The Texas Tech men’s basketball team steps up off conference action and takes on old Southwest Conference rival Arkansas as part of the third-annual Big 12/SEC Challenge Saturday at Bud Walton Arena.
 
Tipoff is on-tap for 3 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. Mike Morgan and Barry Booker 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 from Fayetteville. 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 (12-7, 2-6 Big 12) enters Saturday’s contest on a nine-game nonconference winning streak which dates back to mid-November. The Red Raiders will look to regroup from a 91-67 setback at No. 1 Oklahoma on Tuesday. The 91 points allowed were a season-high for Tech. 
 
The Razorbacks (10-10, 4-4 SEC) are coming off their best of the season, a 74-71 decision over SEC frontrunner and No. 5 Texas A&M. Arkansas has won 76 of its 86 home games highlighted by a 45-1 mark against unranked non-SEC squads under fifth-year coach Mike Anderson.
 
“You know what, our guys are working hard and putting in the time to get better,” Texas Tech assistant coach Pooh Williamson said. “There are things that you look at and you see on the film. They’ve been active, and they’ve been energetic in practice. Hopefully, we can go in and show what we’ve improved upon with the things we’ve been working on in practice the last couple days.”
 
Saturday’s tilt represents the 96th all-time meeting between Texas Tech and Arkansas on the hardwood. The two schools met twice each year when they were members of the Southwest Conference. The Razorbacks have won eight of the last 10 meetings with Tech’s last win being an 84-73 triumph on Feb. 4, 1989 in Lubbock. Coach Smith has won his last seven outings against Arkansas from 2001-07 when he served as Kentucky’s head coach. 
 
About Texas Tech
The Red Raiders have racked up 115 bench points over their last three games. Justin Gray has emerged as Tech’s top scoring option in Big 12 action with 11.8 points per game. He has garnered double-digit points in six of his last seven outings and knocked down 31-of-59 from the floor. Gray is coming off his second 20-point performance at No. 1 Oklahoma last time out.
 
Aaron Ross has added 8.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He has upped his mark to 11.2 points per game over his last five games. Ross has rattled home double figures in four of five games and will look to return to double figures after a 4-point output at No. 1 Oklahoma. 
 
Matthew Temple has started the last two games and produced a career-high 11 points at No. 1 Oklahoma. He has picked up 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in his last three games.
 
“That’s what Coach Smith has been telling these guys,” Williamson said. “It’s not that play at the end. It’s a lot of different little plays throughout the game. You can box out here or drive through that screen there. It’s about finishing on the defensive end. We’ve had some guys make some big shots. We want to finish the game off on the defensive end by getting stops. That’s been Coach Smith’s message.”
 
Texas Tech’s leading scorers are Devaugntah Williams and Toddrick Gotcher, who have combined 23.2 points per game and knocked down 60 of team’s 103 three-pointers. Williams has totaled a team-best 13 games in double figures, most recently a 12-point performance at No. 1 Oklahoma. Gotcher is ranked inside the Big 12’s Top 10 with 1.7 three made per game and a 37.8 three-point percentage.
 
Zach Smith has managed 9.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He poured in a career-high 18 points versus then No. 6 West Virginia on Jan. 23 and equaled his career-high with 14 rebounds during the Oklahoma game.
 
Keenan Evans has come away with 7.1 points and 2.7 assists per game through 19 games from the point guard spot. He has dished out 38 of his 51 assists over Tech’s last 13 games.
 
Texas Tech will be without Norense Odiase for the third straight game. He suffered a foot injury in the first half at TCU. Odiase has garnered 9.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and reached 10-plus points in eight of his last 13 games.
 
About Arkansas
Last time out, the Razorbacks ended a three-game losing streak with their 74-71 win over No. 5 Texas A&M. Arkansas is the only team in the nation to have three players averaging at least 16 points per game with Dusty Hannahs (16.7 PPG), Anthlon Bell (16.6 PPG) and Moses Kingsley (16.5 PPG). Hannahs and Bell have done their damage from triple territory with 113 of 137 treys for the Razorbacks.
 
Hannahs has dialed up 20-plus points in four of his last six games and posted a team-leading nine games of 20-plus points for the season. He has emerged in the starting lineup during Arkansas’ last seven outings. Hannahs, who played at Texas Tech from 2012-14, is shooting over 50 percent from three-point territory in his last six games.
 
Bell heads into Saturday’s contest 26 points away from recording 1,000 for his career. His team-high 61 three-pointers are second on the SEC leaderboard. Bell has piled up double figures 18 times which includes seven of his last eight games.
 
Kingsley has amassed double-digit scoring games in all 20 games this season fueled by six 20-plus point efforts. He is one of eight power five conference players and two SEC players to secure 10 double-doubles this season, the other is LSU freshmen Ben Simmons.
 
Arkansas’ top option off the bench is Anton Beard, an All-SEC Freshman Team selection from a season ago, with 8.6 points per contest. He has notched 10-plus points in three of his last five appearances highlighted by a career-best 18 points at Georgia on Jan. 23. 
 
“They’re really good at home, and they showed that beating a really good Texas A&M team, the number five team in the country,” Williamson said. “They’re the second or third best three-point shooting team in the country. They’ve got a couple guys who can really, really make them. They’ve got a third guy who can step in and really make some shots also. They guard you, and they get after you with their press especially at home.”
 
(PROVIDED BY TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS)