Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1, 0-0)
Bad Guys: Texas A&M Aggies (7-2, 0-0)
When to Watch: Sunday, December 8th @ 2:00 pm
Where to Watch: Dickies Arena | Ft. Worth, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN2
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -1.5
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | TEXAS A&M |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Elijah Hawkins (5-11/160) | 6.8 / 5.5* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Chance McMillian (6-3/190) | 14.8 / 3.8 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 7.1 / 1.9 |
| POWER FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-6/225) | 17.1 / 6.0 |
| CENTER | JT Toppin (6-9/225) | 18.6 / 11.0 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Kevin Overton (6-5/200) | 11.0 / 3.8 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Christian Anderson (6-2/165) | 8.3 / 2.7* |
| EIGHTH MAN | Federiko Federiko (6-11/215) | 5.1 / 3.7 |
| NINTH MAN | Eemeli Yalaho (6-8/240) | 2.5 / 1.0 |
| TENTH MAN | Leon Horner (6-4/215) | 0.0 / 0.5 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/185) | 0.0 / 0.7 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Corbin Green (6-5/230) | 0.0 / 0.7 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | Jazz Henderson (5-11/175) | – / – |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Wade Taylor IV (6-0/180) | 15.8 / 4.6* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Zhuric Phelps (6-4/190) | 13.1 / 4.1 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Jace Carter (6-6/225) | 3.9 / 4.0 |
| POWER FORWARD | Solomon Washington (6-7/220) | 5.6 / 5.9 |
| CENTER | Henry Coleman III (6-8/250) | 11.1 / 6.4 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Anderson Garcia (6-7/220) | 6.0 / 7.9 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Pharrell Payne (6-9/250) | 6.3 / 4.4 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Manny Obaseki (6-4/200) | 7.4 / 2.2 |
| NINTH MAN | CJ Wilcher (6-5/210) | 4.3 / 0.7 |
| TENTH MAN | Hayden Hefner (6-6/190) | 3.8 / 1.0 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Texas A&M is an okay offensive team, but they just don’t shoot the ball well, 296th in 3-point shooting and 219th in 2-point shooting. But they are better in other metrics, 2nd in offensive rebounding and 30th in free throw rate. Also interesting, TAMU gets their shot blocked a lot, 345th in block percentage. Defensively, this is an elite group, 30th in 3-point shooting and 45th in 2-point shooting and 53rd in block percentage. They do allow a decent amount of offensive boards, 199th, and are okay at limiting free throws, 164th.
2. Scouting. Taylor is the star of the show, but he’s not a great shooter right now, just 43% from inside the arc and 37% outside. Taylor is guy that distributes the ball more than anyone else. There really isn’t a great shooter on the team, Garcia is okay, making 36% of his 3-point shots as well, but he’s only shot 14 attempts. Garcia, Payne, and Washington rebound, block shots are are the main guys that get to the line. I should also mention that the Aggies started off the season with a loss to UCF, which was weird and then lost to Oregon in late November, but got a wins over Ohio State, Creighton, Rutgers, and Wake Forest.
3. How They Match Up. This is really an offense vs. defense situation. Texas Tech’s offense is elite (12th), while TAMU’s defense is elite (13th). Texas Tech’s defense is pretty good (41st) and TAMU’s offense is pretty good (42nd). You sort of love this type of game. I tend to think that Texas Tech’s ability to hit shots is going to be too much as there’s a big disparity in their ability to make shots. They just don’t and Texas Tech has shot-makers. Let’s hope that Toppin gets to play otherwise, I’d probably side with TAMU. And if you need verification that Toppin will play, well, 64% of the public bets are on Texas Tech, so my guess is that Vegas knows that Toppin is playing.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
Time to renew the rivalry 😤 pic.twitter.com/FaP8SXmIBO
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) December 6, 2024
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
The Red Raiders (7-1) and Aggies (7-2) both come into the matchup on three-game winning streaks and will be playing each other for the first time since 2012 after conference realignment halted the series. Tech, which is playing its first ranked opponent of the season, owns a 64-61 all-time advantage in the series but will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak against Texas A&M which swept the final three seasons of home-and-away Big 12 matchups. The two teams met for an exhibition last season in Denton with the Red Raiders taking an 89-84 win on October 29, 2023. The programs were Southwest Conference rivals from 1957-1996 and Big 12 adversaries from 1996-2012 until A&M left for the SEC. The Red Raiders won the first-ever contest in the series, 48-36, in College Station on December 17, 1941. Texas A&M has won the past six games in the series, including taking a 47-38 win in Lubbock in the last matchup which was played on February 14, 2012.
“I think this is a big part of what makes college basketball so great,” said Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland of playing against Texas A&M. “To have a series between historic rivals is important to continue. We are thrilled about the opportunity to compete against the Aggies and know that this will benefit our team and schedule. The opportunity to play in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in front of a lot of Red Raider alumni and fans is awesome.”