Baseball

Texas Tech lost to Oklahoma 6-3 (box score) and will now face Kansas State today at 7:00 p.m. today in an elimination game. Andrew Morris was tagged for the loss and the offense only managed 4 hits for the evening.

Basketball

Just like we all planned, Texas Tech landed Canadian small forward Elijah Fisher (6-7/210) (from the country Canada). I’ll get to an updated eligibility chart on Saturday, but it’s great news for Mark Adams and the rest of the staff. This is a nice article from CBS Sports about what Fisher’s commitment means.

Elijah Fisher’s game
Considering Texas Tech coach Mark Adams’ reputation as a defensive mastermind, it’s fitting that Fisher’s defense is regarded as his strong suit.

“First, Fisher’s frame allows him to body up and switch onto bigger players when necessary,” Finkelstein wrote. “Second, while his technique and footwork are still a work in progress, he gets low in a stance, contains the dribble, and actively contests shots. More subtle, and maybe even most impressive, was his IQ on the defensive end as he rotated off to guard against slips, took away the corner on OBU’s (a baseline out-of-bounds play), and proactively communicated from start to finish.”

What it means for Texas Tech
Landing Fisher is the latest sign of Texas Tech’s continued power in the Big 12 under Adams, who led a hastily assembled group to a 27-10 record last season in his first year after former coach Chris Beard left for Texas. Though the Red Raiders received commitments from highly sought prospects in recent years such as Jahmi’us Ramsey, Nimari Burnett and Micah Peavy, Fisher’s .9908 rating in the 247Sports Composite sets him apart from that group.

Additional thoughts are provided by Red Raider Sports’ Ben Golan who spoke to Fisher’s coach, Ro Russell, about what Fisher brings to the program:

On the court, how do you think Fisher fits in the Big 12 which is known as one of the better basketball conferences?
“Well, his mentality is there so he’ll be an impact freshman. You know, he’ll step right in because that’s what he’s used to. When he was younger I’d play him 3, 4, 5 years older. I played him with some college guys, working out and being in the mix with them so he’s used to playing with high-level guys and older guys. He’s used to that so that’s where he gets his mentality from and his aggressiveness. If he wants to be successful he’s gonna have to be aggressive and play at the highest level he can. He’s used to that competition so he’ll be an impact freshman.

He’s used to playing defense at all times. Intense, full-court defense. Really aggressive. I’m a defensive coach so I’ve always stressed defense with him so he’ll be used to that emphasis on defense when he gets to Texas Tech and playing on that level.

There’s a lot more there.

Via Jeff Goodman, Baylor forward Matthew Mayer is down to 4 program, Texas Tech, North Carolina, Memphis, and Illinois.

Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer told @Stadium that he has four finalists:

North Carolina
Illinois
Memphis
Texas Tech

The skilled and athletic forward recently withdrew from the NBA Draft.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 26, 2022

Football

Texas Tech announced the times for their non-conference schedule and I’m thinking that I’m going to take my boys to the Murray State game. Those games are fun, usually (fingers crossed) a lot of scoring, and I want to scratch that itch after 2 years of not going to any games.

TEXAS TECH NON-CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 3 – Murray State (7 p.m., Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Sept. 10 – Houston (3 p.m., FS1)
Sept. 17 – at N.C. State (6 p.m. CT, ESPN2)