BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: vs. Texas
https://texastech.com/news/2020/3/9/mens-basketball-big-12-championship-preview-vs-texas.aspx
Men's Basketball / March 09, 2020 / Wes Bloomquist
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will begin its quest to win the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship for the first time in program history when it plays Texas at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in the quarterfinals at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
The Red Raiders (18-13, 9-9 Big 12) are coming off a 66-62 loss to No. 1 Kansas in their regular-season finale, while the Longhorns (19-12, 9-9 Big 12) took an 81-59 defeat to Oklahoma State to snap a four-game winning streak. Texas Tech and Texas split their regular-season matchups with the Red Raiders winning 62-57 in Austin on Feb. 8 before taking a 68-58 loss on Feb. 29 in Lubbock to end a five-game winning streak over the Longhorns.
The tournament begins on Wednesday night with No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Iowa State playing at 6 p.m. followed by No. 7 TCU and No. 10 Kansas State at 8 p.m. in the first-round matchups. Tech and Texas is the first game of the day on Thursday followed by No. 1 Kansas playing the OSU-ISU winner, No. 2 Baylor taking on the TCU-KSU winner and the nightcap between No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 6 West Virginia. The championship final will be played at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
With a 72.0 winning percentage (190-74) as a NCAA coach, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard has the 12th best percentage among active coaches and is 94-44 leading the Red Raiders. Beard, who was an assistant coach at Texas Tech for Bob Knight and Pat Knight from 2001-11, has led the Red Raiders to the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight and 2019 NCAA National Championship Final over the past two seasons. Under Beard the past three seasons, Tech is 14-8 in the month of March and 1-3 in the conference tournament. The Red Raiders are led in scoring by Ramsey (15.0 ppg.) who is fifth in the Big 12 and graduate transfer Chris Clarke who is at 6.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game along with a 2.04 assist-to-turnover ratio which all rank in the top-10 within the Big 12. Davide Moretti is second on the NCAA active career leader list in free-throw percentage at 90.6 percent (213 of 235) and leads the Big 12 this season at 90.2 percent (6th nationally). Beard was named the 2019 AP National Coach of the Year and the 2018 and 2019 Big 12 Coach of the Year.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Texas Tech finished the regular season leading the Big 12 by shooting 35.5 percent on 3-pointers and with 15.4 assists per game and is second with a 1.13 assist-to-turnover ratio, a 45.2 shooting percentage from the field, 75.4 percentage at the free-throw line, a 2.4 turnover margin and 16.03 turnovers forced per game. The Red Raiders are making 7.2 3-pointers per game this season and is third in the conference with an 8.4 scoring margin of victory and scoring 71.9 points per game coming into the conference tournament. Individually, Moretti is sixth nationally with his 90.2 percentage from the line and is fifth in the conference with 67 3-pointers made. Clarke is second with his 2.04 assist-to-turnover ratio and 4.6 assists per game, while he is eighth in the conference in rebounding. TJ Holyfield finished the regular season with 50 blocked shots and is fifth in the conference at 1.6 blocks per game, while Kyler Edwards is seventh in the conference with a 1.58 assist-to-turnover ratio. Tech is currently 25th nationally in assists per game and 30th by limiting opponents to 63.5 points per game and in the turnovers forced category.
GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and Texas will be broadcasted on ESPN2 with Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla and Holly Rowe and on the Texas Tech Sports Network's flagship station Double T 97.3 in Lubbock with Geoff Haxton and Chris Level. Fans can also follow the game at @TexasTechMBB.
BIG 12 AWARDS: Ramsey highlighted conference awards for the Red Raiders on Sunday afternoon by being selected as the first player in program history to earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year along with earning All-Big 12 Second Team, Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Along with Ramsey, Moretti was named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection and Terrence Shannon, Jr. earned Big 12 All-Freshman honors.
TECH AT THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT: The Red Raiders are 14-23 all-time in the Big 12 Championship in 23 appearances. Tech fell 79-74 to West Virginia in last year's quarterfinals after receiving a first-round bye. Tech earned a 73-69 win over Texas in the 2018 quarterfinals and is 2-4 all-time against the Longhorns in the tournament. Tech has advanced to the finals in 2005 as the No. 4 seed before falling 72-68 in the title game to Oklahoma at the Kemper Arena. Texas Tech won the Southwest Conference tournament five times in 1976, 1985, 1986, 1993 and 1996.
PROGRAM MARKS: Texas Tech experienced its best season in program history after going 31-7 overall and 14-4 in Big 12 play last year. The Red Raiders won the Big 12 regular-season championship before advancing to the Final Four and NCAA National Championship Final for the first time in program history. Tech is 8-2 in the NCAA Tournament over the past two years after making the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight and reaching the NCAA National Championship Final. The 8-2 mark is the best in the nation over that span and an appearance in the NCAA tournament this season would be the first time in program history that the Red Raiders have made the tournament three straight seasons.
POLLS: Texas Tech dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 Poll last week after being at No. 22 last week and is at No. 22 in the NCAA NET Rankings after its overtime loss against No. 1 Kansas. Tech has been ranked in 12 of 19 weeks after starting the season ranked No. 13 in the preseason poll for the highest ranking in program history coming into a season. The Red Raiders, who have been as high as No. 11 this season, are 2-8 this season against teams currently ranked, including earning a 70-57 win over Louisville (ranked No. 1 at time) and splitting with West Virginia.
ATTENDANCE: Along with winning on their home court, the Red Raider fans are establishing themselves as one of the top fan bases in the nation and set a new program standard this season in average attendance numbers. The program has had six sellouts this season (Eastern Illinois, Bethune-Cookman, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas and Kansas) and averaged 14,057 per game which ranked 19th nationally, second in the Big 12 and is the best in the state of Texas. Before this season, the program record was 13,743 in the 2001-02 season and 12,098 last year.
PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 106 games (76 wins) with the Red Raiders, sophomore Kyler Edwards, a dynamic freshmen class and graduate transfers Chris Clarke and TJ Holyfield who bring experience to a team that lost four starters and the leading reserve off last year's historic team.
Holyfield is averaging 8.9 points, 1.6 blocks and 4.5 rebounds per game after going for 11 points and three blocked shots last Saturday against Kansas in the regular-season finale. He finished sixth in the Big 12 in blocked shots per game after having 32 in the past 13 games (50 total). He had 19 points and four blocked shots in the first matchup against Kansas where he was 7-for-12 from the field at Allen Fieldhouse and had a season-high five blocks in the first matchup against Texas. At Baylor, Holyfield had nine points and two blocked shots in the first game of his career where he played as a reserve before returning to the starting lineup against the Jayhawks. A grad transfer from SFA, Holyfield has scored 1,357 points in his career where he has played in 132 games with 131 starts. He has recorded three or more blocks in nine games this season with four in games against Kansas and West Virginia before having three against OU. Holyfield matched a season-high with 21 points in the home game against OU when he went 8-for-12 from the field and was 2 of 2 on 3-pointers after scoring 19 at Kansas with a season-high three 3-pointers. He leads the Red Raiders with a 53.6 shooting percentage and has made 15 3-pointers this season after hitting two on Saturday against KU. Along with scoring 21 against OU, he also had 21 in a non-conference win over Houston Baptist and 20 against Bethune-Cookman. Those performances earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 11, 2019. In Big 12 play, Holyfield averaged 8.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Clarke, who scored his conference-high with 11 points at Oklahoma to go along with six rebounds, is a grad transfer who played three seasons at Virginia Tech before transferring to Texas Tech. He is coming off a week where he eight rebounds and four points on Senior Day after a performance at Baylor where he had eight rebounds, five assists and six points for the Red Raiders. He is averaging 6.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 5.6 points per game for the Red Raiders and comes into the postseason having scored 896 points, securing 716 rebounds and contributing 347 assists through 109 games in his collegiate career. A guard from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Clarke leads the Red Raiders with two double-doubles this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa and then 14 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Miss. Clarke has led Tech in rebounding in 18 games and has five or more rebounds in 22 games. He recorded a career-high 11 assists in the win over Houston Baptist. Clarke, who was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 23 after averaging a double-double in wins over Southern Miss and UTRGV, had a season-high of 12 rebounds coming against Tennessee State and Louisville.
Ramsey earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year, All-Big 12 Second Team, Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors after finishing the regular season by averaging 15.0 points per game. He is second in the Big 12 by shooting 42.6 percent on 3-pointers (Desmond Bane – 44.1 percent) and was fifth in scoring at 15.0 points per game following being held to six points in the regular-season finale against Kansas. A freshman from Arlington with 406 total points this season, Ramsey is currently 60-for-141 on 3-pointers and has made at least two in the past 10 of 12 games and in 17 games overall after hitting three at Baylor and two more against the Jayhawks. A 6-foot-4 guard, he has scored in double-figures in 21 of 27 games played this season with a Big 12-high coming at Kansas where he scored 26 by going 5-for-8 on 3-pointers after scoring 21 against West Virginia by also connecting on 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc. Ramsey, who is averaging 15.5 points per game against the Longhorns this season, has hit five 3-pointers in four games this season and has three or more in 10 games. He scored 13 points against Texas two weeks ago and had 18 in the matchup in Austin where he was 6-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. Prior to the start of the season, he was named an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection before earning three weekly newcomer awards. Ramsey scored a career-high 27 points in a win over Long Island where he hit five 3-pointers for the first times this season and has scored 20 or more points in seven of 27 games played. He missed four games due to a left hamstring injury he suffered with 10 minutes remaining against Iowa, but has started 21 straight games since his return. In conference play, Ramsey averaged 14.5 points per game and shot 41.8 percent on 3-pointers (41-for-98).
For a season, Texas Tech has only been led in scoring by two freshmen with Jordan Tolbert averaging 11.5 points per game in the 2011-12 season and Rick Bullock who had 13.8 ppg. in 1972-73.
A guard from Italy, Moretti is averaging 13.0 points per game after leading the Red Raiders with 18 points against Kansas where he hit two 3-pointers and went 4-for-4 at the line. In his third season at Tech, he has scored 969 career points with 166 made 3-pointers and going 213-for-235 from the line. He's averaged 12.8 points per game with a career-high 25 points against West Virginia after dropping 15 against Kentucky in the final non-conference game on the schedule. Against Texas, he is averaging 9.0 points per game after going for 11 with three 3-pointers in the second matchup. Moretti has started 69 straight games for the Red Raiders after a sophomore season where he started all 38 and averaged 11.5 points per game, shot 49.8 percent from the field, 45.9 percent on 3-pointers and led the nation at 92.4 percent. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 29 of 31 games this season and in 81 of 106 games in his career. Moretti, who was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team and to the Big 12 All-Academic First Team, was named to the 2019 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Team after being a third-team selection last season and also earning the NCAA Elite 90 Award. Before his career-high 25-point performance in the home win West Virginia, Moretti had a career-best 23 points earlier this season against Creighton where he made three 3-pointers. His free-throw prowess is highlighted by him going 12-for-12 from the line last season against Oklahoma State, an 8-for-8 showing to help knock off Louisville and then 9-for-9 display against the Mountaineers. Moretti has led Tech in scoring nine times this season and 14 times in his career. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 17 straight games since not making one in the first matchup against Baylor. He currently ranks ninth all-time in program history with the 166 3-pointers made in his career and is only 31 points shy of 1,000.
Edwards is averaging 11.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game after scoring eight points, contributing four assists and having four rebounds at Baylor and followed it with five assists and three points against Kansas. He has recorded at least four assists in six of the past eight games with nine in the past two. A sophomore from Arlington, he has started all 31 games this season after playing a reserve role in all 38 as a freshman where he averaged 5.5 points per game. This season, more than doubling that average, Edwards has scored in double figures in 16 games with a career-high 24 points in the first matchup at Kansas State where he went 9-for-14 from the field with three 3-pointers before going 5-for-6 on 3-pointers in the 22-point performance in the first matchup against the Cyclones. He earned Big 12 Player of the Week after the two-game stretch and averaged 11.4 points in conference games. He now has three or more assists in 20 games with a career-high six at No. 3 Kansas and had a career-high nine rebounds at West Virginia. As a freshman, he scored a season-high 19 points after going 7-for-7 from the field with four 3-pointers against Northern Colorado and then had 12 points against Virginia in the NCAA National Championship Final. He's currently scored 20 or more points three times this season and is at 562 points for his career, including scoring 10 points in the first matchup against the Longhorns before being limited to five in the home matchup.
