PREVIEW: Eastern Illinois
https://texastech.com/news/2019/11/2/mens-basketball-preview-eastern-illinois.aspx
LUBBOCK, Texas – Banners and the highly anticipated Texas Tech basketball season are set to drop on Tuesday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The No. 13-ranked Red Raiders will open their 2019-20 season at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against Eastern Illinois to start a two-game home stand that also includes a Saturday night matchup against Bethune-Cookman at the USA. Tech is coming off a historic season where the team was the 2019 NCAA National Runner-Up and earned its first Big 12 regular-season championship. The program brings a 47-game non-conference home winning streak into Tuesday's game against the Panthers in the first of 17 home games on the schedule.
"It's an exciting time for all of us in college basketball as Tuesday nears," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "We have a lot of respect for our first opponent Eastern Illinois. They are one of, if not the most, oldest teams in college basketball. Jay (Spoonhour) has set this team up by design. You've heard me say 'get old and stay old' around here before and Eastern Illinois is poised to have a great season. They have several junior college players that we are familiar with from the recruiting trail and simply stated we have a lot of respect for them. I'm proud of the publicity that our program is getting, but at 7 p.m. on Tuesday when that ball goes up it means nothing. The better team after 40 minutes will win the game. Our guys understand that we will have to play very well on opening night to have a chance to win."
Texas Tech finished last season with a 31-7 overall record, including going 14-4 in Big 12 play. Both win totals were program-best and the team went 17-1 in games played in Lubbock for the second straight season. The Red Raider defense finished last season ranked second in the NCAA by holding opponents to 37.0 percent shooting and No. 3 nationally by limiting teams to only 59.5 points per game. Tech advanced to its first Final Four and NCAA National Championship Final by knocking off Northern Kentucky (72-57), Buffalo (78-58), Michigan (63-44), Gonzaga (75-69) and Michigan State (61-51) in the tournament before falling 85-77 in overtime to Virginia in the title game in Minneapolis.
PLAYER NOTES: The Red Raiders return three players who saw action last season along with the addition of 10 newcomers. The team of 13 included two seniors in graduate transfers TJ Holyfield (SFA) and Chris Clarke (Virginia Tech), junior Davide Moretti, three sophomores in Kyler Edwards, Avery Benson and Joel Ntambweand seven freshmen in Terrence Shannon, Jr., Clarence Nadolny, Jahmi'us Ramsey, Tyreek Smith, Andrei Savrasov, Kevin McCullar and Russel Tchewa. On the radar, Moretti was named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List for the top point guards in the nation and Clarke earned a spot on the Julius Erving Award Watch List along with Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year honors. Texas Tech was picked third in the Big 12 Preseason Poll with Clarke, Moretti and Ramsey being named to the Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention Team.
Moretti is the team's leading returner in scoring (11.5 ppg.), assists (91) and steals (42) after a sophomore season where he earned All-Big 12 Third Team honors. A Bologna, Italy native, Moretti is coming off a season where he led the nation by shooting 92.4 percent from the free-throw line for the season. He became the first player in Big 12 history to be a 90/50/50 shooter in conference play after shooting 53.5 percent from the field, 53.5 percent on 3-pointers and 93.1 percent from the line against conference opponents. He finished the season leading the Red Raiders by hitting 73 3-pointers throughout the season (73 of 159) and was 97-for-105 at the free-throw line. In conference play where he averaged 13.2 points per game, Moretti was 46-for-86 on 3-pointers and hit 54 of 58 free throws. He scored a career high 21 points in a win over Arkansas and also dropped 20 against Oklahoma State and Iowa State. In the postseason he had 15 points in the Sweet 16 win over Michigan and then scored 15 in the NCAA title game against Virginia where he made three 3-pointers for the 14th time. He had a career-high five 3-pointers in the second game of the 2018-19 season against Mississippi Valley State.
Kyler Edwards played all 38 games as a reserve during his freshman season where he would average 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Edwards scored a career-high 19 points in a non-conference home win over Northern Colorado where he was 7-for-7 from the field with five 3-pointers. He went off for 12 points in the national championship game against the Cavaliers where he was 4-for-5 from the field with two 3-pointers. Edwards also had 42 assists and 23 steals in his first season with the Red Raiders. A sophomore from Arlington, Edwards shot 44.9 percent on 3-pointers by going 31-for-69 from beyond the arc during the historic run. Avery Benson is also back, returning as a redshirt sophomore for the Red Raiders and with trips to the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight and 2019 Final Four with Moretti. A Springdale, Arkansas native, Benson appeared in 20 games last season with a career-high five points coming against Baylor.
