Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (14-4, 5-2)
Bad Guys: TCU Horned Frogs (10-9, 3-5)
When to Watch: Wednesday, January 29th @ 6:00 pm
Where to Watch: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN2
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -14
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | TCU |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Elijah Hawkins (5-11/160) | 8.7 / 6.1* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Chance McMillian (6-3/190) | 14.9 / 4.4 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 4.3 / 1.3 |
| POWER FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-6/225) | 14.7 / 5.4 |
| CENTER | JT Toppin (6-9/225) | 16.3 / 8.5 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Kevin Overton (6-5/200) | 9.3 / 3.8 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Christian Anderson (6-2/165) | 9.5 / 2.2* |
| EIGHTH MAN | Federiko Federiko (6-11/215) | 7.3 / 5.4 |
| NINTH MAN | Eemeli Yalaho (6-8/240) | 3.1 / 2.1 |
| 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 | Vasean Allette (6-3/200) | 11.8 / 2.8* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Noah Reynolds (6-3/200) | 12.3 / 3.3* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Trazarien White (6-6/185) | 9.4 / 3.1 |
| POWER FORWARD | David Punch (6-7/245) | 5.5 / 4.6 |
| CENTER | Ernest Udeh, Jr. (6-11/260) | 7.8 / 8.1 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Brendan Wenzel (6-8/215) | 8.7 / 3.2 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Malick Diallo (6-8/210) | 1.2 / 2.3 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Isaiah Manning (6-9/230) | 1.9 / 0.6 |
| NINTH MAN | Micah Robinson (6-6/225) | 5.6 / 1.7 |
| TENTH MAN | Jace Posey (6-5/215) | 2.5 / 2.0 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. I did not expect TCU to fall quite like this, but I do want to be careful. TCU has had a rough go at it in the Big 2, but 2 of their 3 wins are at home, Kansas State and BYU, while the one away win was at Baylor. I am surprised at the lack of offense, they are 278th in 3-point shooting and 355th in free throw percentage. That’s pretty abysmal and then they are just 262nd in 2-point shooting, while the other metrics are okay, 117th in turnover rate, 123rd in offensive rebounding and 202nd in free throw rate. Defensively, they have turned things up, they are 51st in defensive 3-point shooting, 79th in forcing turnovers, and 57th in free throw rate. Still have to work on limiting 2-point shots, just 240th and are okay at limiting offensive boards, 169th.
2. Scouting. Reynolds is their best shooter from the outside, but he’s strictly a shooter and passer, but doesn’t do anything else. Wenzel is their best deep threat for sure, making 40% of his 3-pointers. Udeh does a ton of dirty work, makes 59% of his 2-point shots, and is the team’s best rebounder on both sides of the court, shot blocker, gets a ton of steals and gets to the line. He doesn’t make his free throws, just 60% from the line.
3. How They Match Up. Things got a bit more dicey when head coach Grant McCasland said that Darrion Williams is a game-time decision. Given that Houston is up on Saturday, this might be the time to rest him to get as healthy as he can. There aren’t any breaks the rest of the way. I would start Overton and still bring Anderson off the bench and things just get significantly tighter. Walton will likely need to play quite a bit more as well if Williams is out. Texas Tech still shares an offensive advantage, but TCU’s defense is no joke and depending on how the refs allow them to play, we could see more of what Oklahoma State did with their aggressiveness.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
No. 22 Texas Tech and TCU are set to square off for the first of two regular-season matchups at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at United Supermarkets Arena. The 144th meeting in the all-time series will be broadcast on ESPN2 while the Texas Tech Sports Network radio call can be heard locally on Double T 97.3, and on the Varsity app.
“They have a super physical team that finds ways to win,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “They have the right talent and are a great rebounding team. That’s something that we’ve been successful at. We have a tremendous amount of respect for them and know we’ll need to be at our absolute best in order to win. Protecting your home court in the Big 12 is everything. For us to win on Wednesday would be a huge step in the right direction.”