Shannon was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team after he averaged 9.8 points per game and 4.1 rebounds in his first season in Lubbock. A freshman guard from Chicago, Shannon is second on the team with 87 free throws made (82.9 percent) and has scored in double figures in 14 of 29 games played. Shannon had eight points against Kansas last Saturday in the regular-season finale to go along with four rebounds. He scored a career-high 24 points in his hometown return at DePaul on Dec. 4 where he was 9-for-18 from the field, hit two 3-pointers and was 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. Shannon scored a conference-high 23 points in the home win over West Virginia after going 12-for-14 from the free-throw line and also making 5 of 8 shots from the field. He had a season-high 11 rebounds at Kansas and also had eight points against the Jayhawks in Lawrence. Shannon, who has five or more rebounds in 12 games this season, was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 16, 2019 after scoring 18 points against Southern Miss and 13 in the win over Louisville. He finished the conference slate averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds. Shannon averaged 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the two regular-season games against the Longhorns, including going for 10 points and five rebounds in the home matchup after scoring 13 and having six rebounds in Austin.
Kevin McCullar has started the past six games where he is averaging 10.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, including scoring 13 points against Texas on Feb. 29 and securing eight rebounds against Kansas in the regular-season finale. He is coming off scoring 13 points at Baylor and seven against Kansas after going for a team-leading 13 points at Oklahoma where he also had five rebounds and three assists. In conference play, McCullar leads Tech with 24 steals with four in games against Kansas State and Oklahoma. He recorded a career-high with 11 rebounds and also had six points at Iowa State after he made the first start of his career against Kansas State where he scored nine points and led the Red Raiders with six rebounds. McCullar, who is averaging 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in the past five games, recorded a career-high 15 points at Oklahoma State where he was 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. A redshirt freshman from San Antonio, McCullar graduated high school early and enrolled at Texas Tech in the 2019 spring semester where he redshirted last season. He has played in a reserve role in 23 games this season before starting the past six games and is averaging 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game for the season. Prior to his career-high 15 points in Stillwater, McCullar had scored 10 points in games against Kansas State, UTRGV, Long Island and TCU where he was 3-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. A 6-foot-6 guard, he had a career-high two blocked shots against the Longhorns three weeks ago in the nine-block game by the Red Raiders. He's currently shooting 51.2 percent from the field (65-for-127) after going 3-for-5 with seven points against KU, 4-for-4 at Baylor and 5-for-6 against Texas in the past three games. After his 11-rebound performance at Iowa State, he has led the team in rebounding in six games this season.
Avery Benson, who is in his third year at Texas Tech and is averaging 1.3 ppg. and 1.4 rebounds per game, is a redshirt sophomore from Arkansas who scored a career-high 10 points against Louisville by going 3-for-3 from the field with a 3-pointer. He had a career-high four assists performance where he also had three rebounds against TCU and followed the performance by scoring four points in 12 minutes at OSU. He has a Big 12 career-high of five points at WVU in the first matchup where he also provided four rebounds in 18 minutes. Benson played in 20 games last season and is currently 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) on 3-pointers and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line this year. Russel Tchewa started for the first time in his career at Baylor last Monday where he played five minutes and had one rebound. He matched his season-high with six points after going 3-for-4 from the field against TCU at home and also had three rebounds in nine minutes of play. A 7-foot center from Cameroon, Tchewa is averaging 1.7 points per game after scoring three against Kansas in five minutes of action. He has now played in 23 games played this season while freshman guard Clarence Nadolny is at 2.0 points per game and redshirt freshman Andrei Savrasov is at 1.1 ppg. Savrasov, who redshirted last year during the run to the NCAA National Championship Final, was named to the All-Big 12 Academic Team and has scored a career-high six points against Creighton and at home against TCU. Two players on the Tech roster have not played this season with Joel Ntambwe having his NCAA transfer request denied and Tyreek Smith missing all 29 games due to injury. Ntambwe averaged 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game at UNLV as a freshman last season before deciding to transfer to Tech. He scored a career-high 31 points against Wyoming last year where he started all 31 games and recorded four double-doubles.
Texas Tech is currently 12-5 with the starting rotation of Holyfield, Moretti, Edwards, Shannon and Ramsey. The Red Raiders had gone with the starting lineup of McCullar, Moretti, Ramsey, Holyfield and Edwards in five of the past six games.
TEXAS TECH COACHING STAFF: The Red Raiders are led by head coach Chris Beard who is in his fourth season. Beard was named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year last season along with earning Big 12 Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Beard has led the Red Raiders to a 94-44 record coming into the conference tournament. Beard is joined on the coaching bench by assistant coaches Mark Adams, Brian Burg and Ulric Maligi, Tim MacAllister (Chief of Staff), Bob Donewald (Player Development), Sean Sutton (Executive Advisor), John Reilly (Strength & Conditioning), Mike Neal (Athletic Trainer) and graduate assistants Casey Perrin, Ronald Ross, Matt Temple, Elliott De Wit, Khristian Smith, Joey Kuhl, Rusty Grafel and Mike Fallone, Jr. Adams was named the TABC Assistant Coach of the Year last season for his role in helping Beard and the Red Raiders reach the national championship final. Burg was listed by The Athletic as one of the top rising assistants in the game as he enters his fourth season at Tech and fifth with Beard after also being at Little Rock with Beard and Adams. Maligi is in his first season at Texas Tech after working at Texas A&M last year. Neal is also new to the program, joining the Red Raiders after working at Little Rock where he was also a player before going into athletic training. Adams and Burg were previously on Beard's staff at Little Rock along with athletic trainer Mike Neal who is in his first season at Tech. Along with being six wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 190-74 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.
A NEW SHINE: Texas Tech returned only three players off last year's team and had four different players earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Week this season with Ramsey earning three Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors. The weekly award has gone to TJ Holyfield (Nov. 11), Jahmi'us Ramsey (Nov. 25/Feb. 3/Feb. 24), Terrence Shannon, Jr. (Dec. 16) and Clarke (Dec. 23). Ramsey was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team in the postseason awards.
SPANNING THE GLOBE: The Red Raiders are represented by eight players by five international players: Moretti (Italy), Nadolny (France), Ntambwe (Congo), Savrasov (Russia) and Tchewa (Cameroon). The program his two players from Arlington, Texas in Kyler Edwards and Jahmi'us Ramsey, Kevin McCullar is from San Antonio and four from out of state: Avery Benson (Arkansas), TJ Holyfield (New Mexico), Tyreek Smith (Louisiana) and Terrence Shannon, Jr. (Illinois). Ntambwe will redshirt this season after having his transfer waiver denied by the NCAA, while Smith has not played his season after suffering an injury during the preseason. Linguistically, Tchewa speaks French, Italian and English for the most languages on the team that also includes Moretti (Italian, English), Nadolny (French, English), Savrasov (Russian, English) and Ntambwe (French, English).
