invitational
โข The Red Raiders were No. 23 in the first release of the season (11/14) after a No. 25 preseason ranking
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 Tech was 3-2 against Top-10 teams last year in the regular seasonโฆ The Red Raiders dropped a 69-55 game to No. 5 Gonzaga last December in Phoenix before earning wins over Baylor which was at No. 1 (65-62 in Waco) and No. 7 (83-73 in Lubbock) at the time of the victories and also a 75-67 home win over Kansas when it was No. 6
โข Tech has beat a top-10 opponent in eight straight seasons, a top-5 opponent in seven straight and has 27 wins over top-10 teams in program history
โข Tech went 7-5 last season against Top 25 opponents, including a 57-52 overtime win over No. 13 Tennessee on December 7 in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Gardenโฆ The Red Raiders were 1-1 against Top 25 teams in their non-conference schedule with the loss to Gonzaga following the win over the Vols
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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DOMINATING THE PAINT
Texas Tech has started this season by outscoring 12 of 16 opponents in the paint and by a 564-416combined marginโฆ The Red Raiders and Jayhawks were even at 30-30 inside the paintโฆ TCU owned a 44-22 advantage after Nicholls had been the only team to outscore Tech inside the paint this season. (ISU 36 - TTU 24; TTU 38 โ OU 32; TTU 30 โ KU 30; TCU 44 โ TTU 22; TTU 48 โ SCST 36; TTU 56 โ HCU 24; TTU 42 โ JSU 18; TTU 40 โ EWU 18; NIC 30 โ TTU 26; TTU 38 โ GU 16; TTU 34-OSU 28; TTU 70-LOU 38; TTU 38-CU 30; TTU 26-LT 24; TTU 42 โ TSU 30; TTU 28 โ NWST 8)โฆ The Red Raiders outscored 35 of 37 opponents inside the paint last season by a combined 1,230-654 scoring advantage.ย
LEGACY
Texas Tech spent the first and second day of October in Stanton, Texas at its annual team retreat working to continue building strong bonds for the season. The Red Raiders were at the Circle 6 Camp for two days with a theme of legacy that was designed to connect the past with the current team. Adams, shown holding up boxing gloves, talked with the current team about past players who helped build the program and also about how each of the current players owes it to themselves and the program to work hard every day to continue building the legacy that many have worked to build. The team opened up to each other through discussion and also had fun with multiple team-building activities.
RED RAIDERS IN THE NBA / G-LEAGUE
Adonis Arms: Grand Rapids Gold
Jarrett Culver: 2-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
TEXAS TECH FEATURE LINKSย ย
Define Yourself โ Video Seriesย ย
Obanor โ Feature (December 2022)
Harmon - Featureย
Aimaq - Feature
Pop Isaacs - Featureย
Tyson - Featureย
Obanor โ Feature (March 2022) ย
Big 12 Media Day โ Four Journeysย ย ย
Formative Conversation โ Playersย ย
Formative Conversation - Coachesย ย
ย
Tech (10-6, 0-4 Big 12) is coming off an 84-50 loss at No. 14 Iowa State on Tuesday, while the Longhorns (14-2, 3-1 Big 12) stormed back from down 18 points to earn a 79-75 win over No. 17 TCU on Wednesday night at home. Tech, which had not lost consecutive games since the 2020-21 season, will now look to avoid a 0-5 start to its conference schedule for the first time since 2015 when that team started 0-6.ย
Kevin Obanor leads the Red Raiders with 15.8 points per game this season and comes into the matchup against the Longhorns with 1,929 points and 986 rebounds in his career. De'Vion Harmon led Tech in the loss against the Cyclones with 14 points, four assists and five steals and is now averaging 12.5 points, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Pop Isaacs returned from missing the game against Oklahoma due to being in concussion protocol and finished with 10 points, three assists and three steals in Ames. A starter in 15 of 16 games as a true freshman, Isaacs is averaging 11.2 points per game. Daniel Batcho leads Tech with three double-doubles, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game to go along with averaging 11.2 points, while Jaylon Tyson is adding 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Tyson transferred to Tech at midterm last season after beginning his career with the Longhorns. Obanor and Harmon have started all 16 games, while Tyson and Isaacs have started 15. Tech comes into the third Saturday of the Big 12 schedule with an 0-2 record in road games.