Clarke transferred to Texas Tech this season after averaging 9.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.03 steals in 79 games played at Virginia Tech. With the Hokies, Clarke would average 8.2 points and 6.3 rebounds as a junior after going for 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in his sophomore season. For his career, he has scored 728 points, secured 517 rebounds and has 210 assists in his collegiate career. Holyfield comes to Lubbock as a veteran presence having already produced 1,081 points, 595 rebounds and 134 blocked shots in his collegiate career. An Albuquerque, New Mexico native, Holyfield was a two-time All-Southland Conference selection after earning third-team honors as a junior and second-team distinction following his sophomore season. As junior, he helped lead the Lumberjacks to the NCAA Tournament where they met up with the Red Raiders in Dallas. He would score 10 points and added four rebounds in the game where Tech earned a 70-60 win on its way to the program's first NCAA Elite Eight appearance. During his final season in Nacogdoches, Holyfield averaged 12.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots and was named the Southland Conference Tournament MVP and to the conference's all-defensive team. Click on player hyperlinks for full bios from our roster page.
SUMMER TOUR: The Red Raiders played three games this summer on their Bahamas tour with one contest against the Bahamas Select National Team and two against Mega Bemax, a professional team from Serbia. Tech went 1-2 on the foreign tour before returning to Lubbock where it began official preseason workouts in mid-September. Among the highlights from the Bahamas tour was a double-double from Clarke who went for 16 points and 13 rebounds in the opener against the Bahamas, a 44-point performance from Ramsey in the first matchup against Mega Bemax and then Shannon going for 20 points and Edwards adding 16 in the final game of the tour.
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 76-31 record in his first three seasons, including a 50-5 record at home. Beard is joined on the coaching bench by assistant coaches Mark Adams, Brian Burgand 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 Grafeland Mike Fallone. 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. MacAllister was named to the NABC 30 Under 30 list after last year and enters his second season with the Red Raiders. Along with being 24 wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 172-61 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.
OPPONENT 1: Eastern Illinois will make its way to Lubbock for the first-ever meeting between the two programs and are coming off a 14-18 overall record and a 7-11 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play last season. The Panthers are led by Jay Spoonhour who is entering his eighth season with the program and has seven seniors and seven juniors on their roster. Mack Smith is the leading returner after going for 12.8 points per game last season as a sophomore. An Indianapolis native, Smith also had 4.2 assists per game last season. Shareef Smith, a senior from Madison, Wisconsin, added 8.5 points and led the team with 123 assists while Rade Kukobat returns for his senior season after going for 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Panthers played one Big 12 team last season, dropping a 71-59 decision to Texas in the season opener in Austin.
RANKINGS: The Red Raiders come into the season with the program's best preseason ranking at No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the Associated Press Top-25. Tech was unranked coming into last season and finished the year at No. 2 in the Coaches Poll and at No. 7 in the AP Poll. The Red Raiders were picked third of 10 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll after being picked seventh the past two seasons.
SEASON OPENERS: Texas Tech has a 67-27 all-time record in season openers, including going 61-14 in openers in Lubbock. The Red Raiders are 3-0 under Beard in the first game of the season with wins over Houston Baptist (93-67), South Alabama (75-50) and Incarnate Word (87-37). Tech has not lost a season-opening game since a 68-60 decision against Indiana on Nov. 19, 1999. The first-ever season-opening game came against Daniel Baker College (consolidated with Howard Payne University in 1953) and resulted in a 37-25 loss for Tech on Jan. 25, 1926. As a head coach, Beard is 7-0 in openers with the 3-0 record at Tech, a 1-0 mark at Little Rock, 2-0 at Angelo State and 1-0 at McMurry.
HOME DOMINANCE: The Red Raiders are 50-5 at home under Beard, including going 17-1 the past two seasons. Tech is 247-90 in the United Supermarkets Arena all-time and are 26-0 at the USA in non-conference games under Beard. The program owns a 154-15 record against non-conference opponents at the USA since its opening in the 1999-2000 season.
PROGRAM MARKS: Texas Tech is coming off its winningest season in program history after going 31-7 and 14-4 in Big 12 play. The program is 1,425-1,113 all-time as it enters the 95th season.
