Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-3, 1-1)
Bad Guys: BYU Cougars (10-3, 1-1)
When to Watch: Tuesday, January 7th @ 8:00 pm
Where to Watch: Marriott Center | Provo, Utah
How to Watch: ESPN+
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: BYU -3.5
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | BYU |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Elijah Hawkins (5-11/160) | 7.7 / 5.5* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Chance McMillian (6-3/190) | 15.5 / 4.0 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 5.5 / 1.5 |
| POWER FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-6/225) | 16.2 / 5.6 |
| CENTER | JT Toppin (6-9/225) | 18.6 / 10.1 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Kevin Overton (6-5/200) | 10.9 / 4.1 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Christian Anderson (6-2/165) | 8.7 / 2.5* |
| EIGHTH MAN | Federiko Federiko (6-11/215) | 8.4 / 4.6 |
| NINTH MAN | Eemeli Yalaho (6-8/240) | 3.7 / 2.5 |
| TENTH MAN | Leon Horner (6-4/215) | 0.3 / 0.6 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/185) | 0.3 / 0.3 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Corbin Green (6-5/230) | 0.0 / 0.5 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | Jazz Henderson (5-11/175) | – / – |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Dallin Hall (6-4/200) | 7.2 / 4.1* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Richie Saunders (6-5/200) | 13.5 / 3.9 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Egor Demin (6-9/190) | 11.3 / 6.0* |
| POWER FORWARD | Keba Keita (6-8/231) | 7.2 / 8.4 |
| CENTER | Kanon Catchings (6-9/190) | 10.8 / 3.5 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Fousseyni Traore (6-6/240) | 9.8 / 6.6 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Dawson Baker (6-4/190) | 9.0 / 2.2 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Trevin Knell (6-5/190) | 10.4 / 2.5 |
| NINTH MAN | Mihailo Boskovic (6-10/220) | 4.3 / 2.3 |
| TENTH MAN | Mawot Mag (6-7/216) | 4.0 / 1.1 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. BYU is a heck of a good shooting team, 64th in 3-point shooting and 18th in 2-point shooting. The Cougars are 26th in offensive rebounding and hardly get their shot blocked, 39th overall. The only downfall is that they don’t go to the line (sound familiar?) very often, 297th in free throw rate. Defensively, they are very good, 1st in the nation in limiting offensive boards, and 54th in opponent 2-point percentage. They’ll also turn opponents over, 82nd overall. Biggest issue is guarding the 3-point line.
2. Scouting. Saunders and Knell are the best shooters, Saunders makes 41% of his 3-point shots and Knell makes 46%, while Sanders makes 59% inside the arc and Knell makes 71%. Just incredible. Traore and Demin are fantastic shooters in their own right, as is Keita. The entire team makes shots, other than Hall, who is in a bit of a slump. Traore and Keita are the best rebounders, both sides of the court, and they know how to share the ball, Traeore, Demin and Hall are all high-end passes.
3. How They Match Up. BYU and Texas Tech are essentially mirror images of each other, both fantastic offensive teams that don’t get to the line very much at all. BYU is maybe a bit more sloppy with the ball, that might be an area to focus and it looks like Texas Tech isn’t going to have a ton of 2nd chance points. This is a really big lineup and am not sure how that works out with both Hawkins and Anderson being small point guards. One last note, which is that there’s a better than zero chance I won’t post anything significant about this game tomorrow. My nephew is playing against the town where I live (Terrell @ Kaufman) and we’re going to the game so there’s a decent chance I won’t get to see very much of this game.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
Road Reds 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/sHW9rOzByD
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 6, 2025
Texas Tech has earned the commitment from center Marial Akuentok (6-10/215), who is originally from Fort Erie, Ontario and was to be part of the 2025 class, but will reclassify to the 2024 class and start at Texas Tech in the spring semester. Remember, that reclassifying means that he was held back at a point and is graduating or finishing school in the year that he was supposed to graduate. Akuentok had offers from Arizona State, Eastern Michigan, Kansas State, Oregon, Seton Hall, St. Bonaventure, and West Virginia. Recruiting profiles: 24/7 Sports – 3-star; Rivals – not-rated; and On3 – 3-star.
As an aside, Ft. Erie is right next to Buffalo, New York near Niagra Falls. I would view Akuentok as a project for sure. He is currently injured and will sit out and redshirt the remainder of the 2024-25 season. From watching a few of his videos, he’s rough offensively, but at 6-10 he’s going to be effective down low. I would maybe say that he’s a very rough and young version of Federiko Federiko.
24/7 Sports’ Eric Bossi spoke with Akuentok about what Texas Tech liked about his game:
“I feel like what made them want me was my defense,” said Akeuntok. “Defense wins you games. They watched and thought my offense was ok, and that’s acceptable because I agree that it needs work. But they saw my defense and that it could help out and improve their defense overall. I can block shots and guard one through five.”
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
A two-game road trip in the state of Utah continues for Texas Tech when it takes on BYU at 8 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and the radio broadcast can be heard on SiriusXM channel 383, as well as on the Varsity app.
“BYU has a dynamic offense and great size and length at multiple positions,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “They also have great experience. We’re going to be playing against them in one of the greatest atmospheres in the country and have to come out ready to play. It’ll definitely be a challenge but our team is really looking forward to it.”