Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (18-12, 9-8)
Bad Guys: Kansas Jayhawks (27-1, 16-1)
When to Watch: Saturday, March 7th @ 1:00 p.m.
Where to Watch: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN | WatchESPN
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | TuneIn App
The Line: Not available for time of writing
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | KANSAS | |
|---|---|---|
| KenPom | 21 | 1 |
| KP AdjO | 47 | 8 |
| KP AdjD | 10 | 2 |
| T-Rank | 22 | 1 |
| T-Rank O | 44 | 8 |
| T-Rank D | 17 | 3 |
| Haslemetric | 21 | 1 |
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Davide Moretti (6-3/180) | 12.8 / 2.3* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Kyler Edwards (6-4/200) | 11.7 / 3.0* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Jahmi’us Ramsey (6-4/195) | 15.4 / 4.1 |
| POWER FORWARD | Kevin McCullar (6-6/195) | 6.0 / 3.0 |
| CENTER | TJ Holyfield (6-8/225) | 8.8 / 4.6 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Chris Clarke (6-6/220) | 5.7 / 4.7* |
| SEVENTH MAN | Terrence Shannon, Jr. (6-6/210) | 9.9 / 4.1 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Avery Benson (6-4/200) | 1.8 / 1.5 |
| NINTH MAN | Clarence Nadolny (6-3/195) | 2.0 / 1.0 |
| TENTH MAN | Andrei Savrasov (6-7/225) | 1.1 / 1.0 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Russel Tchewa (7-0/260) | 1.6 / 0.9 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Tyreek Smith (6-7/215) | – / – |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Devon Dotson (6-2/185) | 18.2 / 4.0* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Isaiah Moss (6-5/208) | 8.1 / 2.3 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Marcus Garrett (6-5/195) | 9.2 / 4.4 |
| POWER FORWARD | Ochai Agbaji (6-5/210) | 9.9 / 4.1 |
| CENTER | Udoka Azubuike (7-0/270) | 13.7 / 10.4 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Christian Braun (6-6/205) | 5.3 / 2.9 |
| SEVENTH MAN | David McCormack (6-10/265) | 7.0 / 4.0 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Tristian Enaruna (6-8/200) | 2.4 / 2.2 |
| NINTH MAN | Silvio DeSousa (6-9/245) | 2.6 / 2.8 |
| TENTH MAN | Chris Teahan (6-4/195) | 0.8 / 0.1 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. You smell that? Yep, that’s playing the two best teams in college basketball back-to-back. Kansas, not that they weren’t there previously, is elite offensively and even more so on the defensive end of things. Kansas is 22nd in the nation in eFG%, 44th in offensive rebounds, and 11th in the nation in buckets made inside the arc. The only things that they fall short of on the offensive end of things is that they are 171st in turnover percentage, which seems a little high, and 291st in free throw percentage. On the defensive end, the Jayhawks are 4th in the nation in 2-point field goal percentage, 4th in eFG%, don’t ever send teams to the line, 12th in free throw rate, and are 14th in blocked shot percentage.
2. Scouting. Dotson is probably the player of the year in the Big 12. He’s not necessarily a great three-point shooter, in fact he only makes 30%, but he does just about everything else well, has a high steal and assist rate and has a terrific mid-range game. Couple that with Azubuike who is just dominant inside, scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and free throw rate, he just does it all for Kansas. The other pieces to the puzzle are complimentary in nature, that’s not a knock, they all do their job really well and they’re a deep team that have a ton of mid-range guys that can switch, play defense, and score in a handful of ways.
3. How They Match Up. Texas Tech sort of needs to wake up from it’s offensive slump in order to win this game. I’m all but certain of that. In fact, I think that Texas Tech actually did wake up against Baylor, on the road which is a good sign, but the turnovers were a huge problem in Waco. Normally, that’s not such a big deal at home, and I’m hoping that friendly rims and a familiar loud crowd will help. I’d also add that I think that Texas Tech needs standout games from Holyfield and Ramsey. Tchewa got the start against Baylor and it wouldn’t surprise me if he got the start against Kansas because of his size, but if Holyfield can force Azubuike off the floor by floating outside, that would be fantastic.
4. Reading Material. None available at the time of writing.
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
An opportunity to knock off the No. 1-ranked team in the nation at home on the final day of the regular season is here for Texas Tech which hosts the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders will be hosting the No. 1-ranked team in the nation for the third time in their program’s history and are 1-0 against the top-ranked team in the polls this season after earning a 70-57 victory over Louisville at the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 10 when the Cardinals owned top billing.