Marcus Carr leads the Longhorns with 17.3 points per game, 70 assists and 28 steals coming into the matchup against Tech after going for 11 points and seven assists against TCU. Timmy Allen led UT with 17 points in the win over the Horned Frogs and is now at 10.6 points per game for the season, while Tyrese Hunter is adding 11.3 points and 61 assists. Sir'Jabari Rice added 15 points and six rebounds as a reserve against TCU while Dylan Disu added three blocks. Carr, Hunter, Allen and freshman Dillon Mitchell have started all 16 games while Disu has started 15. Texas is 10-1 on its new home court this season with its only loss coming against Kansas State in a 116-103 decision on January 3. Home wins also include knocking off Gonzaga and Creighton before getting to 10 home victories on Wednesday against TCU.
SERIES NOTES
The Longhorns own an 88-65 all-time advantage in the series with began on December 15, 1939 in Austin. UT won that game 48-28. The Red Raiders have owned the series in recent years though, taking 8 of the last 10 and sweeping the regular-season series in 3 of the last 4 years. Tech won both matchups last year, including securing a 61-55 win on February 19 in its final trip to the Erwin Center. This will be the first time in six meetings that both teams are not ranked. Texas is at No. 10 in the national polls this weekโฆ The last time an unranked Tech team beat the Longhorns was on March 1, 2008 when UT was at No. 5 and the Red Raiders secured an 83-80 victory in Lubbockโฆ Tech's four-game winning streak in Austin has come after not winning in Austin since 1996.
RED RAIDER STORYLINES
โข Mark Adams is in his second season leading the Texas Tech program where he is now 37-16 overall and 26-2 at homeโฆ A 1979 Tech graduate, Adams led the Red Raiders to a 27-10 overall record, 12-6 conference mark, to the Big 12 Championship final and the NCAA Sweet 16 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 Yearโฆ His 27 wins last season were the most by a first-year Tech head coach
โข Tech has lost four straight games for the first time since the end of the 2019-20 seasonโฆ Tech was coming off a season where it did not lose back-to-back games under Adams
โข Tech is currently 0-4 against ranked opponents this season with a loss to No. 10 Creighton before falling to No. 18 TCU, No. 3 Kansas and No. 14 Iowa State in the opening weeks of Big 12 play
โข Tech is 8-2 at home, 0-2 on the road and 2-2 in neutral-court games this season
โข Tech is 0-1 in overtime games this season with a 68-63 OT loss against Oklahoma
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, Elijah Fisher, Robert Jennings, CJ Williams)
โข Tech was 12-6 in Big 12 play last season, including going 9-0 in home gamesโฆ The Red Raiders advanced to the Big 12 Championship Finals where they lost to Kansas
โข Tech had a 29-game home winning streak end with its first Big 12 home game this season after going 8-0 at home in non-conference playโฆ The last home loss before falling to No. 3 Kansas on January 3 and then Oklahoma came back on February 9, 2021, against No. 14 West Virginia in an 82-71 defeat
โข Tech's program record remains at 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 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 Tech 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)
โข Tech had its season-best six-game winning streak end with the loss at TCU in its Big 12 opener on New Year's Eve in Fort Worthโฆ It started the season with three straight wins before falling against Creighton in Maui
โข Tech came into Big 12 play having scored over 100 points in three straight gamesโฆ The program had not scored 100+ points in three straight games since the 1965-66 seasonโฆ Tech had not scored over 100 points in two straight games since 1996 in a 111-101 win over Fresno State and a 122-105 loss to New Mexico Stateโฆ The Red Raiders are now 70-4 all-time when scoring over 100 pointsโฆ The 111 points against HCU were just outside the top-10 scoring performances in program historyโฆ The most points scored in a game is 128 against Texas in 2004
โข Tech is hitting 48.5 percent of its shots this season; opponents are being limited to 41.1 percentโฆ The Red Raiders limited Louisville to only 22.4 percent shooting and also held Northwestern State to only 28.4 in their best defensive efforts of the seasonโฆ In four Big 12 games, Tech is shooting 40.7 percent and opponents are at 45.2 percent
โข The 14 3-pointers by Tech against South Carolina was the most since they hit a program-best 16 against Kansas in 2019โฆ Tech made 13 3s against Jackson State for a previous season-highโฆ Tech had its worst 3-point shooting performance of the season against OU by going just 2-for-18 from beyond the arc in the overtime loss
โข Tech forced a season-high 30 turnovers from Jackson State and scored 47 points off those turnoversโฆ Tech had 19 steals in the game led by Obanor who had four while Isaacs, Washington and Williams had three steals eachโฆ The program record for steals in a game is 24 against Nicholls in 2002โฆ The 19 matched the second-most ever for a Red Raider team
โข The 50-point win over Jackson State was the 14th time in program history a Tech team has won by 50 or more
โข Tech has won six games by 20 or more points this season, including the 50-point win over JSU, topping HSU by 44, winning by 39 over SC State and a 34-point win over Louisville in Mauiโฆ The Red Raiders have held five opponents under 60 points, two under 50 and one under 40 with Louisville scoring only 38 points
โข Tech had an 11-point halftime lead on TCU before the Horned Frogs came back to winโฆ It was the first time this season Tech lost a game when leading at halftime
โข Tech overcame an 11-point deficit against Nicholls for its largest comeback this season
โข Tech trailed Iowa State by 19 at halftime and lost by 34โฆ Both were the largest margins this seasonโฆ Creighton had won by 11 for Tech's only double-digit loss this season
โข As a program, Tech advanced to 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 tournamentsโฆ The program has made the Sweet 16 in three of the past four tournaments
โข The Red Raiders finished No. 1 in defensive efficiency for the second time in four seasons last yearโฆ Tech also topped the Kenpom.com category in 2019 and were No. 9 in 2020
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 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 12,000โฆ Tech is averaging 13,288 fans through its 10 homes this season after having 14,385 against Kansas and 14,082 on Saturday with Oklahoma in townโฆ Tech is currently 16th nationally in average attendance and second within the Big 12
ย
ROSTER REPORT
โข Kevin Obanor has started all 53 games since he joined the Red Raiders last season and is leading the team with 15.8 points per game this season after a season-high 26 points against Kansas and then 15 against Oklahomaโฆ He was limited to single-digit scoring for only the third time this season at Iowa State where he had seven points on 2-for-4 shootingโฆ He is now averaging 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds through three Big 12 gamesโฆ Obanor was 8-for-14 from the field and 4-of-8 on 3-pointers against the Jayhawks in 37 minutes of playโฆ Obanor has scored in double figures in 14 of 17 games this season, 102 in his career and is shooting 85-for-168 (50.6 percent) from the field this seasonโฆ Obanor had scored a previous season-high 25 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Eastern Washington for his first double-double of the season and went for 24 points with a season-best five 3-pointers against South Carolina State... It was his first double-double of the season and the 36th in his career... He now has 623 points as a Red Raider and 1,929 points through 139 games in his career...ย He finished last season with double-doubles in each of the three NCAA Tournament games against Montana State (10 points/11 rebounds), Notre Dame (15/15) and Duke (10/10)โฆ Obanor, who is a Houston native, started his college career with three seasons at Oral Roberts before transferring to Tech last seasonโฆ Obanor earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection last season and was 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 While at ORU, Obanor scored 39 points against Omaha in a game where he hit six 3-pointers for his career-highโฆ Six of his 36 double-doubles have come in the NCAA Tournament with three during ย ORU's Sweet 16 run before last season.
