Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (14-2, 3-0)
Bad Guys: Houston Cougars (14-2, 1-2)
When to Watch: Wednesday, January 17th @ 8:00 pm
Where to Watch: Fertitta Center | Houston, Texas
How to Watch: ESPNU | ESPN+
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Houston -11.5
Advanced Stats
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Joe Toussaint (6-0/195) | 14.1 / 3.9* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Pop Isaacs (6-2/180) | 16.3 / 3.1* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 7.3 / 22.1 |
| POWER FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-8/225) | 9.7 / 6.9 |
| CENTER | Warren Washington (7-0/235) | 10.0 / 7.7 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Chance McMillian (6-3/185) | 9.1 / 3.4 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Lamar Washington (6-4/200) | 3.3 / 1.9 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Robert Jennings (6-7/230) | 2.8 / 2.3 |
| 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 | Jamal Shead (6-1/200) | 10.1 / 5.1 |
| SHOOTING GUARD | L.J. Cryer (6-1/200) | 15.6 / 2.8 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Emanuel Sharp (6-3/205) | 13.4 / 3.7 |
| POWER FORWARD | J’Wan Roberts (6-7/235) | 8.3 / 7.3 |
| CENTER | Ja’vier Francis (6-8/240) | 6.2 / 5.3 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Damian Dunn (6-5/205) | 8.2 / 2.4 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Joseph Tugler (6-7/230) | 4.0 / 4.1 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Mylik Wilson (6-2/175) | 3.5 / 2.5 |
| NINTH MAN | Ramon Walker, Jr. (6-4/210) | 2.3 / 3.5 |
| TENTH MAN | Cedric Lath (6-9/265) | 0.1 / 0.5 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Houston is great/good at everything. And the funny thing is that Houston is this way without players that I’ve heard of, or players that are expected to be drafted. the offense is pretty darned good, but they are good at things not associated with shooting. The Cougars are 28th in turnover percentage, 4th in offensive rebounding, and 28th in not having their shots blocked. Houston isn’t a great shooting team, only 195th in 2-point shooting and 135th in 3-point shooting. The worst thing that they do? Free throw percentage is 305th. Defensively is where they shine. Houston is 1st in opponent 2-point percentage, 6th in 3-point percentage, 1st in forcing turnovers, and 1st in blocked shots. the one thing they don’t do well, they allow teams to grab some offensive boards, 157th, and they put other teams on the charity stripe, 319th.
2. Scouting. Cryer had some terrible shooting percentages the last two games, but he’s the guy that gets most of the minutes. He doesn’t do one thing well other than not turn the ball over. Houston doesn’t have a guy that’s a high usage player meaning that the ball is moving around although Shead is the guy that’s dishing the ball the most. Roberts, Francis and Tugler are the inside shooters and they are great at it, but Sampson does not allow them to shoot outside. they just don’t. Between the 3 of them they have 2 attempts. Cryer, Sharp and Shead shoot from deep and they are okay, but not great from deep.
3. How They Match Up. Before we get to that part, I wanted to look at why they lost to Iowa State and TCU. Against the Cyclones, they simply didn’t have an efficient game, largely because they turned the ball over on 26% of possessions and didn’t hit the offensive boards. Against TCU, it was also the offensive boards and they couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn, 4 of 18 from deep. Houston also put TCU on the line way too much and TCU was over 50% from deep. Houston is just so good at everything, this is going to be an uphill battle. Texas Tech gets to the line good for 145th in the nation, but the offense is going to have to be sharp, not turn the ball over (Texas Tech is 66th in the nation), and spacing will be so important.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
🗣 @CoachGrantMac
Thoughts on playing at No. 5 Houston on Wednesday. #TTW | #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/TAPGtlwwoI
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 17, 2024
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
No. 25 Texas Tech is taking a nine-game winning streak and 3-0 record in Big 12 play into its first road game at No. 5 Houston since 1996 when the two former Southwest Conference rivals play their first Big 12 game against each other at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at Fertitta Center. Tech is at No. 25 in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll, entering the national rankings for the first time this season and first in the Grant McCasland era. This will be the only regular-season matchup between Tech and Houston in the newly configured Big 12 scheduling matrix.
The Red Raiders (14-2) have opened conference play with wins against Texas (then-No. 20), Oklahoma State, and Kansas State while the Cougars (14-2, 1-2 Big 12) are coming off road losses against Iowa State and TCU last week after opening their season with 14 straight wins. Tech’s ranking comes in the 11th poll of the season after it received 62 votes last week. The Red Raiders are currently 1-0 against ranked opponents this season. The Texas Tech program has eight wins over top-5 opponents since 2016 and 14 in program history. The team will return home to host No. 20 BYU at 5 p.m. on Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena. Tickets remain available for that game at this link.