SIGNING CLASS: Beard announced the signings of Chibuzo Agbo, Nimari Burnett and Micah Peavy to their national letter of intent for the 2020-21 academic year on November 13. Burnett was named to the McDonald's All American Games on Jan. 23 to become the first player in Red Raider history to earn the honor. The trio of talented recruits is ranked No. 5 nationally by Rivals.com and join a program that has advanced to the 2018 Elite Eight and to the 2019 NCAA National Championship Final over the past two season. Agbo signs with Texas Tech as a 4-star prospect by Rivals and 247Sports after being named the 2019 Western League Player of the Year playing for Saint Augustine High School. He enters his senior season as the 2019-20 San Diego Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 20 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and shooting 42.0 percent on 3-pointers as a junior. He is currently ranked No.70 by 247Sports and No. 87 nationally by Rivals. Agbo chose Texas Tech over USC and was also recruited by Arizona, Cal, San Diego State and Marquette. Burnett, who was named to the 2020 Naismith High School Award Watch List, is the highest rated recruit to sign in Texas Tech basketball history with a 5-star ranking by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. A Chicago, Illinois native, Burnett is ranked No. 19 nationally in the 2020 signing class by ESPN, No. 22 by Rivals and No. 28 in the 247Sports rankings. Peavy helped lead Duncanville High School to a Class 6A State Championship last season as a junior where he averaged 16 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He signs with Texas Tech as a 4-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports and is the No. 2-ranked prospect in Texas according to Mike Kunstadt's Texas Hoops. Peavy is the No. 32-ranked player in the nation by ESPN and No. 34 by Rivals.
DEPARTURES: Texas Tech was tasked with following the winningest team in program history that is now without Jarrett Culver, Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens, Brandone Francis and Norense Odiase. Culver declared for the NBA Draft after his sophomore season and was selected No. 6 overall. After leading the Red Raiders with 18.5 points per and 6.4 rebounds per game and earning Big 12 Player of the Year and Consensus All-America honors, Culver is now on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mooney was the team's third leading scorer behind Culver and Moretti and signed a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 15 after playing with the Memphis Hustle in the G-League, while Owens established a new program single-season record with 92 blocked shots and was with Odiase on the Northern Arizona Suns (G-League) before signing a two-way contract on Jan. 15 with the Suns. Francis was a member of the 2018 Elite Eight run and 2019 runner-up team and is on the Iowa Wolves roster. Along with players from last year's team, Max Lefevre is now with the Timberwolves working in video and athletic trainer Chris Williams joined the Timberwolves and Iowa Wolves athletic training staff.
KNOCKING OFF NO. 1: The Red Raiders earned their first-ever win over a No. 1-ranked team with a 70-57 victory over No. 1 Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 10, 2019 at Madison Square Garden. Moretti led Tech with 18 points after going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, while Shannon had 13 points and Benson went 3-for-3 from the field and scored a career-high 10 points. Tech limited the Cardinals to only 34.0 percent shooting in the game and forced 18 turnovers.
WIRE-TO-WIRE: Texas Tech started on a 5-0 run in its home win over Kansas State for its sixth wire-to-wire victory that also includes never trailing against Eastern Illinois, Bethune-Cookman, Tennessee State, Iowa State (Jan. 18), West Virginia (Jan. 29), TCU (Feb. 10). The loss at Kansas is the only game the Red Raiders have not had a lead in this season.
HISTORIC MARGIN: Texas Tech earned a 46-point win over TCU on Feb. 10 for the largest Big 12 margin of victory in program history after shooting 61.5 percent from the field and making a season-high 13 3-pointers. The previous mark was also established this season with a 35-point win over Oklahoma State in the conference opener on Jan. 4. Prior to this season, an 81-50 win over West Virginia on Feb. 4, 2019 was the largest conference margin of victory in program history. Tech now has three Big 12 wins of over 30 points this season after its 87-57 victory over Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 22 in Ames.
OVERTIME GAMES: Texas Tech fell to 0-4 in overtime games this season after its 71-68 loss at Baylor. Along with back-to-back overtime losses against DePaul (65-60) and Creighton (83-76) and then the 76-74 overtime decision against Kentucky in the non-conference finale, Texas Tech is now 51-53 all-time in overtime contests and 4-7 under coach Beard. The Red Raiders were 1-1 in overtime last season with an 84-80 overtime win over Oklahoma in conference play before falling 85-77 in overtime to Virginia in the championship final. Tech has had back-to-back overtime games twice now under Beard after falling to West Virginia and Iowa State in the 2016-17 season on Feb. 18 and 20. The program has had four occasions of back-to-back overtime games with the only time that three straight games have gone to overtime coming in the 1984-85 season against Nebraska, Colorado and New Mexico State. Tech is 0-1 in Big 12 overtime games this season.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Davide Moretti scored a career-high 25 points in the win over WVU after hitting four 3-pointers, while Terrence Shannon, Jr. went for 23 with a 12 of 14 performance from the line and Jahmi'us Ramsey went for 21 points with his third game of the season with five 3-pointers. The Red Raiders had three players score 20 or more points in a game for the first time since Jan. 11, 2017 against Kansas when Keenan Evans had 25, Niem Stevenson went for 22 and Zach Smith scored 21 in an 80-79 loss at the USA.
3-POINT DISPLAY: The Red Raiders hit a season-high 13 3-pointers against TCU where they finished the game 13-for-22 with five players hitting shots from beyond the arc. Moretti and Edwards both had four 3-pointers each in the game, while Ramsey and Savrasov hit two and Holyfield one. Tech was just three 3-pointers away from the program record of 16 that last year's team made against Kansas in a home victory over the Jayhawks. Tech has made 209 3-pointers this season at a 35.9 percentage.
30-POINT MARGINS: Texas Tech has five wins this season of 30 points or more, including a program-record three in conference play, giving Beard 19 wins by that margin (or more) during his four seasons leading the Red Raiders. Those 19 wins are the second most in program history behind only 20 by Polk Robison. Under Bob Knight, Tech won 16 games by a 30-plus margin. This season, Tech has won by the 30-plus margin over Bethune-Cookman (35), Long Island (30), Oklahoma State (35), TCU (46) and Iowa State (30). Last year's team established the program record with six.