โข Daniel Batcho leads Tech with 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game to go along with scoring 11.2 points per game this seasonโฆ Batcho missed the game against OU with a dislocated finger on his right hand but returned at Iowa State where he provided three blocks, three rebounds and four rebounds in 32 minutesโฆ He has 11 blocked shots through three Big 12 games played after also having five at TCU and then three more against KUโฆ Prior to conference play, he had a 12/10 performance against Houston which was his third double-double of the season and the fourth game with 10 or more rebounds this seasonโฆ A 6-foot-11 sophomore from France, Batcho recorded a career-high 13 rebounds and his second career double-double with 15 points against Georgetown before having 14 points and nine rebounds against Nichollsโฆ Batcho, who has led Tech in scoring in three games and in rebounding in eight, had scored in double figures in five straight games for the first time in his career coming into Big 12 actionโฆ He scored a career-high 21 points against Ohio State where he was 7 of 10 from the field and 6 of 7 at the free-throw line in Mauiโฆ He had scored a career-high 17 points against Creighton in Maui where he was 7-for-12 from the field in 24 minutes on the court before his 21-point performance against the Buckeyesโฆ His six blocks against Louisiana Tech are tied for the third most in program history with Tariq Owens owning the single-game record with eight in a win over Memphis in 2018 and Will Flemons second with seven against Texas A&M in 1990โฆ A reserve in 33 games last season at Tech, he came into this season with a career-high 11 rebounds in the overtime win over Tennessee last season at Madison Square Garden in the 2021 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 De'Vion Harmon matched his career-high with 23 points against Oklahoma with 21 of those points coming in the second half and followed the performance with a team-high 14 points, four assists, five steals and five rebounds at Iowa Stateโฆ Averaging 13.5 points through four Big 12 games, he led Tech in all four of those statistical categories in the game against the Cyclonesโฆ Against Oklahoma, Harmon was 9-for-15 from the field in the game and also hit five free throws before going 6-for-13 from the field in Ames, Iowaโฆ Along with his 23 points against the Sooners, he also led Tech with three assistsโฆ Harmon is averaging 12.5 points per game and leads the Red Raiders with 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game through 16 games this seasonโฆHe had scored in double figures in five straight games after going for 13 points at TCU but was limited to four points against KUโฆ Harmon had went for a season-high 22 points and had a career-high nine assists in the win over Houston Christian leading into conference playโฆ A senior in his first season at Tech, he has played in 107 career games, scoring 1,128 points to go along with 245 assists and 143 stealsโฆ He had matched his previous career-best with six assists against Ohio State in Maui and has had three or more assists in 10 of 15 gamesโฆ Harmon averaged 10.8 points per game and had 71 assists last season at Oregon last season after averaging 12.9 points per game at Oklahoma 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.
โข Pop Isaacs missed the game against OU due to being in concussion protocol but returned to contribute 10 points, three assists and three steals at Iowa State in 32 minutes of playโฆ A starter in 15 of 16 games, the game against OU was the first game he missed this seasonโฆ Isaacs led Tech with 17 points at TCU after matching a career-high with five 3-pointers before going off for 18 points with four 3-pointers against Kansasโฆ He has started Big 12 play by going 10-for-29 (34.5 percent) on 3-pointers and is averaging 15.0 ppg. through three conference games as a freshmanโฆ ย For the season, Isaacs is averaging 11.2 points, 2.7 assists and 1.4 stealsโฆ A freshman from Las Vegas, he scored a career-high 24 points and five 3-pointers in the win over Nichollsโฆ His 24 points were the most by a Red Raider in a game this season before Obanor went for his 25 against EWUโฆ Isaacs has now scored in double figures in nine games and is on a career-best with four straight games in double figuresโฆ Isaacs had a previous career-high four 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 13 points against Creightonโฆ He has made at least one 3-pointer in 13 of 15 games โฆ He comes into the matchup against Texas shooting 36-of-92 (39.1 percent) on 3-pointers this season.
โข Jaylon Tyson is averaging 9.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals in his sophomore seasonโฆ Tyson, who transferred from Texas last season, led Tech with nine rebounds against Kansas and added 10 points, three steals and three assists in the gameโฆ He is coming off a game at Iowa State where he was limited to five points and four reboundsโฆ His nine rebounds against KU matched a career-high that he also had earlier this season against Georgetownโฆ He was just one rebound shy of his first career double-doubleโฆ Tyson had scored in double figures in three straight games for the first time in his career before scoring eight points against TCU and comes into his first game as an opponent in Austin having scored in double figures in seven games after his 10 against the Jayhawksโฆ Tyson led Tech with four assists and also added four rebounds at TCU in the Big 12 openerโฆ He had a career-high 18 points against Georgetown where he was 4-for-5 on 3-pointersโฆ A starter in 15 of 16 games, Tyson transferred to Tech at midterm last season but did not play in a game for the Red Raidersโฆ Tyson is currently 19-for-45 (42.2 percent) on 3-pointers and has made at least one 3-pointer in 11 of 15 games playedโฆ He was 2-for-2 on 3-pointers against KU but then went 0-for-5 against OU and was 1-for-4 against ISUโฆ Against Northwestern State in his first game at Tech, Tyson made his first collegiate start and was 3-for-4 from the field, including going 2-for-3 on 3-pointers to finish with eight pointsโฆ His 3-pointer 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 freshman season-high 11 points coming against Houston Christian last season.
