Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (0-0, 0-0)
Bad Guys: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (0-0, 0-0)
When to Watch: Tuesday, November 5th @ 7:00 pm
Where to Watch: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN+
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -27.5
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | BETHUNE-COOKMAN |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Elijah Hawkins (5-11/160) | 14.3 / 4.1* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Chance McMillian (6-3/190) | 10.8 / 4.0 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-6/225) | 11.4 / 7.5 |
| POWER FORWARD | JT Toppin (6-9/225) | 12.4 / 9.1 |
| CENTER | Federiko Federiko (6-11/215) | 4.7 / 5.2 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 8.5 / 2.4 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Kevin Overton (6-5/200) | 11.3 / 3.3 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Christian Anderson (6-2/165) | – / – |
| NINTH MAN | Devan Cambridge (6-6/210) | 10.5 / 4.5 |
| TENTH MAN | Eemeli Yalaho (6-8/240) | 2.5 / 1.5 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Leon Horner (6-4/215) | – / – |
| TWELFTH MAN | Corbin Green (6-5/230) | 2.7 / 2.8 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | Jazz Henderson (5-11/175) | – / – |
| FOURTEENTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/185) | 0.4 / 1.0 |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Brayon Freeman (6-2/180) | – / – |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Gianni Hunt (6-4/190) | – / – |
| SMALL FORWARD | Antwann Jones (6-6/215) | – / – |
| POWER FORWARD | Reggie Ward, Jr. (6-6/230) | – / – |
| CENTER | Daniel Rouzan (6-8/235) | – / – |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Trey Thomas (6-2/185) | – / – |
| SEVENTH MAN | Seneca Willoughby (6-4/185) | – / – |
| EIGHTH MAN | Mason Dorsey (6-5/195) | – / – |
| NINTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
| TENTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. I love looking at preseason stats, just to get an idea as to what the different mathematical formulas vary. KenPom thinks that Texas Tech’s defense is going to be stellar, while head coach Grant McCasland said the parts of the defense lags just a bit. I think T-Rank is probably a more realistic look at where the defense will be as I don’t know how many on-ball defenders are great, but I need to see a bunch of these guys play. It does appear that Bethune-Cookman isn’t a great team and the expectation is a blowout win.
2. Scouting. We won’t get this every week, but last week Grant McCasland spoke to the media and had this to say about Bethune-Cookman.
“Coach Theus is a terrific coach. I went back and watched a lot of his teams play. Spent time watching him when he was at New Mexico State. They play the game with a lot of confidence. They are aggressive on offense and defense. They have transfers with experience. We better have ourselves prepared more than over consuming ourselves in what they’re going to do. We haven’t seen them play. You don’t know what changes are coming. I think we have a grasp on tendencies, but I think we have done significant preparation in how do we get our team to face anything. Throw anything at us and we’ll be prepared. I know it’ll be a great test and we’re excited about tipping it off against a great opponent.”
3. How They Match Up. My projected starters is just a guess and not intended to be serious in any way other than it’s a guess and likely Federiko won’t start, but McCasland loved having a big center last year. McCasland has also said that he thinks the roster is deeper and McCasland only trusted 6 or 7 players last year and now you tend to think that the roster is 9 or 10 deep, especially if Yalaho makes a jump and is improved as well as being one of a few big men.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
“The biggest thing in improving from year one to year two, is how do we build this to where we win in the end. You have to have a growth mindset. I feel like a year where we see ways that we can have success as a group is important. Ownership and belief in it. You can’t undervalue to have a group that steps on the court with the same mindset and expectation. Not does it sound good, but does it work. I think we have what works now. The guys who returned and on the roster now have a growing belief that we can really win. Not how do we win. But that this is the path to win.”
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: Texas Tech basketball bold predictions: The Red Raiders are Sweet 16 good
Texas Tech will once again be Top 3 in final Big 12 standings
I’ve already gone on record saying I believe this year’s Red Raiders can compete for the conference title. I’m not fully ready to say they’ll win the thing outright — the Big 12 is really, really good, if you didn’t know — but if last year’s team could get to third in the standings, that should be the baseline of expectations for this year’s team.
Lubbock-Avalanche Journal’s Nathan Giese: Grant McCasland’s new Texas Tech basketball contract runs through 2029-30, worth $24.9 million
In that initial deal, McCasland was scheduled to make $2.95 million for the upcoming 2024-25 season. That figure is now $3.9 million with increases of $100,000 every year. He was previously scheduled for increases of $50,000 each year.
Dallas Morning News: Will Texas Tech’s leading scorers be replaced by Grant McCasland’s transfer portal gets?
Red Raider Sports’ Jarrett Ramirez looks at the second year for Grant McCasland:
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese writes 3 things about tonight’s game:
McCasland, though, isn’t preoccupying himself with a better showing in the early games this season.
“I don’t think anything bothers me at this point in regards to how we start,” McCasland said,” because I think the finish is just probably the most impactful component of this.”
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
Texas Tech opens the 100th season in program history against Bethune-Cookman at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena riding a 24-game winning streak in season-openers and off its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Red Raiders went 23-11 overall and tied for third in the Big 12 with an 11-7 conference record in Grant McCasland’s first season which included a 15-2 home record, six wins over ranked opponents and knocking off a top 10 opponent for the 10th straight season.
“It’s great to be back starting the season,” McCasland said. “We’ve had an eventful offseason. It’s so much fun to get to play a basketball game. Everyone starts talking about what the team could be, recruiting and trying to do a lot of different things. I’m just excited to play. Our team has been practicing extremely hard. This being the 100th season of Tech basketball is really cool. I feel like we have a good quality of depth with six returners who believe in how we are going to win every day and believe we can win the whole thing.”