UP NEXT: With a win, Texas Tech would play at 6 p.m. on Friday in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship.
https://texastech.com/news/2020/3/9/mens-basketball-big-12-championship-preview-vs-texas.aspx
Men's Basketball / March 09, 2020 / Wes Bloomquist
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will begin its quest to win the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship for the first time in program history when it plays Texas at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in the quarterfinals at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
The Red Raiders (18-13, 9-9 Big 12) are coming off a 66-62 loss to No. 1 Kansas in their regular-season finale, while the Longhorns (19-12, 9-9 Big 12) took an 81-59 defeat to Oklahoma State to snap a four-game winning streak. Texas Tech and Texas split their regular-season matchups with the Red Raiders winning 62-57 in Austin on Feb. 8 before taking a 68-58 loss on Feb. 29 in Lubbock to end a five-game winning streak over the Longhorns.
The tournament begins on Wednesday night with No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Iowa State playing at 6 p.m. followed by No. 7 TCU and No. 10 Kansas State at 8 p.m. in the first-round matchups. Tech and Texas is the first game of the day on Thursday followed by No. 1 Kansas playing the OSU-ISU winner, No. 2 Baylor taking on the TCU-KSU winner and the nightcap between No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 6 West Virginia. The championship final will be played at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
With a 72.0 winning percentage (190-74) as a NCAA coach, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard has the 12th best percentage among active coaches and is 94-44 leading the Red Raiders. Beard, who was an assistant coach at Texas Tech for Bob Knight and Pat Knight from 2001-11, has led the Red Raiders to the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight and 2019 NCAA National Championship Final over the past two seasons. Under Beard the past three seasons, Tech is 14-8 in the month of March and 1-3 in the conference tournament. The Red Raiders are led in scoring by Ramsey (15.0 ppg.) who is fifth in the Big 12 and graduate transfer Chris Clarke who is at 6.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game along with a 2.04 assist-to-turnover ratio which all rank in the top-10 within the Big 12. Davide Moretti is second on the NCAA active career leader list in free-throw percentage at 90.6 percent (213 of 235) and leads the Big 12 this season at 90.2 percent (6th nationally). Beard was named the 2019 AP National Coach of the Year and the 2018 and 2019 Big 12 Coach of the Year.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Texas Tech finished the regular season leading the Big 12 by shooting 35.5 percent on 3-pointers and with 15.4 assists per game and is second with a 1.13 assist-to-turnover ratio, a 45.2 shooting percentage from the field, 75.4 percentage at the free-throw line, a 2.4 turnover margin and 16.03 turnovers forced per game. The Red Raiders are making 7.2 3-pointers per game this season and is third in the conference with an 8.4 scoring margin of victory and scoring 71.9 points per game coming into the conference tournament. Individually, Moretti is sixth nationally with his 90.2 percentage from the line and is fifth in the conference with 67 3-pointers made. Clarke is second with his 2.04 assist-to-turnover ratio and 4.6 assists per game, while he is eighth in the conference in rebounding. TJ Holyfield finished the regular season with 50 blocked shots and is fifth in the conference at 1.6 blocks per game, while Kyler Edwards is seventh in the conference with a 1.58 assist-to-turnover ratio. Tech is currently 25th nationally in assists per game and 30th by limiting opponents to 63.5 points per game and in the turnovers forced category.
GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and Texas will be broadcasted on ESPN2 with Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla and Holly Rowe and on the Texas Tech Sports Network's flagship station Double T 97.3 in Lubbock with Geoff Haxton and Chris Level. Fans can also follow the game at @TexasTechMBB.
BIG 12 AWARDS: Ramsey highlighted conference awards for the Red Raiders on Sunday afternoon by being selected as the first player in program history to earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year along with earning All-Big 12 Second Team, Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Along with Ramsey, Moretti was named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection and Terrence Shannon, Jr. earned Big 12 All-Freshman honors.
TECH AT THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT: The Red Raiders are 14-23 all-time in the Big 12 Championship in 23 appearances. Tech fell 79-74 to West Virginia in last year's quarterfinals after receiving a first-round bye. Tech earned a 73-69 win over Texas in the 2018 quarterfinals and is 2-4 all-time against the Longhorns in the tournament. Tech has advanced to the finals in 2005 as the No. 4 seed before falling 72-68 in the title game to Oklahoma at the Kemper Arena. Texas Tech won the Southwest Conference tournament five times in 1976, 1985, 1986, 1993 and 1996.
PROGRAM MARKS: Texas Tech experienced its best season in program history after going 31-7 overall and 14-4 in Big 12 play last year. The Red Raiders won the Big 12 regular-season championship before advancing to the Final Four and NCAA National Championship Final for the first time in program history. Tech is 8-2 in the NCAA Tournament over the past two years after making the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight and reaching the NCAA National Championship Final. The 8-2 mark is the best in the nation over that span and an appearance in the NCAA tournament this season would be the first time in program history that the Red Raiders have made the tournament three straight seasons.
POLLS: Texas Tech dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 Poll last week after being at No. 22 last week and is at No. 22 in the NCAA NET Rankings after its overtime loss against No. 1 Kansas. Tech has been ranked in 12 of 19 weeks after starting the season ranked No. 13 in the preseason poll for the highest ranking in program history coming into a season. The Red Raiders, who have been as high as No. 11 this season, are 2-8 this season against teams currently ranked, including earning a 70-57 win over Louisville (ranked No. 1 at time) and splitting with West Virginia.
ATTENDANCE: Along with winning on their home court, the Red Raider fans are establishing themselves as one of the top fan bases in the nation and set a new program standard this season in average attendance numbers. The program has had six sellouts this season (Eastern Illinois, Bethune-Cookman, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas and Kansas) and averaged 14,057 per game which ranked 19th nationally, second in the Big 12 and is the best in the state of Texas. Before this season, the program record was 13,743 in the 2001-02 season and 12,098 last year.
PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 106 games (76 wins) with the Red Raiders, sophomore Kyler Edwards, a dynamic freshmen class and graduate transfers Chris Clarke and TJ Holyfield who bring experience to a team that lost four starters and the leading reserve off last year's historic team.