โข KJ Allen has missed the past two games against OU and ISU with a lower-body injuryโฆ He will be a game-time decision at Texasโฆ Allen scored nine points and had five rebounds against TCU in 20 minutes of play and had two points against KUโฆ He was 4-for-5 from the field and also came away with one steal against the Horned Frogsโฆ Allen went off for a career-high 15 points in the win over Jackson State by shooting 7-for-10 from the field before scoring six against Houston Christianโฆ A junior from Los Angeles, Allen had a season-high seven rebounds and scored five points in the win over EWU in 18 minutes off the benchโฆ In his second season at Tech, Allen is currently averaging 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game this seasonโฆ He had a previous season-high five rebounds against Creighton in the first game in Mauiโฆ Allen 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 Allen added a career-high 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 gameโฆ He was Adams' first signee.
โข Robert Jennings made his fourth start of his career against OU in a game where he contributed eight points (matched career-high) and three rebounds in a career-best 23 minutes of play before contributing three rebounds and two points back in a reserve role at Iowa Stateโฆ Jennings produced a career-high six rebounds as a reserve in the final non-conference game against SC StateโฆHe was coming off matching his career-highs with eight points and five rebounds against Houston Christianโฆ Jennings played in six minutes of action at TCU but did not score or have a reboundโฆ He had two points and one rebound against KUโฆ A freshman from Desoto, he established his career-high with eight points against Louisville in Maui after he went 3-for-5 from the field and also hit two free throws in 15 minutes of workโฆ He's currently averaging 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
โข Lamar Washington made his first career start against the Sooners in a game where he contributed six points and six rebounds in 36 minutes of play before having three rebounds and two assists in a reserve role at Iowa Stateโฆ Washington, who did not score at ISU, established a career-high with 12 points and five assists in the non-conference win over Nicholls after going 12-for-17 from the free-throw lineโฆ A key reserve in his freshman season, he is currently averaging 3.9 points, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.3 rebounds per gameโฆ Washington had three points and a rebound against TCU in the first Big 12 game of his career after he was averaging 7.8 points and 3.0 assists in the past five games coming into conference playโฆ He matched his season-best with three steals against Houston Christian and also scored seven pointsโฆ A freshman from Portland, Oregon, his career-best 12 points against Nicholls was the first time he scored in double figures and came with him going 0-for-1 from the field shootingโฆ 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 career.
โข D'Maurian Williams hit a 3-pointer in overtime against the Sooners to cut it to one and finished with five points and five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench but did not score at Iowa State in seven minutes off the benchโฆ He made five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 17 points in the non-conference win over Jackson State with all 17 coming in the second halfโฆ Williams did not play against TCU and scored three against Kansas in 11 minutesโฆ A junior from Arizona, Williams made his first start at Tech against Nicholls in place of Tyson who was injuredโฆ He played against JSU as a reserve, going 5-for-7 on 3-pointers after coming into the game with only three made 3-pointers through eight games playedโฆ Williams scored a previous season-high 10 points against Louisville after hitting two 3-pointers and going 4-for-5 at the free-throw lineโฆ He is currently averaging 4.3 points this seasonโฆ Williams now has 787 points, 142 assists, 65 steals and 242 rebounds through 70 games in his careerโฆ He is in his first season at Tech after transferring from Gardner-Webb where he played the past two seasonsโฆWilliams 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 sophomore.
โข Kerwin Walton was 2-for-2 on 3-pointers and finished with six points at Iowa Stateโฆ Walton had scored eight points in the two games against Houston Christian and Jackson State before hitting one 3 and finishing with three points against SC Stateโฆ He is averaging 3.1 points through 15 games played as a Red Raider reserveโฆ Walton led the Tech bench with nine points and four rebounds against Northwestern State in the season-opener and had five points against TSU and LA Techโฆ He had not scored in the previous five games before his eight against JSU and HCUโฆ Walton played the last two seasons at North Carolina before transferring to Tech during the summerโฆ He has made 91 3-pointers through 75 games in his career with a career-high five 3-pointers made in a game against Louisville in his freshman seasonโฆ Walton is 91-for-230 (39.6 percent) from beyond the arc for his career, 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 Elijah Fisher scored a season-high eight points after going 3-for-4 from the field against Jackson State before scoring five points in each of the wins over SC State and HCUโฆ Fisher had two points and matched a career-high with three rebounds against OU in eight minutes of playโฆ He is now averaging 3.1 points per game with a previous season-best seven points coming against Texas Southern in the second game of the seasonโฆ A reserve in all 14 games, he is 17-for-36 (47.2 percent) from the field this seasonโฆ Along with his eight points, Fisher added a career-best three rebounds in the win over Jackson State in Houstonโฆ His first-year resume also includes scoring three points and having two rebounds in the loss to Ohio Stateโฆ 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 classโฆ He reclassified to play this season and enrolled at Tech a year early.
