Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-2, 0-0)
Bad Guys: Lamar Cardinals (6-5, 0-0)
When to Watch: Saturday, December 21st @ 12:00 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 -24
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | LAMAR |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Elijah Hawkins (5-11/160) | 6.9 / 5.3* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Chance McMillian (6-3/190) | 16.1 / 3.8 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 6.3 / 1.8 |
| POWER FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-6/225) | 15.8 / 5.6 |
| CENTER | JT Toppin (6-9/225) | 18.6 / 11.0 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Kevin Overton (6-5/200) | 10.8 / 4.0 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Christian Anderson (6-2/165) | 7.6 / 2.6* |
| EIGHTH MAN | Federiko Federiko (6-11/215) | 7.3 / 4.9 |
| NINTH MAN | Eemeli Yalaho (6-8/240) | 2.3 / 2.0 |
| TENTH MAN | Leon Horner (6-4/215) | 0.4 / 0.6 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/185) | 0.5 / 0.3 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Corbin Green (6-5/230) | 0.0 / 0.8 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | Jazz Henderson (5-11/175) | – / – |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Ja’Sean Jackson (6-0/176) | 12.6 / 4.2* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Alexis Marmolejos (6-1/180) | 15.9 / 2.4* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Cody Pennebaker (6-5/194) | 6.4 / 3.6 |
| POWER FORWARD | Adam Hamilton (6-9/223) | 9.4 / 6.4 |
| CENTER | Andrew Holifield (6-10/185) | 11.7 / 5.9 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Danquez Dawsey (6-2/180) | 5.5 / 2.5* |
| SEVENTH MAN | Errol White (6-7/205) | 4.7 / 5.4 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Janko Bulajic (6-10/233) | 3.9 / 2.8 |
| NINTH MAN | Braden East (6-9/238) | 3.0 / 1.2 |
| TENTH MAN | Terrance Dixon, Jr. (6-8/235) | 2.9 / 1.6 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Lamar isn’t terrible, not exactly a compliment, but they are okay. The offense struggles a bit, they are really good at grabbing offensive boards, 41st in the nation and are really good at hitting 3’s, 8th in the nation in 3-point percentage. What they aren’t great at is 2-point shooting, 288th in the nation, turnover percentage at 275th, and free throw rate at 215th in the nation. Defensively, they are pretty darned good, 15th in the nation in blocked shots, 76th in defensive 3-point percentage, and 124th in 2-point percentage. They do allow a ton of offensive rebounds, 300th in the nation, and 289th in free throw rate.
2. Scouting. Marmolejos looks to be a fun player, a terrific shooter, makes 82% of his free throws and 46% of his 3-point shots and simply doesn’t turn the ball over. Holifield is the big man, gets a decent amount of offensive boards and shoots the ball well from inside the arc, 59%, and then is also a great outside threat at 44%. Those two players are what drives the Lamar offensive engine. Hamilton is a good shot blocker, as is Blujic and East. Jackson and Buljic are really good passes.
3. How They Match Up. The defense is really going to need to focus on Marmolejos and Holifield and the rest should be okay. I think that Toppin sits out this game, there’s no reason to play him at this point, giving him a break will allow him to rest until New Year’s Eve, which is when Texas Tech opens conference play. If he doesn’t play at that point then you know that this is a serious issue.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: How Texas Tech basketball’s Federiko Federiko has stepped up in JT Toppin’s absence
Federiko returned to action in the Legends Classic, but the shoulder still nagged at him, keeping him to 17 combined minutes in the two games. The shoulder, Federiko admitted Monday, isn’t quite 100%, but with Toppin down, the Red Raiders have needed Federiko more and more.
“Now that JT is out, somebody has to step up,” Federiko said. “I’m trying to take that role to step up until he gets well and back.”
You’ll never forget those first buckets 🪣💯@jackfrancis535 + @Leonhorner8 pic.twitter.com/hAziSjqTJI
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) December 18, 2024
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
With the Christmas break and Big 12 play looming, Texas Tech remains focused on the task at hand where it is set to complete non-conference action by hosting Lamar (6-5) at noon on Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders (8-2) come into the game leading the Big 12 and are fourth nationally with a 59.4 effective field goal percentage along with being second within the conference by shooting 39.8 percent from 3-point range and 78.4 percent at the free-throw line. The team extended a 37-game non-conference home winning streak with an 86-50 win over Oral Roberts on Monday and is currently 7-0 on its home court this season where it has outscored its opponents by a 30.0 margin.
“Ultimately, these games are always the most dangerous games because you can find yourself looking too far into the future,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “Whether that’s the break or Big 12 play, you have to come ready to play. I told our team that this is the most important game so far this season because not only are we facing a great opponent, but we have to keep improving. This is a team that can come in here and beat us. We’ll have to play our best in order to win. I think we have our guys understanding how important this one is.”