Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-8, 4-4)
Bad Guys: Oklahoma Sooners (14-7, 4-4)
When to Watch: Tuesday, February 4th @ 8:00 p.m.
Where to Watch: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN2 | WatchESPN
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | TuneIn App
The Line: Texas Tech -9
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | OKLAHOMA | |
|---|---|---|
| KenPom | 22 | 49 |
| KP AdjO | 63 | 66 |
| KP AdjD | 10 | 52 |
| T-Rank | 32 | 57 |
| T-Rank O | 78 | 81 |
| T-Rank D | 15 | 64 |
| Haslemetric | 15 | 52 |
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Davide Moretti (6-3/180) | 13.5 / 2.3* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Kyler Edwards (6-4/200) | 11.6 / 3.0* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Jahmi’us Ramsey (6-4/195) | 15.9 / 4.4 |
| POWER FORWARD | Terrence Shannon, Jr. (6-6/210) | 11.9 / 4.7 |
| CENTER | TJ Holyfield (6-8/225) | 9.1 / 5.0 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Chris Clarke (6-6/220) | 6.0 / 7.5 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Kevin McCullar (6-6/195) | 4.2 / 2.1 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Avery Benson (6-4/200) | 2.1 / 1.7 |
| NINTH MAN | Clarence Nadolny (6-3/195) | 2.1 / 1.1 |
| TENTH MAN | Andrei Savrasov (6-7/225) | 0.8 / 1.1 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Russel Tchewa (7-0/260) | 1.6 / 0.8 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Tyreek Smith (6-7/215) | – / – |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | De’Vion Harmon (6-1/201) | 7.8 / 2.4* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Jamal Bieniemy (6-5/187) | 4.6 / 3.9 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Austin Reaves (6-5/202) | 14.6 / 5.3 |
| POWER FORWARD | Kristian Doolittle (6-7/232) | 14.4 / 8.8 |
| CENTER | Brady Manek (6-9/231) | 15.9 / 6.4 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Alondes Williams (6-5/205) | 6.8 / 1.9 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Kur Kuath (6-10/220) | 3.4 / 2.1 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Jalen Hill (6-7/225) | 2.4 / 2.3 |
| NINTH MAN | Victor Iwuakor (6-7/216) | 3.4 / 2.4 |
| TENTH MAN | Corbin Merritt (6-9/245) | 1.0 / 1.0 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Oklahoma is okay offensively, but not great. Kinda like Texas Tech, they’ve had their moments. They are absolutely stellar at holding onto the ball, 9th in the nation in turnover percentage, but they are a terrible offensive rebounding team (that’s kinda good news for Texas Tech), 326th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage. They are also not a great three-point shooting team, 216th in the nation, and only 195th inside the arc. Defensively, they don’t force any sort of turnovers at all, 316th in turnover percentage, but they can be pretty good (this is an understatement) at limiting opponents getting to the line, 5th in the nation in free throw rate. Oklahoma will get after you defensively, they do a decent job of limiting opponents from the three-point line, 102nd and 75th inside the three-point line.
2. Scouting. Manek is a pretty fantastic offensive player, really efficient offensively and really great from the three-point line. He’s Oklahoma’s best shooter, hands-down so he’s going to need to be the guy that Texas Tech guards without question. Doolittle is decent, a good defensive rebounder. The guards are all shooting relatively poorly, Reaves makes 24.6% of his three-point shots, Williams makes 30.4%, and Harmon is okay, making 34.8%, but of the guards, he’s the best of the bunch.
3. How They Match Up. This is one that Texas Tech sort of needs. T-Rank has Texas Tech sort of thinking that the Red Raiders win by about 7 points. I think Texas Tech playing a non-top 15 team will do them wonders and I hope that Texas Tech will be a bit more healthy than they were against Kansas. Texas Tech is really in a position where they need to get healthy, Clarke has a twisted ankle and McCullar is dealing with concussion symptoms. Per the video below, Beard said that McCullar is still in concussion protocol and Clarke still has that twisted ankle. Clarke not playing in the second half of Kansas was a coach’s decision and Clarke just wasn’t 100%. I hope they get healthy quickly. Either one of them would be terrific in guarding Manek especially McCullar.
4. Reading Material. Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams – Time to bear down: Tech in logjam as midpoint of Big 12 play arrives:
Last year on Feb. 4, the Red Raiders started a nine-game winning streak to end the regular season, right after having lost four of six.
“I think our Texas Tech team here last year was 5-and-4 and we went on to win the Big 12 and advance to the Final Four and played on Monday night (in the NCAA Tournament championship game),” Beard said Monday. “So you don’t have to look too far to understand how important these games are.
“I’ve always said you make the turn and then you kind of see where you’re at. You set the thing up to try to be a part of the fight. So it’s a pivotal game.”
The Oklahoman’s Abby Bitterman – OU men’s basketball: Jamal Bieniemy a subtle contributor for Sooners:
The sophomore guard has been in a scoring slump this year, but he’s still found ways to contribute. What he does on the court is subtle but important. He is happy to play the roles that go unnoticed, and it matches his low-key attitude.
“If I didn’t do those small things, I probably wouldn’t be playing because it wouldn’t be fun for me,” Bieniemy said.
Bieniemy’s struggle to see shots fall has been almost a constant throughout much of this season. But OU coach Lon Kruger has continuously praised Bieniemy’s ability to be effective in other parts of the game and remain a consistent player despite not making shots.
Tulsa World’s Eric Bailey – OU men’s basketball: Another humdrum start cannot be afforded at Texas Tech:
There must be a sense of urgency from the opening tip in a Big 12 Conference game. When you are on the road, bad things snowball with a lackadaisical start. While at home, pouncing on an opponent early is the fast track toward success.
Texas Tech isn’t the easiest place to win basketball games. Just ask Kentucky, who escaped Lubbock with a 76-74 overtime victory on Jan. 25.
On Tuesday night, the Sooners will try for back-to-back wins for the first time in a month when they play the Red Raiders. Game time is 8 p.m. at United Supermarkets Arena in the west Texas college town.
“We’re back on the road,” Harmon said following Monday’s practice. “It’s a crazy environment. Lubbock is probably one of the toughest places to play in the country. It’s a great test for us.
“We have to go down there and we have to be ready to fight.”
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
Round 9 of 18 in the Big 12 fight brings Oklahoma to Lubbock for an 8 p.m. game on Tuesday against Texas Tech at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders (13-8, 4-4 Big 12) have won three in a row over OU and are coming off a week where they knocked off No. 12 West Virginia with an 89-81 win last Wednesday before a 78-75 loss at No. 3 Kansas on Saturday. The Sooners (14-7, 4-4 Big 12) earned an 82-69 win over Oklahoma State after a 61-53 loss at Kansas State in their games last week and will be looking for their first win in Lubbock since 2015.
With a 72.8 winning percentage (185-69) as a NCAA coach, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard has the ninth best percentage among active coaches and is 89-39 leading the Red Raiders. Beard has led Tech to a 10-2 record at home this season and to a 60-7 record at home over the past four years. The Red Raiders are led in scoring by freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey (15.9 ppg.) who is fourth in the Big 12 and graduate transfer Chris Clarke who is at 7.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game along with a 2.28 assist-to-turnover ratio which all rank in the top-10. Davide Moretti is the NCAA active career leader in free-throw percentage at 91.3 percent (190 of 208) and is fifth nationally this season at 92.0 percent. Beard was named the 2019 AP National Coach of the Year and the 2018 and 2019 Big 12 Coach of the Year.