Holyfield is averaging 8.9 points, 1.6 blocks and 4.5 rebounds per game after going for 11 points and three blocked shots last Saturday against Kansas in the regular-season finale. He finished sixth in the Big 12 in blocked shots per game after having 32 in the past 13 games (50 total). He had 19 points and four blocked shots in the first matchup against Kansas where he was 7-for-12 from the field at Allen Fieldhouse and had a season-high five blocks in the first matchup against Texas. At Baylor, Holyfield had nine points and two blocked shots in the first game of his career where he played as a reserve before returning to the starting lineup against the Jayhawks. A grad transfer from SFA, Holyfield has scored 1,357 points in his career where he has played in 132 games with 131 starts. He has recorded three or more blocks in nine games this season with four in games against Kansas and West Virginia before having three against OU. Holyfield matched a season-high with 21 points in the home game against OU when he went 8-for-12 from the field and was 2 of 2 on 3-pointers after scoring 19 at Kansas with a season-high three 3-pointers. He leads the Red Raiders with a 53.6 shooting percentage and has made 15 3-pointers this season after hitting two on Saturday against KU. Along with scoring 21 against OU, he also had 21 in a non-conference win over Houston Baptist and 20 against Bethune-Cookman. Those performances earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 11, 2019. In Big 12 play, Holyfield averaged 8.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Clarke, who scored his conference-high with 11 points at Oklahoma to go along with six rebounds, is a grad transfer who played three seasons at Virginia Tech before transferring to Texas Tech. He is coming off a week where he eight rebounds and four points on Senior Day after a performance at Baylor where he had eight rebounds, five assists and six points for the Red Raiders. He is averaging 6.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 5.6 points per game for the Red Raiders and comes into the postseason having scored 896 points, securing 716 rebounds and contributing 347 assists through 109 games in his collegiate career. A guard from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Clarke leads the Red Raiders with two double-doubles this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa and then 14 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Miss. Clarke has led Tech in rebounding in 18 games and has five or more rebounds in 22 games. He recorded a career-high 11 assists in the win over Houston Baptist. Clarke, who was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 23 after averaging a double-double in wins over Southern Miss and UTRGV, had a season-high of 12 rebounds coming against Tennessee State and Louisville.
Ramsey earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year, All-Big 12 Second Team, Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors after finishing the regular season by averaging 15.0 points per game. He is second in the Big 12 by shooting 42.6 percent on 3-pointers (Desmond Bane – 44.1 percent) and was fifth in scoring at 15.0 points per game following being held to six points in the regular-season finale against Kansas. A freshman from Arlington with 406 total points this season, Ramsey is currently 60-for-141 on 3-pointers and has made at least two in the past 10 of 12 games and in 17 games overall after hitting three at Baylor and two more against the Jayhawks. A 6-foot-4 guard, he has scored in double-figures in 21 of 27 games played this season with a Big 12-high coming at Kansas where he scored 26 by going 5-for-8 on 3-pointers after scoring 21 against West Virginia by also connecting on 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc. Ramsey, who is averaging 15.5 points per game against the Longhorns this season, has hit five 3-pointers in four games this season and has three or more in 10 games. He scored 13 points against Texas two weeks ago and had 18 in the matchup in Austin where he was 6-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. Prior to the start of the season, he was named an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection before earning three weekly newcomer awards. Ramsey scored a career-high 27 points in a win over Long Island where he hit five 3-pointers for the first times this season and has scored 20 or more points in seven of 27 games played. He missed four games due to a left hamstring injury he suffered with 10 minutes remaining against Iowa, but has started 21 straight games since his return. In conference play, Ramsey averaged 14.5 points per game and shot 41.8 percent on 3-pointers (41-for-98).
For a season, Texas Tech has only been led in scoring by two freshmen with Jordan Tolbert averaging 11.5 points per game in the 2011-12 season and Rick Bullock who had 13.8 ppg. in 1972-73.
A guard from Italy, Moretti is averaging 13.0 points per game after leading the Red Raiders with 18 points against Kansas where he hit two 3-pointers and went 4-for-4 at the line. In his third season at Tech, he has scored 969 career points with 166 made 3-pointers and going 213-for-235 from the line. He's averaged 12.8 points per game with a career-high 25 points against West Virginia after dropping 15 against Kentucky in the final non-conference game on the schedule. Against Texas, he is averaging 9.0 points per game after going for 11 with three 3-pointers in the second matchup. Moretti has started 69 straight games for the Red Raiders after a sophomore season where he started all 38 and averaged 11.5 points per game, shot 49.8 percent from the field, 45.9 percent on 3-pointers and led the nation at 92.4 percent. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 29 of 31 games this season and in 81 of 106 games in his career. Moretti, who was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team and to the Big 12 All-Academic First Team, was named to the 2019 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Team after being a third-team selection last season and also earning the NCAA Elite 90 Award. Before his career-high 25-point performance in the home win West Virginia, Moretti had a career-best 23 points earlier this season against Creighton where he made three 3-pointers. His free-throw prowess is highlighted by him going 12-for-12 from the line last season against Oklahoma State, an 8-for-8 showing to help knock off Louisville and then 9-for-9 display against the Mountaineers. Moretti has led Tech in scoring nine times this season and 14 times in his career. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 17 straight games since not making one in the first matchup against Baylor. He currently ranks ninth all-time in program history with the 166 3-pointers made in his career and is only 31 points shy of 1,000.
Edwards is averaging 11.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game after scoring eight points, contributing four assists and having four rebounds at Baylor and followed it with five assists and three points against Kansas. He has recorded at least four assists in six of the past eight games with nine in the past two. A sophomore from Arlington, he has started all 31 games this season after playing a reserve role in all 38 as a freshman where he averaged 5.5 points per game. This season, more than doubling that average, Edwards has scored in double figures in 16 games with a career-high 24 points in the first matchup at Kansas State where he went 9-for-14 from the field with three 3-pointers before going 5-for-6 on 3-pointers in the 22-point performance in the first matchup against the Cyclones. He earned Big 12 Player of the Week after the two-game stretch and averaged 11.4 points in conference games. He now has three or more assists in 20 games with a career-high six at No. 3 Kansas and had a career-high nine rebounds at West Virginia. As a freshman, he scored a season-high 19 points after going 7-for-7 from the field with four 3-pointers against Northern Colorado and then had 12 points against Virginia in the NCAA National Championship Final. He's currently scored 20 or more points three times this season and is at 562 points for his career, including scoring 10 points in the first matchup against the Longhorns before being limited to five in the home matchup.
