Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-2, 2-0)
Bad Guys: Kansas State Wildcats (12-3, 2-0)
When to Watch: Saturday, January 13th @ 3:00 pm
Where to Watch: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN2 | ESPN+
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -6.5
Advanced Stats
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Joe Toussaint (6-0/195) | 14.3 / 4.0* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Pop Isaacs (6-2/180) | 16.7 / 3.3* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 7.5 / 1.9 |
| POWER FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-8/225) | 9.7 / 6.9 |
| CENTER | Warren Washington (7-0/235) | 9.9 / 7.7 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Chance McMillian (6-3/185) | 9.1 / 3.4 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Lamar Washington (6-4/200) | 3.4 / 2.0 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Robert Jennings (6-7/230) | 2.8 / 2.4 |
| NINTH MAN | KyeRon Lindsay (6-8/215) | 2.0 / 0.0 |
| TENTH MAN | Eemeli Yalaho (6-8/240) | 0.3 / 0.3 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | D’Maurian Williams (6-3/195) | 0.4 / 0.4 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/185) | 0.7 / 0.3 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | Devan Cambridge (6-6/210) | Out for Year |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Tylor Perry (5-11/180) | 15.1 / 5.3* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Cam Carter (6-3/195) | 16.7 / 5.1 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Arthur Kaluma (6-7/225) | 15.2 / 8.0 |
| POWER FORWARD | David N’Guessan (6-9/220) | 8.2 / 8.5 |
| CENTER | Will McNair, Jr. (6-11/265) | 8.1 / 5.0 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Dorian Finister (6-4/195) | 3.0 / 1.9 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Dai Dai Ames (6-1/185) | 4.8 / 2.4* |
| EIGHTH MAN | Jerrell Colbert (6-10/235) | 2.8 / 2.0 |
| NINTH MAN | Macaleab Rich (6-7/240) | 4.2 / 3.0 |
| TENTH MAN | R.J. Jones (6-3/190) | 3.2 / 0.8 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. I was not expecting these K-State numbers, maybe not the offensive issues. The Wildcats are around the top third of offenses and the reasons they are struggling is because they are turnover prone, 305th in the nation in turnover percentage and they are also 281st in 3-point shooting percentage. One other figure, K-State is 267th in having their shot blocked, which is odd considering the size they put on the floor. What they are great at offensively is offensive rebounding, 12th in the nation and 75th in free throw rate. Defensively, the numbers look a bit better. They are terrific in holding opponents at 2-point shots, 25th in the nation, 22nd in opponent free throw rate, and 71st in blocking shots. Kansas State will allow teams to make some 3-point shots, 172nd in the nation.
2. Scouting. Perry is probably the best player, but he’s a scorer and an assist guy and that’s it. He’s basically only a 3-point shooter, 129 attempts on the year to 35 2-point shots. Carter isn’t far behind in terms of scoring, but not shooting really well from deep despite 98 attempts ,only 29%. Kaluma, N’Guessan and Rich are the big rebounders and they are only putting up shots inside. McNair is the shot-blocker and in an odd quirk, Ames gets 48% of available minutes and is really struggling offensively. Let Ames shoot.
3. How They Match Up. T-Rank has Texas Tech winning by 7.2 points, which seems like a lot. For the record, K-State has wins over UCF at home and West Virginia on the road. Texas Tech isn’t great, but good at forcing turnovers, 132nd in the nation and with Kansas State being such a poor shooting team, it might not be a bad idea to let them shot a bit from the outside and not let them get easy buckets.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
Foot 🤝 Basket
Ball🏀: Tip-off at 3:00 PM
⌚️: Halftime of Texas Tech vs. K-State
📍: United Supermarkets Arena pic.twitter.com/aR4rtS2pua— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) January 11, 2024
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
Round 3 of the Big 12 fight brings Kansas State to Lubbock for a 3 p.m. conference game on Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders (13-2, 2-0 Big 12) are riding a season-best eight-game winning streak and are currently 9-0 on their home court under first-year head coach Grant McCasland. The Wildcats (12-3, 2-0 Big 12) have won four in a row, including opening conference play with wins against UCF and at West Virginia. Tech remains unranked in the polls (though receiving 62 votes this week) but has climbed to No. 25 in KenPom following its start to conference play. K-State is currently 57. This will be the only regular-season matchup between Tech and K-State in the newly configured Big 12 scheduling matrix.
“We really respect Kansas State,” McCasland said. “Their defense right now is as good as there is in our league. They are sharing the basketball and have found a way to get separation. They are playing really hard. They are just doing a lot of things right. We respect the way they play and know that we need to be at our best to win on Saturday.”