Red Raiders, Islanders set for Thursday showdown

LUBBOCK, Texas – A three-game homestand to start the season will come to its conclusion for Texas Tech when it hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. on Thursday at United Supermarkets Arena before traveling to play at the Battle 4 Atlantis next week in the Bahamas.

"We're excited about the opportunity to play Thursday," Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "Their team is tough. We've talked to people who have played them and they said it's the most physical team that they've played. They are playing really hard and you can tell they're playing with a lot of physicality. We've got our hands full."

The Red Raiders (2-0) are currently second in the nation by limiting opponents to only 44.0 points per game and are 10th with opponents shooting just 31.7 percent from the field after season-opening wins over Texas A&M-Commerce and San Jose State. Devan Cambridge led Tech with 15 points and Pop Isaacs had five assists and a career-high seven rebounds in a 56-42 win over the Spartans on Sunday with the Red Raiders closing the game on an 18-2 run over the final seven minutes. McCasland's teams at North Texas have led the nation the past two seasons in scoring defense – a category that Houston currently leads at 43.0 ppg. San Jose State had averaged 94.5 points in its first two games of the season before being shut down by the Red Raider defense that is also fourth nationally by their opponents only shooting 15.1 percent on 3-pointers coming into their third game of the season.

Along with limiting San Jose to 42, Tech started the season with a 73-46 win over Commerce. It's the first time since the 1951-52 season that Tech has held its first two opponents under 50 points. Polk Robison's team kept Texas Wesleyan to 39 and Hardin-Simmons to 42 to begin that season. They gave up 64 but beat McMurry by 20 in the third game of their season.

As a program, Tech has now won 24 straight non-conference home games and is 82-2 in those games since the start of 2013-14 season. The two losses came against SEC opponents with a 71-69 loss to LSU on Dec. 18, 2013, and a 76-74 overtime loss to No. 15 Kentucky on January 25, 2020. The loss to Kentucky snapped a 54-game non-conference home winning streak and set up this current streak that began with a 101-58 win over Northwestern State on Nov. 25, 2020, in the 2020-21 season-opener.

The Islanders, who were in the NCAA Tournament last season, come into Lubbock with their 2-1 record after a 104-45 win over Dallas Christian on Monday night following an 82-50 loss to No. 7 Houston on Saturday. Corpus is averaging 88.3 points per game, led by Lance-Amir Paul who is scoring 11.3 ppg. and Jordan Roberts who is adding 11.0 ppg. The team is shooting 47.7 percent from the field and has made 23 3-pointers through three games. Against Houston, Paul led the team with 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting and had five rebounds. Roberts scored nine points in the loss at the Fertitta Center.

NEW ERA IS HERE
McCasland was announced as the 19th head coach in program history on March 31, 2023, after six seasons at North Texas where he was 135-65 and led the program to the 2023 NIT Championship title. Along with winning the NIT, McCasland's teams at UNT have led the nation in scoring defense the past two seasons after holding opponents to just 55.8 points per game last season and 55.7 per game the previous year. McCasland played and graduated from Baylor before beginning his coaching career and earning his master's at Texas Tech. He was the director of operations for Tech coach James Dickey from 1999-2001. A winner everywhere he's coached, McCasland earned a NJCAA National Championship in 2007 at Midland College in his first head coaching position and has also led Midwestern State, Arkansas State, and UNT to unprecedented heights.
Now in his 10th season as a NCAA head coach, McCasland has a 213-89 overall record during that time.
McCasland's staff includes assistant coaches Dave Smart, Matt Braeuer, Achoki Moikobu, and Luke Barnwell along with Kellen Buffington (general manager), Andrew Wright (strength & conditioning), Clay Wilson (player development), Jardon Powell (director of administration and operations), Cooper Anderson (operations), Chris Nottingham (video coordinator), and Christian Hosley (assistant strength & conditioning). Braeuer, Moikobu, Wright, Wilson, and Hosley worked with McCasland at UNT.

TECH PROGRAM HISTORY
The Red Raiders are a proud program that has experienced great success in the past decade with five trips to the NCAA Tournament and advancement to the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 National Championship Final, and 2022 Sweet 16. Tech went 18-0 at home during the 2021-22 season for the best record nationally two years ago. Last season, the program ranked No. 21 in average attendance with 13,222 per game. The program is in its 99th season.