โข CJ Williams scored his first career points against Louisville with a pair of free throws and his first bucket with a layup against South Carolina Stateโฆ Williams did not play against TCUโฆ A freshman guard, he has played in five games this season after making his debut in the opener against Northwestern Stateโฆ He is the son of Tech assistant coach Corey Williams
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. โฆ Aimaq is a key part to the Tech roster this season but has been sidelined with a foot injury and has no official timetable for his returnโฆ 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 nationally.
RANKINGS
โข Tech fell out of the AP Top 25 in the 11/28 rankings after its losses in Maui and has remained unranked the past four weeksโฆ The Red Raiders had been receiving votes each week until last week
โข Tech is now 0-4 this season against ranked opponents with losses against No. 10 Creighton, No. 18 TCU, No. 3 Kansas and No. 14 Iowa State (rankings as of game played)
โข Tech had moved up two spots in the AP Poll (11/21) for the second straight week and was at No. 21 entering the Maui Invitational
โข The Red Raiders were No. 23 in the first release of the season (11/14) after a No. 25 preseason ranking
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 Tech was 3-2 against Top-10 teams last year in the regular seasonโฆ The Red Raiders dropped a 69-55 game to No. 5 Gonzaga last December in Phoenix before earning wins over Baylor which was at No. 1 (65-62 in Waco) and No. 7 (83-73 in Lubbock) at the time of the victories and also a 75-67 home win over Kansas when it was No. 6
โข Tech has beat a top-10 opponent in eight straight seasons, a top-5 opponent in seven straight and has 27 wins over top-10 teams in program history
โข Tech went 7-5 last season against Top 25 opponents, including a 57-52 overtime win over No. 13 Tennessee on December 7 in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Gardenโฆ The Red Raiders were 1-1 against Top 25 teams in their non-conference schedule with the loss to Gonzaga following the win over the Vols
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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DOMINATING THE PAINT
Texas Tech has started this season by outscoring 12 of 16 opponents in the paint and by a 564-416combined marginโฆ The Red Raiders and Jayhawks were even at 30-30 inside the paintโฆ TCU owned a 44-22 advantage after Nicholls had been the only team to outscore Tech inside the paint this season. (ISU 36 - TTU 24; TTU 38 โ OU 32; TTU 30 โ KU 30; TCU 44 โ TTU 22; TTU 48 โ SCST 36; TTU 56 โ HCU 24; TTU 42 โ JSU 18; TTU 40 โ EWU 18; NIC 30 โ TTU 26; TTU 38 โ GU 16; TTU 34-OSU 28; TTU 70-LOU 38; TTU 38-CU 30; TTU 26-LT 24; TTU 42 โ TSU 30; TTU 28 โ NWST 8)โฆ The Red Raiders outscored 35 of 37 opponents inside the paint last season by a combined 1,230-654 scoring advantage.ย
LEGACY
Texas Tech spent the first and second day of October in Stanton, Texas at its annual team retreat working to continue building strong bonds for the season. The Red Raiders were at the Circle 6 Camp for two days with a theme of legacy that was designed to connect the past with the current team. Adams, shown holding up boxing gloves, talked with the current team about past players who helped build the program and also about how each of the current players owes it to themselves and the program to work hard every day to continue building the legacy that many have worked to build. The team opened up to each other through discussion and also had fun with multiple team-building activities.
RED RAIDERS IN THE NBA / G-LEAGUE
Adonis Arms: Grand Rapids Gold
Jarrett Culver: 2-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
TEXAS TECH FEATURE LINKSย ย
Define Yourself โ Video Seriesย ย
Obanor โ Feature (December 2022)
Harmon - Featureย
Aimaq - Feature
Pop Isaacs - Featureย
Tyson - Featureย
Obanor โ Feature (March 2022) ย
Big 12 Media Day โ Four Journeysย ย ย
Formative Conversation โ Playersย ย
Formative Conversation - Coachesย ย
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/ Men's BasketballTuesday, September 22
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