PROMOTION NOTES: The Big 12 Championship and Final Four banners will be unveiled prior to the start of the game; Replica banners will be given away for the first 10,000 fans; Red Panda will be the halftime performance; There will be a pregame Raider Riot tailgate; Free Whataburger for first 250 students at the student entrance; The game is a Raider Takeover Night with in-game promotions for freshmen and transfers; It is Game One for the Kentucky Guarantee (Attendance at five games to earn a seat at the game against Kentucky on Jan. 25, 2020); A student will win four years of free Whataburger; With a 4,500 Student Sellout: Coach Beard brings Whataburger for guests at Rylee & Justin's wedding.
INTERNATIONAL FEEL: The Red Raiders are represented by eight players from America and five international players: Moretti (Italy), Nadolny (France), Ntambwe (Congo), Savrasov (Russia) and Tchewa (Cameroon).
DEPARTURES: Texas Tech will look to replace 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 is now with the Memphis Hustle in the G-League, while Owens established a new program single-season record with 92 blocked shots and is with Odiase on the Northern Arizona Suns (G-League). 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.
LAST YEAR'S SEASON OPENER: The Red Raiders began last season with an impressive 87-37 win over Incarnate Word. Culver led the team with 16 points, while Edwards scored 10 points in his collegiate debut and Moretti had nine points and six assists. Tech held the Cardinals to only seven points in the second half to set the tone for a dominant defensive season that would lead to the final Monday night of the college basketball season.
WE WROTE A BOOK: The story of the 2018-19 season has been chronicled in a commemorative book titled Raider Power: Texas Tech's Journey From Unranked to the Final Four. The Texas Tech Athletic Communications Office produced book is filled with images from our photographers and stories from throughout the season. The book will be published on Nov. 15 and is available now through preorders. It is published by the TTU Press.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will continue the start of its season by hosting Bethune-Cookman at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the USA before taking on Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13 in Midland. The Red Raiders will be playing Bethune-Cookman for the first time in program history and are 6-0 against HBU with the last meeting coming with a 93-67 win on Nov. 11, 2016. The team will then host Tennessee State (Nov. 21) and Long Island (Nov. 24) before travelling to Nevada for the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational where they will play Iowa on Thanksgiving day and then either San Diego State or Creighton on Friday, Nov. 29 at the Orleans Arena.
https://texastech.com/news/2019/11/2/mens-basketball-preview-eastern-illinois.aspx
LUBBOCK, Texas – Banners and the highly anticipated Texas Tech basketball season are set to drop on Tuesday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The No. 13-ranked Red Raiders will open their 2019-20 season at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against Eastern Illinois to start a two-game home stand that also includes a Saturday night matchup against Bethune-Cookman at the USA. Tech is coming off a historic season where the team was the 2019 NCAA National Runner-Up and earned its first Big 12 regular-season championship. The program brings a 47-game non-conference home winning streak into Tuesday's game against the Panthers in the first of 17 home games on the schedule.
"It's an exciting time for all of us in college basketball as Tuesday nears," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "We have a lot of respect for our first opponent Eastern Illinois. They are one of, if not the most, oldest teams in college basketball. Jay (Spoonhour) has set this team up by design. You've heard me say 'get old and stay old' around here before and Eastern Illinois is poised to have a great season. They have several junior college players that we are familiar with from the recruiting trail and simply stated we have a lot of respect for them. I'm proud of the publicity that our program is getting, but at 7 p.m. on Tuesday when that ball goes up it means nothing. The better team after 40 minutes will win the game. Our guys understand that we will have to play very well on opening night to have a chance to win."
Texas Tech finished last season with a 31-7 overall record, including going 14-4 in Big 12 play. Both win totals were program-best and the team went 17-1 in games played in Lubbock for the second straight season. The Red Raider defense finished last season ranked second in the NCAA by holding opponents to 37.0 percent shooting and No. 3 nationally by limiting teams to only 59.5 points per game. Tech advanced to its first Final Four and NCAA National Championship Final by knocking off Northern Kentucky (72-57), Buffalo (78-58), Michigan (63-44), Gonzaga (75-69) and Michigan State (61-51) in the tournament before falling 85-77 in overtime to Virginia in the title game in Minneapolis.