FEATURE LINKS
Players explain what toughness is to them
McCasland story – Rising through the ranks
Four Journeys to Big 12 Media Day
Our coaching staff's path to coaching
Define Yourself – player video series

SERIES HISTORY/OPPONENT NOTES
The Red Raiders will take on A&M-Corpus Christi for the seventh time and with a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series. Tech is on a four-game winning streak in the series, most recently securing a 77-57 win on Dec. 12, 2020, in a neutral-court game in Frisco. The Islanders have played in Lubbock three times and are 2-1 in those games, including an 86-80 win over the Red Raiders on Dec. 18, 2000. The last matchup in Lubbock resulted in a 70-55 win by the Red Raiders on Jan. 2, 2011.

The Islanders are coming off an accomplished season where they advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, won the Southland Conference regular season title with a 14-4 record, and won the Southland Conference tournament championship. Corpus Christi opened the NCAA Tournament with a 75-71 win over Southeast Missouri State in Dayton, Ohio before falling to Alabama. The team ended its season with a 24-11 overall record.

Jim Shaw is in his first season as the program's head coach after two seasons as an assistant coach within the program. Shaw takes over for Steve Lutz who left Corpus following last season to take over at Western Kentucky. Shaw worked as the Texas Tech Director of Operations under interim head coach Chris Walker in the 2012-13 season. He also coached at Texas State and Tarleton State before A&M-Corpus Christi.

