Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders look to build on momentum in Waco
February 03, 2023 | Men's Basketball
12 p.m., Saturday | TV: CBS | Waco, Texas
WACO, Texas – Mark Adams walked into the Ferrell Center on Friday night for shootaround ready to put the final pieces of preparation into place for the 10th Big 12 game on the schedule. It has been over a year since he last came to Waco to play Baylor – earning a 65-62 win in an upset victory over the No. 1-ranked Bears. On this night, less than 24 hours from a noon tip-off on CBS against No. 11 Baylor, Adams joined the broadcast team of Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery before practice started to break down the game.
"We're not where we want to be but I'm proud of the way our guys have responded," Adams told the CBS crew. "We'll have to play our best tomorrow. No doubt about it. Baylor is a really good team."
Tech is coming off an 80-77 overtime win over No. 13 Iowa State on Monday night in Lubbock – a game where the Red Raiders overcame a 23-point deficit for the largest comeback in school history.
A couple days before, Tech snapped an eight-game losing streak with a road win at LSU in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. They come into Saturday's game with a 1-8 record in conference play, including taking an 81-74 loss to Baylor back on January 17 in Lubbock. The Bears (16-6, 5-4 Big 12) had been on a six-game winning streak before taking a 76-71 loss to No. 10 Texas in Austin on Monday night.
"They are a really crafty team," said Tech freshman Lamar Washington about Baylor. "They want to set up one-on-one matchups that favor them. They put themselves in really good situations. They create for their teammates and shoot really well. We'll have to take them out of their game. We need to stay locked in and force turnovers."
Kevin Obanor helped Tech sweep Baylor last season. At home, he had 23 points and 13 rebounds in the win to complete the sweep. On Monday against Iowa State, he had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the 37th double-double of his career. He also reached a milestone, now with 2,022 points and 1,033. He's been a steady force the past three games, scoring over 20 in each and is now averaging 15.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. De'Vion Harmon has scored in double figures in four straight games and is coming off a game against Iowa State where he provided 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal. He's now leading the team with 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game to go along with 12.5 points. Against Baylor in the first matchup, he was limited to only four points – the only single-digit scoring performance he's had in the past eight games. Harmon said he thinks the team is playing together coming into the game against Baylor but that this is a game where they'll need to remain connected from the start.
"I think we are playing with a lot of belief in each other," Harmon said. "That takes time to develop sometimes. You have to keep working on it too though. We have to keep building. We've seen what we are capable of when we put it all together and fight like we can. It comes down to connections and working together. We've been down the past two games and fought back to win. That shows belief. Shows that we can do it.
"We can't keep falling in a hole though," Harmon said. "We know that. We need to come out ready to play tomorrow. Baylor is a great team with a lot of tradition. They won a national title a couple years ago for a lot of reasons. They know how to win here. We'll have to limit our offensive and defensive mistakes because they are a team that thrives on taking advantage of mistakes. They capitalize at a high level. We can't give them anything."
Washington led the Tech reserves against Iowa State, going for eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in the game. He had not scored in the previous four games, but remained focused and ready. After playing only six minutes at LSU, he would play 26 minutes in the overtime win over the Cyclones. Along with providing eight points, he continued playing strong defense and bringing energy. His steal with six minutes remaining led to a fastbreak dunk as Tech got to within seven points."
"I feel like we're doing a great job communicating on defense right now," Washington said. "We're buying into each other. Really finding trust. We just need to keep pushing and working on getting better. Pushing the ball and staying focused. If we keep attacking and being aggressive, I like what we are capable of."
Jaylon Tyson is coming off a game against Iowa State where he had 11 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists. A sophomore with two double-doubles on his resume this season, it was the third game this season where he was one rebound shy of another double-double. Tyson had not scored in double figures in the previous three games, but would knock down four shots and came up with a big offensive rebound with 25 seconds remaining. He kicked it out to Kevin Obanor who hit a 3-pointer to cut the ISU lead to two. Tyson looks to bring that same kind of performance to Baylor on Saturday. Â
"We need to keep playing as a team and execute the scouting reports," Tyson said. "That will be key to winning. We showed in the last game that we can be resilient and handle adversity. This game is going to be a challenge for sure though. They have three really good guards and good players all over the court. We need to run them off the 3-point line and play hard from the start to the finish. We'll need to play our best defensive game."
Kerwin Walton has started the past two games, hitting five 3-pointers in a season-high 17-point performance at LSU before having five points in 21 minutes in the overtime win over ISU. He is currently 22-for-47 (46.8 percent) on 3-pointers this season and has made 103 in his career. Walton has made at least one 3-pointer in six straight games coming into the matchup against Baylor. In the first game against the Bears, Walton was 4-for-6 on 3-pointers for 12 points in 22 minutes as a reserve.
"We'll need to stick to the game plan and make shots," Walton said. "The most important thing is that we have to play hard. With energy, effort and toughness. I think that is big for us. We have to consistently play hard whether we are shooting the ball well or not. We wouldn't have beat LSU or Iowa State if we didn't play hard."
With only nine games remaining in the regular season, Adams likes where his team is at but knows there is no room for error – no time for morale victories. To get back into the conversation of a tournament bid, wins need to be stacked regardless of who they're playing or where it's at.
"We've won two in a row now and our guys are confident," Adams said on Wednesday during his local media availability. "I'm proud of the way they finished our last game and we're ready to build on that. We know how good Baylor is. We were fortunate enough to beat them there last year, but it is a very tough place to play. They shoot the ball really well there so we'll have to find ways to try to disrupt their offense."
"We're not where we want to be but I'm proud of the way our guys have responded," Adams told the CBS crew. "We'll have to play our best tomorrow. No doubt about it. Baylor is a really good team."
Tech is coming off an 80-77 overtime win over No. 13 Iowa State on Monday night in Lubbock – a game where the Red Raiders overcame a 23-point deficit for the largest comeback in school history.
A couple days before, Tech snapped an eight-game losing streak with a road win at LSU in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. They come into Saturday's game with a 1-8 record in conference play, including taking an 81-74 loss to Baylor back on January 17 in Lubbock. The Bears (16-6, 5-4 Big 12) had been on a six-game winning streak before taking a 76-71 loss to No. 10 Texas in Austin on Monday night.
"They are a really crafty team," said Tech freshman Lamar Washington about Baylor. "They want to set up one-on-one matchups that favor them. They put themselves in really good situations. They create for their teammates and shoot really well. We'll have to take them out of their game. We need to stay locked in and force turnovers."
Kevin Obanor helped Tech sweep Baylor last season. At home, he had 23 points and 13 rebounds in the win to complete the sweep. On Monday against Iowa State, he had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the 37th double-double of his career. He also reached a milestone, now with 2,022 points and 1,033. He's been a steady force the past three games, scoring over 20 in each and is now averaging 15.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. De'Vion Harmon has scored in double figures in four straight games and is coming off a game against Iowa State where he provided 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal. He's now leading the team with 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game to go along with 12.5 points. Against Baylor in the first matchup, he was limited to only four points – the only single-digit scoring performance he's had in the past eight games. Harmon said he thinks the team is playing together coming into the game against Baylor but that this is a game where they'll need to remain connected from the start.
"I think we are playing with a lot of belief in each other," Harmon said. "That takes time to develop sometimes. You have to keep working on it too though. We have to keep building. We've seen what we are capable of when we put it all together and fight like we can. It comes down to connections and working together. We've been down the past two games and fought back to win. That shows belief. Shows that we can do it.
"We can't keep falling in a hole though," Harmon said. "We know that. We need to come out ready to play tomorrow. Baylor is a great team with a lot of tradition. They won a national title a couple years ago for a lot of reasons. They know how to win here. We'll have to limit our offensive and defensive mistakes because they are a team that thrives on taking advantage of mistakes. They capitalize at a high level. We can't give them anything."
Washington led the Tech reserves against Iowa State, going for eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in the game. He had not scored in the previous four games, but remained focused and ready. After playing only six minutes at LSU, he would play 26 minutes in the overtime win over the Cyclones. Along with providing eight points, he continued playing strong defense and bringing energy. His steal with six minutes remaining led to a fastbreak dunk as Tech got to within seven points."
"I feel like we're doing a great job communicating on defense right now," Washington said. "We're buying into each other. Really finding trust. We just need to keep pushing and working on getting better. Pushing the ball and staying focused. If we keep attacking and being aggressive, I like what we are capable of."
Jaylon Tyson is coming off a game against Iowa State where he had 11 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists. A sophomore with two double-doubles on his resume this season, it was the third game this season where he was one rebound shy of another double-double. Tyson had not scored in double figures in the previous three games, but would knock down four shots and came up with a big offensive rebound with 25 seconds remaining. He kicked it out to Kevin Obanor who hit a 3-pointer to cut the ISU lead to two. Tyson looks to bring that same kind of performance to Baylor on Saturday. Â
"We need to keep playing as a team and execute the scouting reports," Tyson said. "That will be key to winning. We showed in the last game that we can be resilient and handle adversity. This game is going to be a challenge for sure though. They have three really good guards and good players all over the court. We need to run them off the 3-point line and play hard from the start to the finish. We'll need to play our best defensive game."
Kerwin Walton has started the past two games, hitting five 3-pointers in a season-high 17-point performance at LSU before having five points in 21 minutes in the overtime win over ISU. He is currently 22-for-47 (46.8 percent) on 3-pointers this season and has made 103 in his career. Walton has made at least one 3-pointer in six straight games coming into the matchup against Baylor. In the first game against the Bears, Walton was 4-for-6 on 3-pointers for 12 points in 22 minutes as a reserve.
"We'll need to stick to the game plan and make shots," Walton said. "The most important thing is that we have to play hard. With energy, effort and toughness. I think that is big for us. We have to consistently play hard whether we are shooting the ball well or not. We wouldn't have beat LSU or Iowa State if we didn't play hard."
With only nine games remaining in the regular season, Adams likes where his team is at but knows there is no room for error – no time for morale victories. To get back into the conversation of a tournament bid, wins need to be stacked regardless of who they're playing or where it's at.
"We've won two in a row now and our guys are confident," Adams said on Wednesday during his local media availability. "I'm proud of the way they finished our last game and we're ready to build on that. We know how good Baylor is. We were fortunate enough to beat them there last year, but it is a very tough place to play. They shoot the ball really well there so we'll have to find ways to try to disrupt their offense."
Ready to attack. pic.twitter.com/1m2AgXKKTC
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 4, 2023
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