Shannon was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team after he averaged 9.8 points per game and 4.1 rebounds in his first season in Lubbock. A freshman guard from Chicago, Shannon is second on the team with 87 free throws made (82.9 percent) and has scored in double figures in 14 of 29 games played. Shannon had eight points against Kansas last Saturday in the regular-season finale to go along with four rebounds. He scored a career-high 24 points in his hometown return at DePaul on Dec. 4 where he was 9-for-18 from the field, hit two 3-pointers and was 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. Shannon scored a conference-high 23 points in the home win over West Virginia after going 12-for-14 from the free-throw line and also making 5 of 8 shots from the field. He had a season-high 11 rebounds at Kansas and also had eight points against the Jayhawks in Lawrence. Shannon, who has five or more rebounds in 12 games this season, was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 16, 2019 after scoring 18 points against Southern Miss and 13 in the win over Louisville. He finished the conference slate averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds. Shannon averaged 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the two regular-season games against the Longhorns, including going for 10 points and five rebounds in the home matchup after scoring 13 and having six rebounds in Austin.
Kevin McCullar has started the past six games where he is averaging 10.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, including scoring 13 points against Texas on Feb. 29 and securing eight rebounds against Kansas in the regular-season finale. He is coming off scoring 13 points at Baylor and seven against Kansas after going for a team-leading 13 points at Oklahoma where he also had five rebounds and three assists. In conference play, McCullar leads Tech with 24 steals with four in games against Kansas State and Oklahoma. He recorded a career-high with 11 rebounds and also had six points at Iowa State after he made the first start of his career against Kansas State where he scored nine points and led the Red Raiders with six rebounds. McCullar, who is averaging 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in the past five games, recorded a career-high 15 points at Oklahoma State where he was 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. A redshirt freshman from San Antonio, McCullar graduated high school early and enrolled at Texas Tech in the 2019 spring semester where he redshirted last season. He has played in a reserve role in 23 games this season before starting the past six games and is averaging 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game for the season. Prior to his career-high 15 points in Stillwater, McCullar had scored 10 points in games against Kansas State, UTRGV, Long Island and TCU where he was 3-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. A 6-foot-6 guard, he had a career-high two blocked shots against the Longhorns three weeks ago in the nine-block game by the Red Raiders. He's currently shooting 51.2 percent from the field (65-for-127) after going 3-for-5 with seven points against KU, 4-for-4 at Baylor and 5-for-6 against Texas in the past three games. After his 11-rebound performance at Iowa State, he has led the team in rebounding in six games this season.
Avery Benson, who is in his third year at Texas Tech and is averaging 1.3 ppg. and 1.4 rebounds per game, is a redshirt sophomore from Arkansas who scored a career-high 10 points against Louisville by going 3-for-3 from the field with a 3-pointer. He had a career-high four assists performance where he also had three rebounds against TCU and followed the performance by scoring four points in 12 minutes at OSU. He has a Big 12 career-high of five points at WVU in the first matchup where he also provided four rebounds in 18 minutes. Benson played in 20 games last season and is currently 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) on 3-pointers and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line this year. Russel Tchewa started for the first time in his career at Baylor last Monday where he played five minutes and had one rebound. He matched his season-high with six points after going 3-for-4 from the field against TCU at home and also had three rebounds in nine minutes of play. A 7-foot center from Cameroon, Tchewa is averaging 1.7 points per game after scoring three against Kansas in five minutes of action. He has now played in 23 games played this season while freshman guard Clarence Nadolny is at 2.0 points per game and redshirt freshman Andrei Savrasov is at 1.1 ppg. Savrasov, who redshirted last year during the run to the NCAA National Championship Final, was named to the All-Big 12 Academic Team and has scored a career-high six points against Creighton and at home against TCU. Two players on the Tech roster have not played this season with Joel Ntambwe having his NCAA transfer request denied and Tyreek Smith missing all 29 games due to injury. Ntambwe averaged 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game at UNLV as a freshman last season before deciding to transfer to Tech. He scored a career-high 31 points against Wyoming last year where he started all 31 games and recorded four double-doubles.
Texas Tech is currently 12-5 with the starting rotation of Holyfield, Moretti, Edwards, Shannon and Ramsey. The Red Raiders had gone with the starting lineup of McCullar, Moretti, Ramsey, Holyfield and Edwards in five of the past six games.
TEXAS TECH COACHING STAFF: The Red Raiders are led by head coach Chris Beard who is in his fourth season. Beard was named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year last season along with earning Big 12 Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Beard has led the Red Raiders to a 94-44 record coming into the conference tournament. Beard is joined on the coaching bench by assistant coaches Mark Adams, Brian Burg and Ulric Maligi, Tim MacAllister (Chief of Staff), Bob Donewald (Player Development), Sean Sutton (Executive Advisor), John Reilly (Strength & Conditioning), Mike Neal (Athletic Trainer) and graduate assistants Casey Perrin, Ronald Ross, Matt Temple, Elliott De Wit, Khristian Smith, Joey Kuhl, Rusty Grafel and Mike Fallone, Jr. Adams was named the TABC Assistant Coach of the Year last season for his role in helping Beard and the Red Raiders reach the national championship final. Burg was listed by The Athletic as one of the top rising assistants in the game as he enters his fourth season at Tech and fifth with Beard after also being at Little Rock with Beard and Adams. Maligi is in his first season at Texas Tech after working at Texas A&M last year. Neal is also new to the program, joining the Red Raiders after working at Little Rock where he was also a player before going into athletic training. Adams and Burg were previously on Beard's staff at Little Rock along with athletic trainer Mike Neal who is in his first season at Tech. Along with being six wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 190-74 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.
A NEW SHINE: Texas Tech returned only three players off last year's team and had four different players earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Week this season with Ramsey earning three Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors. The weekly award has gone to TJ Holyfield (Nov. 11), Jahmi'us Ramsey (Nov. 25/Feb. 3/Feb. 24), Terrence Shannon, Jr. (Dec. 16) and Clarke (Dec. 23). Ramsey was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team in the postseason awards.
SPANNING THE GLOBE: The Red Raiders are represented by eight players by five international players: Moretti (Italy), Nadolny (France), Ntambwe (Congo), Savrasov (Russia) and Tchewa (Cameroon). The program his two players from Arlington, Texas in Kyler Edwards and Jahmi'us Ramsey, Kevin McCullar is from San Antonio and four from out of state: Avery Benson (Arkansas), TJ Holyfield (New Mexico), Tyreek Smith (Louisiana) and Terrence Shannon, Jr. (Illinois). Ntambwe will redshirt this season after having his transfer waiver denied by the NCAA, while Smith has not played his season after suffering an injury during the preseason. Linguistically, Tchewa speaks French, Italian and English for the most languages on the team that also includes Moretti (Italian, English), Nadolny (French, English), Savrasov (Russian, English) and Ntambwe (French, English).