ROSTER REPORT

McCasland's first roster at Texas Tech has 14 players on it with five returners and nine newcomers… Eleven players saw game action in the opener against Commerce with all 11 scoring before nine players got in against San Jose and seven scored in a close game that became a 14-point victory with an 18-2 run to end it
Defensively, the Tech roster has been dominant and is second nationally by limiting teams to only 44.0 points per game and 10th with the first two opponents only shooting 31.7 percent
The Red Raiders return Lamar Washington, Pop Isaacs, D'Maurian Williams, Kerwin Walton, and Robert Jennings who are each entering their second season in the program… Tech returns only 25.4 percent of its scoring from last season with eight departures from last year's roster
The list of newcomers includes five players from the transfer portal in Devan Cambridge (Arizona State), Chance McMillian (Grand Canyon), Joe Toussaint (West Virginia), Darrion Williams (Nevada), and Warren Washington (Arizona State)… All five players signed out of the transfer portal played on teams that advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament… The transfer portal additions had a combined 492 games of experience and 3,454 points scored coming into the season
Tech's starting lineup in the first two games has been: Cambridge, Isaacs, Toussaint, Warren Washington, Darrion Williams… The starters have accounted for 79.8 percent of Tech scoring through two games
Isaacs led Tech in scoring with 19 points before Cambridge led the team in scoring with 15 against San Jose… Isaacs has now led Tech in scoring in seven games in his career, Cambridge has 41 games in double-figure scoring in his career
Toussaint has scored 10 points in both games this season to be the only Red Raider in double-figure scoring both games… Toussaint scored the first four points of the season
Tech had three players in double-figures in the opener with Darrion Williams scoring 14 points to join Isaacs and Toussaint
Six players have made their Tech debut this season, including the four from the starting lineup and freshman Eemeli Yalaho who had a dunk late in the season-opener against Commerce for his first collegiate points
Darrion Williams was McCasland's first signee on April 21, 2023
Cambridge and Toussaint were both officially announced on July 6, 2023, to complete the roster... Six players were signed by McCasland and staff in the off-season
The newcomer list includes Jack Francis and KyeRon Lindsay who were at Tech last season but not on the active roster… Francis, Lindsay, and freshman Drew Steffe have not played in a game this season
Tech is a team comprised of 5th-year seniors (3), seniors (3), sophomores (6), and freshmen (2)
Tech has players from Texas (4), California (3), Arizona (1), Minnesota (1), Nevada (1), New York (1), Oregon (1), Tennessee (1), Finland (1)
Isaacs is leading Tech with 13.5 points per game after leading the team with 19 points in the season opener against Commerce… He scored eight in the win against San Jose State to go along with leading the team with five assists and having a career-high seven rebounds… Through 27 career games, Isaacs now has 314 points, 73 assists, and has made 65 3-pointers… A sophomore guard, Isaacs is Tech's leading returning scorer after going for 11.5 points per game as a true freshman in 25 games played last season… He led Tech in scoring nine times last season and now has been the team-leader in points in 10 games going into the third game of his second season… In the preseason, Isaacs also went off for 30 points after going 6-for-10 on 3-pointers in the exhibition win over Texas A&M where he also led the team with three steals… Last season, he made 62 3-pointers (37.8%), including making five 3-pointers in games against Nicholls, TCU, and Texas… Isaacs had 16 games with double-figuring scoring performances as a freshman and scored 12.1 percent of Texas Tech's points last season… Isaacs scored a career-high 24 points in the non-conference game against Nicholls and also had 23 points at Texas after he went off by making 5-of-9 3-pointers against the Longhorns… A Las Vegas native, Isaacs made 24 starts last year and earned Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors during his first season at Tech where he averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game… He finished third in scoring among freshmen in the Big 12 and was fourth throughout the conference by averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers per game
Cambridge led Tech in scoring for the first time with 15 points in the win over San Jose State after scoring only two points in the season opener… He was 7-for-12 from the field against the Spartans and now has 41 games in double-figure scoring in his career… A fifth-year senior, Cambridge has 916 points, 488 rebounds, 77 steals, and 66 blocked shots through 129 games in his career… He made his Tech debut against Commerce as a starter, finishing the game with four rebounds, two assists, one block, and two points… A 6-foot-6 forward from Nashville, Tennessee, Cambridge began his career with three seasons at Auburn before playing last season at Arizona State… He averaged a career-best 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season for the Sun Devils and helped ASU to the second round of the NCAA Tournament… Cambridge has made 115 3-pointers (29.1%) and is shooting 338-for-781 (43.3%) from the field in his career… He scored a career-high 26 points against South Carolina as a freshman on January 22, 2020, and had a career-best 11 rebounds against San Diego on December 18, 2022… Cambridge started against Texas A&M in Tech's exhibition win, scoring 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 on 3-pointers… For his career, Cambridge has five double-doubles and has 41 double-figure scoring performances after his team-best 15 against San Jose
Toussaint is the only Red Raider to score in double-figures in both games so far this season, scoring 10 against Commerce and San Jose… He scored the first four points of the season and game against Commerce and finished with 10 points to go along with three rebounds and an assists in his Tech debut… He is in his fifth and final season of college basketball after playing his first three seasons at Iowa and then last year at West Virginia… A Bronx, New York native, Toussaint played against Texas Tech four times as an opponent in his career including three times last season while at WVU and once while at Iowa in 2019… He scored his career-high 22 points against the Red Raiders in Lubbock after making 12 free throws… He had a career-high 11 assists against Alabama State back on Nov. 18, 2021, while playing at Iowa… Toussaint has 812 points, 370 assists, 140 steals, and 262 rebounds through 134 games in his career… His 134 games are the most experience on this year's Tech roster… Toussaint is coming off a season at WVU were he averaged 9.4 points and had 89 assists… He started against Texas A&M in the exhibition game, finishing with a team-high seven assists and also having six points and three rebounds in 36 minutes of play
Warren Washington leads Tech at 8.5 rebounds per game and has also scored eight points in both games this season… He led the Red Raiders with 12 rebounds and added eight points in the win over Commerce before going for eight points and five rebounds against San Jose State… He had five offensive rebounds against Commerce and three against the Spartans… Against San Jose, he scored the first six points for the Red Raiders… Washington is a fifth-year senior who has also played at Oregon State, Nevada, and Arizona State before making Texas Tech his final destination in his collegiate career… The tallest Red Raider on the roster at 7-foot, Washington is a Escondido, California native with 857 points, 586 rebounds, 113 blocks, and 98 assists through 111 games in his career… He leads Tech with nine double-doubles, 14 double-figure rebounding games, and 44 games in double-figure scoring in his career… He is coming off a season at Arizona State where he averaged 9.2 points and 6.9 rebounds and earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors… Washington started for the Red Raiders in the exhibition win over Texas A&M, finishing with a team-high seven rebounds but not scoring… In a scrimmage against UTEP, Washington led Tech with 16 points after going 7-for-9 from the field… His career resume includes a career-high 21 points in games against Wyoming and Southern Cal and a 14-rebound performance against Texas Southern last season while at ASU
