Preview & Game Day Thread: Texas Tech vs. Texas

Game Info

Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (14-8, 5-4)
Bad Guys: Texas Longhorns (14-8, 4-5)
When to Watch: Saturday, February 8th @ 3:00 p.m.
Where to Watch: Frank Erwin Center | Austin, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN2 | WatchESPN
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | TuneIn App
The Line: Texas Tech -3

Advanced Stats

TEXAS TECH TEXAS
KenPom 22 64
KP AdjO 63 115
KP AdjD 11 47
T-Rank 31 66
T-Rank O 70 126
T-Rank D 16 48
Haslemetric 16 71

Lineups

TEXAS TECH
THE STARTERS Pts / Reb
POINT GUARD Davide Moretti (6-3/180) 13.4 / 2.3*
SHOOTING GUARD Kyler Edwards (6-4/200) 11.9 / 3.0*
SMALL FORWARD Jahmi’us Ramsey (6-4/195) 15.7 / 4.3
POWER FORWARD Terrence Shannon, Jr. (6-6/210) 11.4 / 4.6
CENTER TJ Holyfield (6-8/225) 9.6 / 5.0
THE BENCH Pts / Reb
SIXTH MAN Chris Clarke (6-6/220) 5.8 / 7.2
SEVENTH MAN Kevin McCullar (6-6/195) 4.3 / 2.4
EIGHTH MAN Avery Benson (6-4/200) 2.0 / 1.6
NINTH MAN Clarence Nadolny (6-3/195) 2.0 / 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) – / –
TEXAS
THE STARTERS Pts / Reb
POINT GUARD Matt Coleman III (6-2/185) 12.7 / 4.1*
SHOOTING GUARD Courtney Ramey (6-3/185) 10.2 / 3.9
SMALL FORWARD Jase Febres (6-5/195) 9.7 / 2.4
POWER FORWARD Jericho Sims (6-9/240) 10.1 / 8.1
CENTER Kai Jones (6-11/212) 2.7 / 2.9
THE BENCH Pts / Reb
SIXTH MAN Donovan Williams (6-6/180) 3.2 / 0.9
SEVENTH MAN Andrew Jones (6-4/185) 10.3 / 2.2
EIGHTH MAN Royce Hamm, Jr. (6-8/240) 2.0 / 2.0
NINTH MAN Will Baker (6-11/245) 0.9 / 1.4
TENTH MAN Brock Cunningham (6-6/215) 0.0 / 0.3

* Assists.

Starting 5

1. Stats. Texas is an okay offensive team , they shot 51.2% from an eFG%, they turnover the ball at a really high rate, 260th in the nation, the Longhorns also don’t crash the offensive boards at all, only 192nd in the nation, and Texas is not a team that goes to the line at all, 351st in the nation in free throw rate (they also don’t really make their free throws, 65.9% good for 304th in the nation). Again, not a bad shooting team, making 51.4% of their 2-point shots and 33.9% of their 3-point shots. Defensively, things are much better for Texas, they hold opponents to poor shooting most of the time, 65th in the nation in eFG%, force turnovers 20.8% of the time, good for 84th in the nation. And they are almost elite at holding opponents in 2-point shots, 45.3% of the time.

2. Scouting. Sims is really the best player, but maybe the stats don’t prove it up. A terrific rebounder, shoots really well from the floor and really takes most of his shots at the rim (68 of the 78 are at the rim). Coleman is the best three-point shooter, making 41.9%. He needs to be the one guy you make sure and guard on the perimeter. Febres is okay, but doesn’t have a high assist rate and doesn’t shoot terrible, but doesn’t shoot well, 37% from outside. Ramey struggles from the outside so it would be nice to let him go from the outside. I should also mention that Kamaka Hepa (6’9″) has been injured, but he’s just another post-player that shoots well from inside and may be back today.

3. How They Match Up. I’ll wonder how Holyfield will match-up with the longer and leaner Sims and Jones. Holyfield has been so good here recently. The rest of the offense seems to be rounding out pretty well I think players are finally finding their groove. Something I wasn’t sure would actually happen, but that’s my pessimism. Defensively, Texas Tech is elite, particularly in making teams turn the ball over. From listening to Beard (embedded below), Clarke should be a full go. This is a win to create some separation and winning on the road is incredibly difficult, but it needs to happen.

4. Reading Material. Avalanche-Journal’s Carlos Silva, Jr. – Stringing wins together: Red Raiders hope to claim second Big 12 road win against Texas:

That course begins with a 3 p.m. Saturday matchup against Texas at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2.

“The second half of conference, to me, is where things get settled,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. “Who’s in the fight for the conference championship? Who’s in the fight for the NCAA Tournament? Whose backs are against the wall and they need to win a few in a row to get on a roll. … In this league, if you can win three or four games in a row you put yourself back in contention.”

Going into Saturday, the Red Raiders (14-8, 5-4) are in sole possession of fourth place when they take on the Longhorns (14-8, 4-5) who are in a three-way tie for fifth and looking to climb the standings.

5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:

Texas Tech brings a four-game winning streak over Texas into a 3 p.m. matchup on Saturday against the Longhorns at the Frank Erwin Center.

The Red Raiders (14-8, 5-4 Big 12) are coming off a 69-61 win over Oklahoma on Tuesday, while the Longhorns (14-8, 4-5 Big 12) took a 69-58 loss at No. 3 Kansas on Monday. Tech and Texas will be meeting for the first time this season after the Red Raiders swept the series last season with a 68-62 win in Austin on Jan. 12, 2019 before a 70-51 win in their home finale on March 4, 2019 in Lubbock. In Tech’s win over OU, TJ Holyfield matched a season-high with 21 points while Kyler Edwards scored 17, Davide Moretti had 13 and Kevin McCullar led the team with seven rebounds.

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