Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (22-9, 11-7)
Bad Guys: BYU Cougars (23-9, 10-8)
When to Watch: Thursday, March 14th @ 11:30 am
Where to Watch: T-Mobile Center | Kansas City, Missouri
How to Watch: ESPN2 | ESPN+
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: BYU -2
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | BYU |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Joe Toussaint (6-0/195) | 12.3 / 4.4* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Pop Isaacs (6-2/180) | 16.0 / 3.6* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 8.3 / 2.1 |
| POWER FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-8/225) | 11.6 / 7.6 |
| CENTER | Warren Washington (7-0/235) | 9.9 / 7.4 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Chance McMillian (6-3/185) | 10.6 / 3.9 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Robert Jennings (6-7/230) | 4.1 / 3.2 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Eemeli Yalaho (6-8/240) | 2.1 / 1.2 |
| NINTH MAN | Lamar Washington (6-4/200) | 2.0 / 1.4 |
| TENTH MAN | D’Maurian Williams (6-3/195) | 0.3 / 0.4 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | KyeRon Lindsay (6-8/215) | 2.7 / 1.3 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/185) | 0.4 / 1.0 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | Devan Cambridge (6-6/210) | Out for Year |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Spencer Johnson (6-5/195) | 10.4 / 3.4* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Dallin Hall (6-4/196) | 9.2 / 5.0* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Trevin Knell (6-5/186) | 11.1 / 3.5 |
| POWER FORWARD | Noah Waterman (6-11/220) | 9.7 / 5.5 |
| CENTER | Aly Khalifa (6-11/270) | 6.0 / 3.8 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Jaxson Robinson (6-7/190) | 13.7 / 2.5 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Richie Saunders (6-5/200) | 9.8 / 4.1 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Fousseyni Traore (6-6/240) | 10.8 / 5.4 |
| NINTH MAN | Trey Stewart (6-2/188) | 2.2 / 1.9 |
| TENTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. BYU is a terrific offensive team, better than Texas Tech on offense, and it is largely because they are a terrific 2-point shooting team, 8th in the nation. They are top third in 3-point shooting, 107th, so they make enough to keep teams honest. The Cougars are 64th in turnover percentage, which is very good, and 54th in offensive rebounding. Their only issue is free throw rate, 345th, which means they aren’t driving the basket. On defense, BYU is really good at limiting opponent offensive boards, 23rd in the nation, really good at guarding the 3-point line, 44th in the nation, and inside the arc they are 79th overall. Those are all really good metrics.
2. Scouting. There was some grumbling as to why Johnson won the 6th man of the year and he did lead the Cougars in scoring and he’s a tweener that doesn’t shoot well from outside, although he takes quite a few 3-point shots, 53% inside and just 30% from outside. the best shooters are Saunders, Knell, and Hall, 37%, 40%, and 37% respectively, but Saunders and Knell are shooting 65% and 59% inside the arc, so they are dangerous everywhere. Hall is the best passer by a longshot. Traore, Johnson, and Waterman are the main rebounders, and Khalifa is a very good passer out of the post.
3. How They Match Up. T-Rank has BYU as a 2.7-point winner. They really are a good team. Statistically, Texas Tech doesn’t put teams on the line and with the Cougars not going to the line really ever, that’s at least one offensive output method that they won’t be able to exploit. I am deeply concerned about the size of BYU, they can throw a handful of post players at Texas Tech. It does help that Jennings and Yalaho are playing better and they were helped out quite a bit against Baylor because the Bears simply couldn’t make a bucket. It would be surprising to see that happen again (BYU went 14 for 30 against UCF last night), although Texas Tech is 75th in the nation in guarding the 3-point line.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
No. 25/23 Texas Tech is on a three-game winning streak going into a quarterfinal matchup against BYU in the 2023-24 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The Cougars advanced with an 87-73 win over UCF on Wednesday in the second-round.
Texas Tech (22-9, 11-7 Big 12) earned an 85-78 win over BYU (23-9, 10-8 Big12) on January 20 in Lubbock in the only regular-season game between the two teams. The Cougars led by as many as 17 and took a 48-32 halftime lead before the Red Raiders stormed back for the win. Pop Isaacs had a career-high 32 points after going 6-for-9 on 3-pointers while Warren Washington had 19 points and nine rebounds, Chance McMillian scored 14 points and Darrion Williams provided eight rebounds, seven points, and three assists. BYU was led by Aly Khalifa who had 21 points and seven rebounds. Tech finished the game 10-for-20 on 3-pointers. BYU was 13-for-39, including going 3-for-19 in the second half.