Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (16-9, 7-5)
Bad Guys: Kansas State Wildcats (9-16, 2-10)
When to Watch: Monday, February 19th @ 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 -11.5
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | KANSAS STATE | |
|---|---|---|
| KenPom | 16 | 96 |
| KP AdjO | 47 | 181 |
| KP AdjD | 8 | 58 |
| T-Rank | 18 | 91 |
| T-Rank O | 45 | 168 |
| T-Rank D | 14 | 58 |
| Haslemetric | 11 | 93 |
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Davide Moretti (6-3/180) | 13.3 / 2.3* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Kyler Edwards (6-4/200) | 11.9 / 3.0* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Jahmi’us Ramsey (6-4/195) | 15.8 / 4.0 |
| POWER FORWARD | Terrence Shannon, Jr. (6-6/210) | 10.7 / 4.3 |
| CENTER | TJ Holyfield (6-8/225) | 9.2 / 5.0 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Chris Clarke (6-6/220) | 5.6 / 6.8 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Kevin McCullar (6-6/195) | 5.0 / 2.5 |
| 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) | 1.1 / 1.1 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Russel Tchewa (7-0/260) | 1.7 / 0.9 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Tyreek Smith (6-7/215) | – / – |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | David Sloan (6-0/180) | 5.2 / 2.6* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | DaJuan Gordon (6-4/185) | 6.2 / 3.6 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Xavier Sneed (6-5/215) | 14.2 / 4.7 |
| POWER FORWARD | Montavious Murphy (6-9/215) | 16.4 / 6.2 |
| CENTER | Makol Mawien (6-9/228) | 7.4 / 5.3 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Cartier Diarra (6-4/185) | 13.1 / 4.5* |
| SEVENTH MAN | Antonio Gordon (6-9/215) | 4.5 / 3.6 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Mike McGuirl (6-2/188) | 6.9 / 2.2 |
| NINTH MAN | Levi Stockard III (6-8/240) | 4.0 / 2.8 |
| TENTH MAN | Pierson McAtee (6-6/200) | 0.7 / 0.6 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. I thought K-Stte was going to be better, but they are not. And as I type this, I hope bad things don’t happen. I don’t think that they will, but I’m hedging my bets. Kansas State is not good offensively, they are a turnover prone team, 289th in the nation. They are also a terrible free throw shooting team. They also really don’t shoot the ball all that well, 230th in the nation in 3-point percentage and 258th in 2-point percentage. Defensively, K-State is still really tough, which is not a surprise. They are 9th in the nation in forcing turnovers, but they are terrible at allowing teams to crash the offensive boards, 271st in teh nation, and also bad at free throw rate, 280th in the nation.
2. Scouting. I’ve always like Sneed as a player, he’d be a pretty perfect player in Beard’s system. The best shooter is McGuirl, he’s really the only shooter for K-State that’s good from teh outside, and he is good, but he doesn’t get off a ton of shots. He should shoot more, just not against texas Tech. Statistically, there are not a bunch of players who are really talented at making buckets for Kansas State. I would mention that Diarra is a terrific passer, as is Sloan, while Sneed, Diara, and Gordon are pretty good defenders.
3. How They Match Up. This could be a real defensive game, which could be low-scoring and could favor Kansas State. Statistically, Texas Tech should sort of suffocate the Kansas State offense. The improved offensive play of Moretti, McCullar, Edwards, and Ramsey should be more than enough. I should also mention that K-State is 1-7 on the road this year, 4-4 against the spread on teh road, and 1-11 as an underdog. Perhaps the idea here is that Kansas State will have a tough time winning this game, but has a 50/50 chance of beating the spread. One other aside, Texas Tech is 15-7 as a favorite and 7-7 against the spread at home.
4. Reading Material. Avalanche-Journal’s Carlos Silva, Jr. – In a familiar place: Red Raiders return home, looking for consistent effort:
“K-State is always a challenge any year,” said Beard, whose Red Raiders (16-9, 7-5) are looking to sweep the season series against the Wildcats (9-16, 2-10) for the second time in three years. “It starts with coach (Bruce) Weber and the things that all his teams embrace. You know it’s going to be one of the best defensive teams in college basketball.
“Simply stated, it’s hard to get easy baskets against K-State because they guard with pride and with discipline. Guys don’t take plays off.”
In a sense, the Wildcats pose a problem because of their ability to guard on the perimeter. It starts with Xavier Sneed (14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds), Cartier Diarra (13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds) and DaJuan Gordon (6.2 points, 3.6).
The Wichita Eagle’s Kellis Robinett – Why K-State coach Bruce Weber is considering a new starting five against Texas Tech:
K-State basketball coach Bruce Weber says he is toying with the idea of deploying an all point guard backcourt of Cartier Diarra and David Sloan, a move that he hopes will provide the Cats with a boost on offense and help it avoid an early road deficit for the first time during its current five-game losing streak.
“You never know what can happen,” Weber said. “It helps offensively, I’m just not sure defensively. We have been talking about it as a staff, to be honest with you. For the starts of games, do we need better offense or better defense? I guess that will be our decision at game time tomorrow.”
The backcourt combination of Diarra and Sloan would certainly give the Wildcats their most versatile scoring lineup. Sloan, a junior college transfer, is the team’s best passer and pure point guard. He is averaging 5.2 points and 2.6 assists per game. Diarra, a redshirt junior, is the team’s top pure scorer and could potentially benefit from moving off the ball and surrendering control of the offense to Sloan.
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
Texas Tech will look to continue its home dominance and sweep the season series against Kansas State for the second time in three years when the Red Raiders host the Wildcats at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders (16-9, 7-5 Big 12) are No. 21 in the NCAA NET Rankings after a week where they earned an 88-42 win over TCU last Monday at home before having a three-game winning streak end with a 73-70 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday, while the Wildcats (9-16, 2-10 Big 12) are on a five-game losing streak after taking a 68-57 loss at TCU on Saturday. Texas Tech earned a 77-63 win over KSU on Jan. 14 in the first matchup between the two teams this season in Manhattan, Kansas after the two programs were the 2019 Big 12 Co-Champions with 14-4 conference records last season.