PLAYER NOTES: The Red Raiders return three players who saw action last season along with the addition of 10 newcomers. The team of 13 included two seniors in graduate transfers TJ Holyfield (SFA) and Chris Clarke (Virginia Tech), junior Davide Moretti, three sophomores in Kyler Edwards, Avery Benson and Joel Ntambweand seven freshmen in Terrence Shannon, Jr., Clarence Nadolny, Jahmi'us Ramsey, Tyreek Smith, Andrei Savrasov, Kevin McCullar and Russel Tchewa. On the radar, Moretti was named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List for the top point guards in the nation and Clarke earned a spot on the Julius Erving Award Watch List along with Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year honors. Texas Tech was picked third in the Big 12 Preseason Poll with Clarke, Moretti and Ramsey being named to the Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention Team.
Moretti is the team's leading returner in scoring (11.5 ppg.), assists (91) and steals (42) after a sophomore season where he earned All-Big 12 Third Team honors. A Bologna, Italy native, Moretti is coming off a season where he led the nation by shooting 92.4 percent from the free-throw line for the season. He became the first player in Big 12 history to be a 90/50/50 shooter in conference play after shooting 53.5 percent from the field, 53.5 percent on 3-pointers and 93.1 percent from the line against conference opponents. He finished the season leading the Red Raiders by hitting 73 3-pointers throughout the season (73 of 159) and was 97-for-105 at the free-throw line. In conference play where he averaged 13.2 points per game, Moretti was 46-for-86 on 3-pointers and hit 54 of 58 free throws. He scored a career high 21 points in a win over Arkansas and also dropped 20 against Oklahoma State and Iowa State. In the postseason he had 15 points in the Sweet 16 win over Michigan and then scored 15 in the NCAA title game against Virginia where he made three 3-pointers for the 14th time. He had a career-high five 3-pointers in the second game of the 2018-19 season against Mississippi Valley State.
Kyler Edwards played all 38 games as a reserve during his freshman season where he would average 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Edwards scored a career-high 19 points in a non-conference home win over Northern Colorado where he was 7-for-7 from the field with five 3-pointers. He went off for 12 points in the national championship game against the Cavaliers where he was 4-for-5 from the field with two 3-pointers. Edwards also had 42 assists and 23 steals in his first season with the Red Raiders. A sophomore from Arlington, Edwards shot 44.9 percent on 3-pointers by going 31-for-69 from beyond the arc during the historic run. Avery Benson is also back, returning as a redshirt sophomore for the Red Raiders and with trips to the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight and 2019 Final Four with Moretti. A Springdale, Arkansas native, Benson appeared in 20 games last season with a career-high five points coming against Baylor.
Clarke transferred to Texas Tech this season after averaging 9.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.03 steals in 79 games played at Virginia Tech. With the Hokies, Clarke would average 8.2 points and 6.3 rebounds as a junior after going for 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in his sophomore season. For his career, he has scored 728 points, secured 517 rebounds and has 210 assists in his collegiate career. Holyfield comes to Lubbock as a veteran presence having already produced 1,081 points, 595 rebounds and 134 blocked shots in his collegiate career. An Albuquerque, New Mexico native, Holyfield was a two-time All-Southland Conference selection after earning third-team honors as a junior and second-team distinction following his sophomore season. As junior, he helped lead the Lumberjacks to the NCAA Tournament where they met up with the Red Raiders in Dallas. He would score 10 points and added four rebounds in the game where Tech earned a 70-60 win on its way to the program's first NCAA Elite Eight appearance. During his final season in Nacogdoches, Holyfield averaged 12.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots and was named the Southland Conference Tournament MVP and to the conference's all-defensive team. Click on player hyperlinks for full bios from our roster page.
SUMMER TOUR: The Red Raiders played three games this summer on their Bahamas tour with one contest against the Bahamas Select National Team and two against Mega Bemax, a professional team from Serbia. Tech went 1-2 on the foreign tour before returning to Lubbock where it began official preseason workouts in mid-September. Among the highlights from the Bahamas tour was a double-double from Clarke who went for 16 points and 13 rebounds in the opener against the Bahamas, a 44-point performance from Ramsey in the first matchup against Mega Bemax and then Shannon going for 20 points and Edwards adding 16 in the final game of the tour.
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 76-31 record in his first three seasons, including a 50-5 record at home. Beard is joined on the coaching bench by assistant coaches Mark Adams, Brian Burgand 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 Grafeland Mike Fallone. 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. MacAllister was named to the NABC 30 Under 30 list after last year and enters his second season with the Red Raiders. Along with being 24 wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 172-61 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.
