The Texas Tech men’s basketball team will square off with its third straight ranked opponent over an eight-day span Wednesday as No. 3 Oklahoma visits the United Supermarkets Arena.
Tipoff is on-tap for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNU in addition to being available on www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Clay Matvick and Reid Gettys will serve as the announcing team.
The Texas Tech Sports Network will carry the game live on its flagship stations 97.3 FM, 100.7 FM and 950 AM in Lubbock. Brian Hanni and Chris Level will have the call. The radio broadcast also will be available on the radio affiliates of the Texas Tech Sports Network, online at www.TexasTech.com and the TuneIn Radio app.
Texas Tech (15-9, 5-7 Big 12) have strung together consecutive victories in back-to-back games over ranked opponents for the first time since Jan. 20 & 24, 2007 when the Red Raiders defeated No. 5 Kansas (69-64) and No. 6 Texas A&M (70-68).
Last time out, Texas Tech blitzed Baylor by an 84-66 margin. The 18-point win for the Red Raiders was the largest road margin of victory in program history over a ranked opponent, and the program’s largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent since an 84-65 triumph over No. 9 Kansas on March 4, 2009. Tech heads into Wednesday’s action in sole possession of seventh place.
“I thought we set the tone early on (at Baylor) by sharing the basketball,” Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith said. “We haven’t had many possessions where we’ve had 10 to 12 passes. You could see, we were really patient in sharing the basketball. There is no better example of that teamwork when you have 16 assists and 22 made baskets. That tells you that you’re getting the ball to the open guy and guys are playing unselfishly.”
The Sooners (20-4, 8-4 Big 12) were handed a 76-72 defeat by then No. 6 Kansas in their last outing. Oklahoma is the nation’s leader and has knocked down 44.3 percent of its treys which would be a program single season record. The Sooners also have dialed up at least 10 three-pointers on 16 occasions and their 10.9 three-pointers per game checks in fourth nationally.
Wednesday’s contest marks the 58th all-time series meeting where Oklahoma holds a 37-20 advantage on the strength of winning six of the last seven meetings since 2012-13. The Sooners dealt Texas Tech a 91-67 setback earlier this season where the Red Raiders were limited to a season-low 32.4 field goal percentage. Conversely, Oklahoma connected on a 52.6 shooting clip highlighted by 12 three-pointers.
Fans can purchase tickets online at www.TexasTech.com for as low as $8 by using the promo code WELLSFARGO in the top right-hand corner and click Go. A direct link to the ticket promotion can be accessed by clicking http://bit.ly/1QY7TQd.Tickets also are available for purchase on gameday starting 90 minutes prior to tipoff at the United Supermarkets Arena Ticket Office.
The Oklahoma game also serves as a Blackout, and fans are encouraged to wear black to support the Red Raiders.
About Texas Tech
The quartet of Keenan Evans, Justin Gray, Aaron Ross and Zach Smith did the heavy lifting for the Red Raiders and registered 66 of the team’s 84 points during Tech’s 84-66 win at then No. 21 Baylor. Over its last two games, Texas Tech have drained 19 three-pointers which is the team’s highest total in back-to-back games this season.
Evans has nearly doubled his scoring average with 14.0 points per game over his last five appearances. He has provided double figures in four of his last five games fueled by a career-best 21-point effort during the Baylor game where he canned a career-high trio of three-pointers. Evans is the fifth player to secure over 20 points in a game this season.
Gray pumped in a solid all-around effort with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks at then No. 21 Baylor. He has been inserted into the starting lineup in Tech’s last four games and his 11.3 points per game are 19th in Big 12 games. Gray has amassed 16.0 points per game on a crisp 12-of-17 shooting clip in his last two games.
Ross has dialed up 10-plus points in five straight games for the first time of his career. He has tallied a team-leading 11.9 points per game in Big 12 action which is good enough for 17th place on the conference leaderboard. Ross has secured consecutive 20-point performance during his last two Wednesday games highlighted by a career-high 22 points versus Oklahoma State on Feb. 3.
Smith almost notched his second career double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds during the Baylor game. He continues to be ranked near the top of the Big 12 rankings with 6.9 rebounds which are sixth and 1.4 blocks per game which are fourth. Smith has racked up 18 blocks over his last eight games and his 83 total rejections are ranked ninth on Tech’s all-time list.
Devaugntah Williams and Toddrick Gotcher have teamed for a combined 28 games in double figures and rattled home 70 of the team’s 136 three-pointers this season. Gotcher has distributed a team-leading 31 assists against five turnovers in Big 12 games whereas Williams has begun to return to form with 14.0 points per game on a 10-of-18 shooting effort over his last two games.
Matthew Temple has held a spot in the starting lineup for seven straight games in place of an injured Norense Odiase. He has chipped in 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game over his last eight games. Temple managed career-bests with 11 points and four rebounds at then No. 1 Oklahoma on Jan. 26.
Jordan Jackson, Devon Thomas and C.J. Williamson have seen playing as part of Tech’s bench rotation.
Thomas has picked up five points on eight occasions and distributed multiple assists in 11 of 22 games whereas Williamson has logged 10-plus minutes in four of his last eight games.
Texas Tech will be without Odiase’s services for the eighth straight game. He suffered a foot injury during the first half of the TCU game and is on track to return before the end of the regular season. Odiase totaled 9.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and reached 10-plus points in eight of his last 13 games before the injury.
About Oklahoma
The Sooners are strong on both ends of the floor averaging a conference-leading 83.6 points per game, while holding opponents to 40.2 percent which is the Big 12’s second-lowest shooting percentage. Oklahoma heads into Wednesday’s play in sole possession of third place in the Big 12 standings.
Buddy Hield, the 2014-15 Big 12 Player of the Year and consensus National Player of the Year candidate this season, has exploded for 25.6 points per game which is second in the nation. He has garnered at least 20 points in 18 of 24 games sparked by eight efforts of 30-plus points. Hield also leads the nation with 4.2 treys per game and has come away with Big 12-best 49.8 percent clip from three.
Jordan Woodard has notched 13.1 points and 3.9 assists. He owns an impressive 2.35 assist-to-turnover ratio. Woodard has tucked away double figures 16 times and right behind Hield with a 46.9 percent three-point percentage.
Isaiah Cousins has amassed 13.6 points and 4.6 assists per game from the point guard position. He has secured double figures in nine of his last 10 games and 19 times overall. Cousins is rated third on the Big 12 leaderboard with a 45.6 clip from triple territory.
Ryan Spangler has posted close to a double-double with 10.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. The 9.7 rebounds are second while his 54.7 shooting percentage is third in the Big 12 rankings. In fact, Spangler has shot at least 50 percent in 36 of his last 44 games.
Khadeem Lattin has added 6.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He has recorded at least six blocks in four games which includes a career-best eight rejections against Texas Tech on Jan. 26. OU’s top performers off the bench are Dante Buford and Dinjiyl Walker who have averaged an identical 3.6 points per game.
“They take over 22 to 23 threes a game, and they will shoot them at any time in transition,” Smith said. “They’ve got a lot of balance in the lineup, but we’ve got a balanced lineup too. I think our guys are starting to understand what it takes. You have stop their transition. That’s number one because they score a bunch of points out of their fastbreak. Then, you have to worry about Buddy Hield. That’ll be a tough task for our team.”
Up Next
Texas Tech returns to the road and meets Oklahoma State on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT from Gallagher-Iba Arena, and the game will be televised by ESPNU in addition to being available on www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men’s basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TexasTechMBB and @TexasTechMBB on Twitter.
(Press Release Provided by Texas Tech Athletics Department)