SIGNING CLASS: Beard announced the signings of Chibuzo Agbo, Nimari Burnett and Micah Peavy to their national letter of intent for the 2020-21 academic year on November 13. Burnett was named to the McDonald's All American Games on Jan. 23 to become the first player in Red Raider history to earn the honor. The trio of talented recruits is ranked No. 5 nationally by Rivals.com and join a program that has advanced to the 2018 Elite Eight and to the 2019 NCAA National Championship Final over the past two season. Agbo signs with Texas Tech as a 4-star prospect by Rivals and 247Sports after being named the 2019 Western League Player of the Year playing for Saint Augustine High School. He enters his senior season as the 2019-20 San Diego Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 20 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and shooting 42.0 percent on 3-pointers as a junior. He is currently ranked No.70 by 247Sports and No. 87 nationally by Rivals. Agbo chose Texas Tech over USC and was also recruited by Arizona, Cal, San Diego State and Marquette. Burnett, who was named to the 2020 Naismith High School Award Watch List, is the highest rated recruit to sign in Texas Tech basketball history with a 5-star ranking by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. A Chicago, Illinois native, Burnett is ranked No. 19 nationally in the 2020 signing class by ESPN, No. 22 by Rivals and No. 28 in the 247Sports rankings. Peavy helped lead Duncanville High School to a Class 6A State Championship last season as a junior where he averaged 16 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He signs with Texas Tech as a 4-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports and is the No. 2-ranked prospect in Texas according to Mike Kunstadt's Texas Hoops. Peavy is the No. 32-ranked player in the nation by ESPN and No. 34 by Rivals.
DEPARTURES: Texas Tech was tasked with following the winningest team in program history that is now without Jarrett Culver, Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens, Brandone Francis and Norense Odiase. Culver declared for the NBA Draft after his sophomore season and was selected No. 6 overall. After leading the Red Raiders with 18.5 points per and 6.4 rebounds per game and earning Big 12 Player of the Year and Consensus All-America honors, Culver is now on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mooney was the team's third leading scorer behind Culver and Moretti and signed a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 15 after playing with the Memphis Hustle in the G-League, while Owens established a new program single-season record with 92 blocked shots and was with Odiase on the Northern Arizona Suns (G-League) before signing a two-way contract on Jan. 15 with the Suns. Francis was a member of the 2018 Elite Eight run and 2019 runner-up team and is on the Iowa Wolves roster. Along with players from last year's team, Max Lefevre is now with the Timberwolves working in video and athletic trainer Chris Williams joined the Timberwolves and Iowa Wolves athletic training staff.
KNOCKING OFF NO. 1: The Red Raiders earned their first-ever win over a No. 1-ranked team with a 70-57 victory over No. 1 Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 10, 2019 at Madison Square Garden. Moretti led Tech with 18 points after going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, while Shannon had 13 points and Benson went 3-for-3 from the field and scored a career-high 10 points. Tech limited the Cardinals to only 34.0 percent shooting in the game and forced 18 turnovers.
WIRE-TO-WIRE: Texas Tech started on a 5-0 run in its home win over Kansas State for its sixth wire-to-wire victory that also includes never trailing against Eastern Illinois, Bethune-Cookman, Tennessee State, Iowa State (Jan. 18), West Virginia (Jan. 29), TCU (Feb. 10). The loss at Kansas is the only game the Red Raiders have not had a lead in this season.
HISTORIC MARGIN: Texas Tech earned a 46-point win over TCU on Feb. 10 for the largest Big 12 margin of victory in program history after shooting 61.5 percent from the field and making a season-high 13 3-pointers. The previous mark was also established this season with a 35-point win over Oklahoma State in the conference opener on Jan. 4. Prior to this season, an 81-50 win over West Virginia on Feb. 4, 2019 was the largest conference margin of victory in program history. Tech now has three Big 12 wins of over 30 points this season after its 87-57 victory over Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 22 in Ames.
OVERTIME GAMES: Texas Tech fell to 0-4 in overtime games this season after its 71-68 loss at Baylor. Along with back-to-back overtime losses against DePaul (65-60) and Creighton (83-76) and then the 76-74 overtime decision against Kentucky in the non-conference finale, Texas Tech is now 51-53 all-time in overtime contests and 4-7 under coach Beard. The Red Raiders were 1-1 in overtime last season with an 84-80 overtime win over Oklahoma in conference play before falling 85-77 in overtime to Virginia in the championship final. Tech has had back-to-back overtime games twice now under Beard after falling to West Virginia and Iowa State in the 2016-17 season on Feb. 18 and 20. The program has had four occasions of back-to-back overtime games with the only time that three straight games have gone to overtime coming in the 1984-85 season against Nebraska, Colorado and New Mexico State. Tech is 0-1 in Big 12 overtime games this season.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Davide Moretti scored a career-high 25 points in the win over WVU after hitting four 3-pointers, while Terrence Shannon, Jr. went for 23 with a 12 of 14 performance from the line and Jahmi'us Ramsey went for 21 points with his third game of the season with five 3-pointers. The Red Raiders had three players score 20 or more points in a game for the first time since Jan. 11, 2017 against Kansas when Keenan Evans had 25, Niem Stevenson went for 22 and Zach Smith scored 21 in an 80-79 loss at the USA.
3-POINT DISPLAY: The Red Raiders hit a season-high 13 3-pointers against TCU where they finished the game 13-for-22 with five players hitting shots from beyond the arc. Moretti and Edwards both had four 3-pointers each in the game, while Ramsey and Savrasov hit two and Holyfield one. Tech was just three 3-pointers away from the program record of 16 that last year's team made against Kansas in a home victory over the Jayhawks. Tech has made 209 3-pointers this season at a 35.9 percentage.
30-POINT MARGINS: Texas Tech has five wins this season of 30 points or more, including a program-record three in conference play, giving Beard 19 wins by that margin (or more) during his four seasons leading the Red Raiders. Those 19 wins are the second most in program history behind only 20 by Polk Robison. Under Bob Knight, Tech won 16 games by a 30-plus margin. This season, Tech has won by the 30-plus margin over Bethune-Cookman (35), Long Island (30), Oklahoma State (35), TCU (46) and Iowa State (30). Last year's team established the program record with six.
UP NEXT: With a win, Texas Tech would play at 6 p.m. on Friday in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship.