Darrion Williams began his Tech career by going for 14 points and seven rebounds in the win over Commerce before scoring nine points and having six rebounds against San Jose… Williams is currently second on the team with 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and leads Tech by shooting 60.0 percent from the field (9-for-15)… He drilled a 3-pointer to give Tech a 44-40 lead over the Spartans on Sunday and is now 3-for-6 from beyond the arc on the season… He was 5-for-7 from the field in the opener against Commerce and also 2-of-2 at the free-throw line… A sophomore in his first year at Texas Tech, Williams earned Mountain West Freshman of the Year last season while playing at the University of Nevada after earning Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year following his senior year of high school at Bishop Gorman… He transferred to Tech during the summer after averaging 7.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a freshman… He also had 90 assists, 47 steals, and 11 blocks in his first collegiate season… Darrion scored a career-high 16 points in a game against Fresno State and had 13 rebounds against New Mexico last season… His freshman-year report saw him record 11 games with double-figure rebounds, 11 games with double-figure scoring, and one double-double… Darrion Williams started against Texas A&M in Tech's exhibition game and finished with six points and two rebounds in 17 minutes… In the scrimmage against UTEP, Darrion had 14 points… Last season, Williams was 91-for-220 (41.4%) from the field and 35-of-98 (35.7%) on 3-pointers... The Athletic had Williams as the 14th best available transfer while ESPN put him at No. 43 on its 2023-24 transfer list
McMillian has secured six rebounds in both games against Commerce and San Jose State to begin his career at Tech… He led the Tech reserves with six points and six rebounds in the win over Commerce in 25 minutes of play before having six rebounds, two steals, and two points against San Jose State… In his first year at Tech, he is a senior with two years of eligibility remaining after he played the last three years at Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Arizona where he advanced to the 2021 and 2023 NCAA Tournaments… Against Texas A&M in Tech's exhibition, McMillian scored 17 points with four 3-pointers as a reserve in 23 minutes… His resume now includes 678 points, 150 assists, 56 steals, 109 made 3-pointers, a shooting percentage of 45.0, and 30 games in double-figure scoring performances through 92 games in his career… A Vallejo, California native, McMillian is 109-for-273 (39.9%) on 3-pointers in his career including a game last season against SFA in February where he made six 3-pointers for GCU… He scored a career-high 24 points in that game on Feb. 24, 2023… McMillian is coming off a season at Grand Canyon where he averaged 10.9 points per game and had 78 assists… He shot 60-for-135 (44.4%) on 3-pointers
Lamar Washington led Tech with four assists and also added five points and four rebounds in the win over Commerce to begin the season before having four points and four rebounds against San Jose State… Washington is in his second season at Tech after averaging 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game as a freshman… He finished with 13 points and two steals in the exhibition win over Texas A&M where he played 24 minutes as a reserve… Washington had a career-high 13 points and five steals last season in a win over Kansas State at home… He played in 32 games and made three starts during the 2022-23 season… A 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard, Washington is a Portland, Oregon native who was named the 2021 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year before finishing prep school in Arizona… As a freshman, Washington was 34-for-80 from the field (42.5%) with seven 3-pointers
Robert Jennings finished with three rebounds and two points in the opener to begin his sophomore season against Commerce after playing in 30 games with four starts as a true freshman last season at Tech… A Desoto, Texas native who is listed at 6-foot-7, 230-pounds, Jennings had a career-high eight points in games against Houston Christian, Oklahoma, and Louisville last season… He also had strong performances with six rebounds against South Carolina State and West Virginia last year… Jennings played seven minutes as a reserve in the exhibition against Texas A&M and finished with one steal… He averaged 2.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last season
Walton made one 3-pointer for his only basket of the game against Commerce to begin his second season in the program… He did not play against San Jose State… A senior with two years of eligibility remaining, he is in his second season at Texas Tech after playing two years at North Carolina… A Hopkins, Minnesota native, Walton has made 105 3-pointers and scored 444 points through 88 games played in his career… He averaged 3.6 points with 23 3-pointers made in 27 games played last year for the Red Raiders with seven starts… As a freshman at North Carolina, Walton made 58 3-pointers, averaged 8.2 points, started 20 games, and set the UNC freshman percentage record at 42.0 percent… He enters this season 104-for-259 (40.2%) from beyond the arc… Walton had three points against Texas A&M in the exhibition with one 3-pointer in eight minutes of play
D'Maurian Williams has 816 points and a team-best 146 3-pointers made through 85 games played in his career… He scored two points in four minutes of play against Commerce in the opener but did not play against San Jose State… A senior with two years of eligibility remaining, D'Maurian is in his second season at Tech after playing his first two years at Gardner Webb where he averaged 14.5 points per game as a sophomore after 10.8 as a freshman… He played 27 games with one start last season for the Red Raiders, averaging 3.1 points per game and with 14 3-pointers… For his career, Williams is 146-for-379 (38.5%) from beyond the arc… He had a career-high 27 points against Columbia International while playing at Gardner Webb and also had a 10-rebound performance against UNLV… Last season, Williams scored a season-high 17 points against Jackson State after going 5-for-7 on 3-pointers… He's scored in double-figures 40 times in his career and has one double-double
Tech's roster has two true freshman on it with Eemeli Yalaho and Drew Steffe… Yalaho scored two points in six minutes of play in the opener against Commerce to make his collegiate debut and played just under five minutes against San Jose State… An international player from Jyväskylä, Finland, he completed high school with his senior season at Western Reserve Academy (Hudson, Ohio) where he averaged 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game… Yalaho begins his freshman season listed as a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward… Steffe is a four-star recruit who was signed last November out of Frisco Memorial High School… A 6-foot-5, 200-pound forward, he was a Class 5A All-state selection… Steffe did not play in the opener
Two of the newcomers were with the Red Raiders last season but will be in uniform for the first time this season… KyeRon Lindsay transferred to Tech at midterm last December after starting his career at the University of Georgia where he started eight games and played in 10 as a true freshman… A Denton, Texas native, Lindsay averaged 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as a Bulldog including recording a double-double with a career-high 14 points and 10 rebounds against Miami (Ohio) on November 14, 2022… Jack Francis is a sophomore from Austin who was on the practice squad last season and earned his spot on this season's roster… Francis is the team's only walk-on and is an accomplished player who scored over 1,000 points at Anderson High School… Lindsay and Francis both practiced with the Red Raiders throughout the 2023 Spring semester… Neither played in the first two games of the season

RANKINGS

Texas Tech came into the 2023-24 season unranked AP Preseason Poll and remained unranked in the Nov. 13 poll… The Red Raiders were at No. 25 to begin last season following advancing to the 2022 NCAA Sweet 16
Tech was in the first three polls last season and rose as high as No. 21 before falling out and not returning
Texas Tech is picked 8th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll
Kansas was picked first in the Big 12 Preseason Poll followed by Houston, Texas, Baylor, and TCU to round out the Top-5
Texas Tech did not have a player selected in the preseason awards
Tech's highest AP ranking in program history came at No. 6 in February of 2018 (16th Week Poll)… 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

OPERATIONAL MATTERS
Doors open for fans one hour prior to tipoff. Tickets are still available online 24/7 at texastech.com. For fans without a season parking pass, there will be free parking/shuttle service from the S-1 lot starting 90 minutes prior to tip off.

UP NEXT
November 22, 23, and 24, 2023: Texas Tech at Battle 4 Atlantis
*Imperial Arena - Paradise Island, Bahamas
The Red Raiders are set to play three games in the Bahamas during Thanksgiving week, starting against No. 21 Villanova in their first game of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis at 1:30 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, November 22 at the Imperial Arena on Paradise Island. The event is a three-game, three-day tournament from November 22-24 with the championship game to be played at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 24 on ESPN. The Red Raiders and Villanova will be meeting for the second time after a NCAA Elite 8 matchup in 2018. The Wildcats won that game by a 71-59 score in Boston and went on to win the 2018 National Championship.

Tech is making its first appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis after spending last Thanksgiving competing in the Maui Invitational. On the same side of the bracket with Tech and Villanova is a matchup between North Carolina and Northern Iowa. The two winners will play each other in the first game of the second day, while the losers meet at 4 p.m. on ESPN 2. The other first-day games are between Michigan and Memphis before the nightcap of Arkansas and Stanford.

Red Raiders, Islanders set for Thursday showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Devan Cambridge

Jack Francis

Pop Isaacs

Robert Jennings

Chance McMillian

Joe Toussaint

Kerwin Walton

Lamar Washington

Warren Washington

D'Maurian Williams

Darrion Williams

Eemeli Yalaho

Texas Tech University Athletics

Red Raiders, Islanders set for Thursday showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Devan Cambridge

Jack Francis

Pop Isaacs

Robert Jennings

Chance McMillian

Joe Toussaint

Kerwin Walton

Lamar Washington

Warren Washington

D'Maurian Williams

Darrion Williams

Eemeli Yalaho

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