OPPONENT 1: Eastern Illinois will make its way to Lubbock for the first-ever meeting between the two programs and are coming off a 14-18 overall record and a 7-11 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play last season. The Panthers are led by Jay Spoonhour who is entering his eighth season with the program and has seven seniors and seven juniors on their roster. Mack Smith is the leading returner after going for 12.8 points per game last season as a sophomore. An Indianapolis native, Smith also had 4.2 assists per game last season. Shareef Smith, a senior from Madison, Wisconsin, added 8.5 points and led the team with 123 assists while Rade Kukobat returns for his senior season after going for 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Panthers played one Big 12 team last season, dropping a 71-59 decision to Texas in the season opener in Austin.
RANKINGS: The Red Raiders come into the season with the program's best preseason ranking at No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the Associated Press Top-25. Tech was unranked coming into last season and finished the year at No. 2 in the Coaches Poll and at No. 7 in the AP Poll. The Red Raiders were picked third of 10 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll after being picked seventh the past two seasons.
SEASON OPENERS: Texas Tech has a 67-27 all-time record in season openers, including going 61-14 in openers in Lubbock. The Red Raiders are 3-0 under Beard in the first game of the season with wins over Houston Baptist (93-67), South Alabama (75-50) and Incarnate Word (87-37). Tech has not lost a season-opening game since a 68-60 decision against Indiana on Nov. 19, 1999. The first-ever season-opening game came against Daniel Baker College (consolidated with Howard Payne University in 1953) and resulted in a 37-25 loss for Tech on Jan. 25, 1926. As a head coach, Beard is 7-0 in openers with the 3-0 record at Tech, a 1-0 mark at Little Rock, 2-0 at Angelo State and 1-0 at McMurry.
HOME DOMINANCE: The Red Raiders are 50-5 at home under Beard, including going 17-1 the past two seasons. Tech is 247-90 in the United Supermarkets Arena all-time and are 26-0 at the USA in non-conference games under Beard. The program owns a 154-15 record against non-conference opponents at the USA since its opening in the 1999-2000 season.
PROGRAM MARKS: Texas Tech is coming off its winningest season in program history after going 31-7 and 14-4 in Big 12 play. The program is 1,425-1,113 all-time as it enters the 95th season.
PROMOTION NOTES: The Big 12 Championship and Final Four banners will be unveiled prior to the start of the game; Replica banners will be given away for the first 10,000 fans; Red Panda will be the halftime performance; There will be a pregame Raider Riot tailgate; Free Whataburger for first 250 students at the student entrance; The game is a Raider Takeover Night with in-game promotions for freshmen and transfers; It is Game One for the Kentucky Guarantee (Attendance at five games to earn a seat at the game against Kentucky on Jan. 25, 2020); A student will win four years of free Whataburger; With a 4,500 Student Sellout: Coach Beard brings Whataburger for guests at Rylee & Justin's wedding.
INTERNATIONAL FEEL: The Red Raiders are represented by eight players from America and five international players: Moretti (Italy), Nadolny (France), Ntambwe (Congo), Savrasov (Russia) and Tchewa (Cameroon).
DEPARTURES: Texas Tech will look to replace 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 is now with the Memphis Hustle in the G-League, while Owens established a new program single-season record with 92 blocked shots and is with Odiase on the Northern Arizona Suns (G-League). 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.
LAST YEAR'S SEASON OPENER: The Red Raiders began last season with an impressive 87-37 win over Incarnate Word. Culver led the team with 16 points, while Edwards scored 10 points in his collegiate debut and Moretti had nine points and six assists. Tech held the Cardinals to only seven points in the second half to set the tone for a dominant defensive season that would lead to the final Monday night of the college basketball season.
WE WROTE A BOOK: The story of the 2018-19 season has been chronicled in a commemorative book titled Raider Power: Texas Tech's Journey From Unranked to the Final Four. The Texas Tech Athletic Communications Office produced book is filled with images from our photographers and stories from throughout the season. The book will be published on Nov. 15 and is available now through preorders. It is published by the TTU Press.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will continue the start of its season by hosting Bethune-Cookman at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the USA before taking on Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13 in Midland. The Red Raiders will be playing Bethune-Cookman for the first time in program history and are 6-0 against HBU with the last meeting coming with a 93-67 win on Nov. 11, 2016. The team will then host Tennessee State (Nov. 21) and Long Island (Nov. 24) before travelling to Nevada for the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational where they will play Iowa on Thanksgiving day and then either San Diego State or Creighton on Friday, Nov. 29 at the Orleans Arena.
