Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (14-3, 3-1)
Bad Guys: BYU Cougars (14-3, 2-2)
When to Watch: Saturday, January 20th @ 5:00 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: BYU -1.5
Advanced Stats
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Joe Toussaint (6-0/195) | 13.8 / 3.8* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Pop Isaacs (6-2/180) | 16.1 / 3.2* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 8.0 / 2.2 |
| POWER FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-8/225) | 9.4 / 6.7 |
| CENTER | Warren Washington (7-0/235) | 9.8 / 7.8 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Chance McMillian (6-3/185) | 8.6 / 3.3 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Lamar Washington (6-4/200) | 3.1 / 1.8 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Robert Jennings (6-7/230) | 2.7 / 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 | Dalin Hall (6-4/196) | 9.1 / 4.5* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Spencer Johnson (6-5/195) | 11.9 / 4.2* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Jaxson Robinson (6-7/190) | 14.3 / 2.5 |
| POWER FORWARD | Noah Waterman (6-11/220) | 10.5 / 6.5 |
| CENTER | Aly Khalifa (6-11/270) | 4.9 / 4.2 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Richie Saunders (6-5/200) | 10.0 / 4.3 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Atiki Ally Atiki (6-10/220) | 4.7 / 3.7 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Townsend Tripple (6-8/212) | 1.5 / 0.9 |
| NINTH MAN | Jared McGregor (6-3/193) | 0.5 / 0.3 |
| TENTH MAN | Tanner Hayhurst (6-6/204) | 0.2 / 0.4 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. BYU is really good! Offensively, they excel at shooting, especially inside the 3-point line where they are 6th in the nation, but outside they are still excellent, 39th beyond the 3-point line. They are 52nd in turnover rate, which is good and 35th in offensive rebounding, which, when you look at the size of their team, that’s not a surprise. The one thing they don’t do well is get to the free throw line, 359th. On the defensive end, they are also terrific at limiting opponents from hitting the offensive boards, 6th in the nation, and they guard the 3-point line at an elite level, 3rd in the nation and overall, they are 9th in the nation in opponent eFG%. Strangely, they are 245th in block shots and 131st in turnover percentages, I think both of those things bothered Texas Tech against Houston.
2. Scouting. BYU had a couple of injured players, Trevin Knell and Fousseyni Traore who didn’t play against Iowa State (I always base the lineup on the last game that the opponent played). Knell and Traore are both 6-5-ish guards who are a terrific shooters, Knell makes 47% of his 3-point shots and Traore makes 65% of his 2-point shots. Johnson is the main assist guy, but Hall and believe it or not, Khalifa is an elite assist player at 6-11. They don’t have one player that’s high usage, meaning they tend to share the ball a ton and the stats prove that out. Waterman, Traore and Atiki are the main defensive rebounders. This team also loves to shoot 3’s, Johnson, Waterman, Robinson, and Hall all have over 60 attempts.
3. How They Match Up. I want to go to the 3 losses for BYU, the Cincinnati at home and Baylor on the road. For Cincy, they lost by 11 largely because they just couldn’t make anything and they turned the ball over at a 24% clip, they didn’t get to the line at a near season-high rate and didn’t grab any offensive boards. For the Baylor game, the issues were on the defensive end in that they couldn’t force any turnovers and Baylor made 10 of 23 from deep. Texas Tech will need to be at the top of their game offensively and being at home should help. I don’t know how McCasland handles the endless size of BYU, but he’s not been open to playing a deeper bench and don’t know if he can plan small-ball against the Cougars.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
“They cause a lot of problems because they play differently.” pic.twitter.com/0i2KQ08Jfc
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 19, 2024
𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡 𝗨𝗦 𝗨𝗣 🔊🔊🔊 pic.twitter.com/4LDoUlzhBm
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 20, 2024
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
“Anytime a team shoots and makes as many 3s as they do, they are dangerous,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “They are one of the best offensive teams in the country, and by any analytics, they are a top-10 team. Their offense and defense give them a strong combination. They are a very unique team and will present a challenge. We’ll have to be ready.”
The Red Raiders (14-3, 3-1 Big 12) are 10-0 at home this season and are looking to respond from a road loss at No. 5 Houston on Wednesday night, while the Cougars (14-3, 2-2 Big 12) travel to Texas on a two-game winning streak with a victory at UCF last Saturday before earning an 87-72 victory against No. 24 Iowa State on Tuesday. Tech is currently 1-1 against ranked opponents this season and will be playing BYU as a conference opponent for the first time. The Cougars are 3-1 all-time against Tech with the teams last meeting in 1995 where the Red Raiders earned an 81-71 win at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum.