PREVIEW: Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Louisville
https://texastech.com/news/2019/12/7/mens-basketball-preview-no-1-louisville.aspx
Red Raiders vs. No. 1 Cardinals | 6 p.m. (CST), Tuesday | Madison Square Garden - New York | TV: ESPN | Radio: TTSN & ESPN Radio
LUBBOCK, Texas – A prime time opportunity awaits Texas Tech which will play No. 1-ranked Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic at 6 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Red Raiders (5-3) are coming off a 65-60 overtime loss to DePaul (9-0) last Wednesday in Chicago, while the top-ranked Cardinals (9-0, 2-0 ACC) stayed unbeaten with a 64-46 home win over Pittsburgh on Friday at home.
"We've been in three really close one-possession games where a basket or a stop there and our record and our mood feels a lot different," Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. "To me, you stay the course. We could be sitting here with an 8-0 record instead of three losses but we're still the same team. The idea is to get better each game and I think we are doing that. It hasn't shown on the scoreboard yet, but I remain confident that it will. This game is bigger than college basketball. The things coach Jim Valvano did by winning a championship speaks for itself, but his platform in life with cancer research is so much bigger than basketball. That's how we feel about this game. We are honored and proud to be a part of this game."
The Red Raiders are coming off a historic season where they advanced to the NCAA Championship Final and won the Big 12 regular season title for the first time in their history. The program also reached the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight and is 8-2 in the NCAA tournament over the past two season which is the best in the nation. Tech started this season on a five-game winning streak before dropping their last three games, including two straight overtime losses against Creighton and DePaul. The Red Raiders, who returned only one starter in Davide Moretti from last year's team, have played without leading scorer Jahmi'us Ramsey the past two games after he was injured with 10 minutes remaining against Iowa in the first game of the Las Vegas Invitational. Ramsey, a freshman from Arlington who is leading the team with 17.3 points per game to go along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists, is listed as day-to-day with a left hamstring injury. Before his setback, Ramsey was coming off a career-high 27 point performance against Long Island where he hit five 3-pointers and was averaging 19.4 points per game.
"He's starting to do more with his rehab but is still day-to-day," Beard said. "The first couple of days it was training room based, but now he's moving around. When he gets to full speed, he will play. Until then, we will just continue to see how he feels every day. There is a pattern that he's felt better each day. We're hopeful that he will play in this game but we probably won't know until the morning of."
The Red Raiders, who are playing six freshmen and eight underclassmen this season, are led by Beard who is 81-34 in his fourth season leading the program. He was named the 2019 Associated Press National Coach of the Year along with earning Big 12 Coach of the Year the past two seasons. In the eighth season as a head coach in the NCAA, Beard has a 73.4 winning percentage which ranks eighth nationally among active coaches.
GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and Louisville will be broadcasted on ESPN with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Holly Rowe on the call and on the Texas Tech Sports Network's flagship station Double T 97.3 in Lubbock with Geoff Haxton and Chris Level. The game will also be available on ESPN Radio with Marc Kestecher and Bob Valvano. Fans can also find the game on any streaming device and can follow the game at @TexasTechMBB. The Red Raiders will be followed by a Jimmy V Classic matchup between Indiana and UConn at MSG.
STAT RANKINGS: Texas Tech travels to New York ranked second in the nation with 18.8 assists per game and is leading the Big 12 with 131 made free throws, 150 total assists and 323 total rebounds. The Red Raiders rank 30th nationally with a 8.3 rebounding margin, 35th with a 76.2 free-throw percentage and 44th with a 13.9 scoring margin. The team is forth in the conference by scoring 79.0 points per game by limiting opponents to 40.0 percent shooting. Individually, Davide Moretti the NCAA active career leader at 91.8 percent and is currently fourth nationally at 96.0 percent this season (24 of 25). Chris Clarke is third in the Big 12 at 5.63 assists per game and fifth with 8.4 rebounds per game. Clarke's 47 total assists are the third most in the conference and the 39th most throughout the nation entering this season. Following its win over Pitt on Friday night, Louisville ranked eighth nationally by limiting opponents to 35.3 percent shooting and were outscoring opponents by a 19.6 margin which was also the eighth best. The Cardinals are one of only 16 teams still unbeaten through Nov. 6. *This portion of the game preview will be updated on Monday
LAST TIME OUT: Texas Tech is coming off a 65-60 overtime loss at DePaul last Wednesday in its first true road game of the season. Freshman guard Terrence Shannon, Jr. led the Red Raiders with a career-high 24 points after going 9-for-18 from the field with two 3-pointers, while Kyler Edwards added 12 and Davide Moretti scored 10 with seven points coming from the free-throw line. The Red Raiders matched a season-high with 22 turnovers against the Blue Demons and were held to single-digit assists for the only time this season. Tech went 12-for-15 from the free-throw line but was only 21 of 53 (39.6 percent) from the field.
SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech and Louisville will play for the first time when the programs meet up at MSG on Tuesday night. Tech is 8-24 all-time against the ACC, including falling to No. 2 Duke last season at MSG. Chris Beard is 1-2 against the conference with a 75-64 win over Boston College on Nov. 18, 2017 before falling to Virginia in overtime of the NCAA Championship Final last season.
NEW-LOOK RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech is getting 58.3 percent of its scoring from underclassmen and 65.1 percent of points are coming from newcomers. The team returned only three players from last year's historic run, including one starter in Davide Moretti and reserve Kyler Edwards. Tech's starting lineup this season features freshmen Jahmi'us Ramsey and Terrence Shannon, Jr. who have made immediate impacts along with graduate transfers Chris Clarke and TJ Holyfield. Ramsey leads the Red Raiders in scoring at 17.3 points per game and is currently fifth in the Big 12 among all scorers and the top freshman scorer in the conference. Tech has been led in scoring by a freshman in four of eight games coming into the game against Louisville.
POLL REPORT: After dropping two games in Las Vegas last week Texas Tech fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 after being ranked No. 12 last week. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 11 two weeks ago and No. 13 in the preseason poll. *This portion of the game preview will be updated on Monday
AGAINST NO. 1s: Texas Tech comes into the matchup against top-ranked Louisville with a 0-6 all-time record against No. 1-ranked opponents. The Cardinals will be Tech's first ranked opponent this season after last year's team went 6-3 against ranked teams. Beard is 11-9 against ranked opponents as Tech's head coach.
vs. No. 1s: Overall • 0-6 | Home • 0-2| Away • 0-1 | Neutral • 0-3
Date Opponent Result Location
01/29/1997 [1] Kansas L • 86-77 Lubbock
03/09/2002 vs. [1] Kansas L • 90-50 Kansas City, Mo.
03/20/2004 vs. [1] Saint Joseph's L • 70-65 Buffalo, N.Y.
03/11/2010 vs. [1] Kansas L • 80-68 Kansas City, Mo.
01/09/2016 [1] Kansas L • 69-59 Lubbock
01/26/2016 at [1] Oklahoma L • 91-67 Norman
WINS AT MSG: Texas Tech has recorded two wins at Madison Square Garden with a 71-61 victory over Minnesota in the 2003 NIT and a 65-64 win over Utah in the 2003 NIT Preseason Tipoff.
LOSING STREAK: The Red Raiders have lost three straight non-conference games for the first time since the 2012-13 season and will look to avoid the first four-game non-conference losing streak since the 1990-91 season.
OVERTIME GAMES: With back-to-back overtime losses against DePaul (65-60) and Creighton (83-76), Texas Tech is now 51-51 all-time in overtime contests and 4-5 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.
PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 83 games with the Red Raiders and graduate transfers Chris Clarke and TJ Holyfield who bring experience to a team that has seven freshmen on the roster. Moretti has started 46 straight games for the Red Raiders and was an All-Big 12 Third Team selection last season as a sophomore. A guard from Italy, Moretti scored a career-high 23 points in the overtime loss to Creighton and is coming off a game at DePaul where he had 10 points after going 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. Moretti is currently averaging 13.8 points per game and is shooting 45.9 percent from the field (18-for-41), 43.9 percent on 3-pointers (18 of 41) and is 24-for-25 from the free-throw line to lead the Big 12 at 96.0 percent. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 59 of 83 games played, including making a career-high five in a win last season against Mississippi Valley State. For his career, Moretti has made 117 3-pointers and is 145 of 158 from the free-throw line (91.8 percent). Moretti went 12-for-12 at the free-throw line against Oklahoma State last season in a year where he led the nation at 92.4 percent. Prior to this season he was named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List after earning the Elite 90 Award at last year's Final Four.
Clarke leads the Red Raiders with 8.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game in his first season with the program. A grad transfer from Virginia Tech, Clarke secured 11 rebounds and had four assists in the overtime loss at DePaul after having nine assists and a season-high 17 points against Creighton. He recorded the only double-double of the season for the Red Raiders this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa and currently has three double-digit rebounding performances with a season-best 12 rebounds against Tennessee State. He also had an 11-assist performance against Houston Baptist and has had three or more assists in all eight games this season. Combining stats from three seasons at Virginia Tech, Clarke now has 776 points, 584 rebounds and 257 assists through 87 collegiate games played. He has led the team in assists in six games and in rebounding in five. Holyfield was named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List on Thursday after also earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week back on Nov. 11. A graduate transfer from SFA, Holyfield is averaging 10.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in his first season with the Red Raiders including scoring a career-high 21 points against Houston Baptist a game after dropping 20 against Bethune-Cookman. He has scored in double digits in four of eight starts this season, starting with 15 in the season-opening victory over Eastern Illinois and 10 against Iowa. He has secured five or more rebounds in five games with a season-high seven against Long Island. Holyfield has scored 1,162 points, secured 630 rebounds and blocked 141 shots in his collegiate career when combining statistics from his first three seasons at SFA before transferring.
Terrence Shannon, Jr. scored a career-high 24 points and also grabbed eight rebounds against DePaul. A Chicago native returning to his hometown for the first time in his collegiate career, Shannon was 9-for-18 from the field and also went 4-for-5 at the free-throw line. It was his first game leading the Red Raiders in scoring. A 6-foot-6 freshman guard, he is now averaging 11.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game through eight games in the starting lineup for the Red Raiders. His 24 points included 13 in the second half where he was 5-for-9 from the field against the Blue Demons. Shannon's previous career-bests came in wins over Tennessee State and Long Island after he had opened the season with 11 points in the win over Eastern Illinois. He is currently 30-for-36 at the free-throw line this season with seven made free throws in games against EIU, TSU and Iowa. Shannon, who is the only freshman on the team to have started all eight games, had a career-high nine rebounds against the Hawkeyes and has had four or more rebounds in half the games this season.
Jahmi'us Ramsey has not played in the past two games after suffering a left hamstring injury against Iowa on Nov. 28 in Las Vegas. He is listed as day-to-day. Ramsey leads the Red Raiders with 17.3 points per game and is also adding 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 assists to begin his freshman season. A 6-foot-4 guard from Arlington, Texas, Ramsey helped lead Duncanville High School to the Class 6A State Championship by averaging 21 points per game in his senior season and has continued to dominate as he steps up to the collegiate level. Prior to Las Vegas, Ramsey scored a season-high 27 points and had six rebounds in a win over Long Island that earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors. He has scored in double figures in five of six games played, including scoring 25 against Houston Baptist where he was 10-for-13 from the field with three 3-pointers. In his 27-point outpouring, Ramsey was 5-for-6 from beyond the arc against LIU. He is also proving to be strong rebounder from the guard position, pulling down a season-high nine in the win over Bethune-Cookman and having four or more rebounds in all six games he's played in.
Kyler Edwards has scored in double digits in six straight games after going for 12 points with two 3-pointers in the overtime loss at DePaul last week. A guard from Arlington, Texas, Edwards has started all eight games this season after playing a reserve role in all 38 last season as freshman during the historic run to the final Monday night of the college basketball season. Edwards, who has 11 double-digit scoring performances in his career, is averaging 10.8 points, 3.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders this season after averaging 5.5 points last season. He scored a season-high 15 in the win over Houston Baptist on Nov. 13 to start his scoring streak that also includes a 14-point performance against Creighton. Edwards has made a 3-pointer in six of eight games and has 10 for the season. He is also 18-for-19 from the free-throw line this season and has had at least one assist in every game, including matching a career-high with six assists against Long Island. Edwards scored a career-high 19 points last season as a freshman against Northern Colorado when he was 7-for-7 from the field with four 3-pointers and also had 12 points in the NCAA Championship Final against Virginia where he was 4-for-5 from the field with two 3-pointers. He has hit two or more 3-pointers in his career 10 times, including making two in the past two games. Edwards comes into the matchup against the Cardinals having scored 294 points and with 72 assists through the first 46 games of his collegiate career. Avery Benson joins Edwards in the sophomore class and is currently averaging 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. An Arkansas native, Benson matched a career-high with six points and had five rebounds last Wednesday against DePaul after going 2-for-3 from the field with a 3-pointer. He has played in 28 games as a reserve where he has shot 13-for-25 (52.0 percent).
Along with Ramsey and Shannon from the starting lineup, Texas Tech is getting contributions from freshmen Kevin McCullar, Clarence Nadolny, Andrei Savrasov and Russel Tchewa. The class includes redshirts from McCullar and Savrasov who were on last year's team and experienced the run to the Big 12 regular-season title and the NCAA Championship Final. A guard from San Antonio, McCullar is averaging 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game this season with a career-high high 10 points against LIU after scoring seven against Tennessee State. Savrasov is a forward from Russia scored a career-high six points against Creighton and then had two against DePaul. He had not scored in his previous five games played and is now averaging 1.3 rebounds per game with a season-high five against Bethune-Cookman. Nadolny is providing 3.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per game, while Tchewa is scoring 2.6 points per game. Tchewa, a 7-foot center from Cameroon, has two six-point performances this season against EIU and LIU while Nadolny had his top scoring performance with nine points against Houston Baptist. A guard from France, Nadolny scored five points in the last home game against LIU and is currently shooting 8-for-17 from the field.
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.
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 an 81-34 record coming into the game against Louisville. 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. 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 19 wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 177-64 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.
OPPONENT NINE: Louisville comes into its matchup against the Red Raiders with a 9-0 record after earning a 64-46 win over Pitt on Friday night to move to 2-0 in ACC play. The top-ranked Cardinals are averaging 77.1 points per game by shooting 49.6 from the field and 39.1 percent on 3-pointers, while defensively they're limiting opponents to 57.6 points per game and to 35.3 percent shooting. UofL is averaging 15.6 assists per game and has an 8.4 rebounding margin advantage this season. Jordan Nwora leads the Cardinals with 21.6 points per game and is also grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game, while Steven Enoch is at 10.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. A junior from Buffalo, New York, Nwora scored 19 points and had six rebounds in the win over Pitt. Enoch has recorded three double-doubles this season, while Nwora has two. Ryan McMahon brings a 10.2 scoring average into the Jimmy V Classic and Dwayne Sutton leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game to go along with 9.4 points per game. A 6-foot-5 senior from Louisville, Sutton has two double-doubles this season and averages 5.7 rebounds per game in his career through 79 games. Malik Williams recorded his first double-double of the season after scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the win over Pitt. A 6-foot-11 junior, Williams is averaging 6.4 points and 6.6 rebounds this season.
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. 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 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 is in the process of developing a team that replaces 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.
WE PUBLISHED 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 is available now online and in stores. It is published by the TTU Press.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will return to Lubbock after playing Louisville to host Southern Mississippi on Monday, Dec. 16 and UTRGV on Dec. 21 at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders are currently 4-0 at home this season.
STREAKING: Texas Tech has won 51 straight non-conference home games after its 96-66 win over LIU on Sunday. The team came into the season following a 67-64 win over Arkansas to complete a 9-0 mark in those games last year. TTU started the streak with a 100-69 win over St. Mary's on Dec. 30, 2013. Chris Beard is 32-0 in non-conference home games as the team's head coach.
JIMMY V CLASSIC: The 2018 V Week for Cancer Research set a new record, helping raise more than $8.3 million for the V Foundation for Cancer Research – representing an 83% increase from 2017. ESPN engaged new partners and created innovative fundraising and awareness-building campaigns, which ran from Nov. 27 – Dec. 8, and educated fans on the importance of cancer research. Additionally, ESPN created the Tyler Trent Fund at the V Foundation for Cancer Research to support cancer research for adolescents and young adults. Over the past 12 years, V Week fundraising has totaled over $30 million for cancer research. The V Foundation for Cancer Research is dedicated to declaring victory over cancer. ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator, founded it in 1993. Since 1993, the Foundation has funded more than $225 million in cancer research grants nationwide. It awards 100 percent of all direct cash donations to cancer research and related programs. Due to generous donors, the Foundation has an endowment that covers administrative expenses. The Foundation awards peer-reviewed grants through a competitive awards process vetted by a Scientific Advisory Committee. For more information on the V Foundation, please visit www.jimmyv.org.
https://texastech.com/news/2019/12/7/mens-basketball-preview-no-1-louisville.aspx
Red Raiders vs. No. 1 Cardinals | 6 p.m. (CST), Tuesday | Madison Square Garden - New York | TV: ESPN | Radio: TTSN & ESPN Radio
LUBBOCK, Texas – A prime time opportunity awaits Texas Tech which will play No. 1-ranked Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic at 6 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Red Raiders (5-3) are coming off a 65-60 overtime loss to DePaul (9-0) last Wednesday in Chicago, while the top-ranked Cardinals (9-0, 2-0 ACC) stayed unbeaten with a 64-46 home win over Pittsburgh on Friday at home.
"We've been in three really close one-possession games where a basket or a stop there and our record and our mood feels a lot different," Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. "To me, you stay the course. We could be sitting here with an 8-0 record instead of three losses but we're still the same team. The idea is to get better each game and I think we are doing that. It hasn't shown on the scoreboard yet, but I remain confident that it will. This game is bigger than college basketball. The things coach Jim Valvano did by winning a championship speaks for itself, but his platform in life with cancer research is so much bigger than basketball. That's how we feel about this game. We are honored and proud to be a part of this game."
The Red Raiders are coming off a historic season where they advanced to the NCAA Championship Final and won the Big 12 regular season title for the first time in their history. The program also reached the 2018 NCAA Elite Eight and is 8-2 in the NCAA tournament over the past two season which is the best in the nation. Tech started this season on a five-game winning streak before dropping their last three games, including two straight overtime losses against Creighton and DePaul. The Red Raiders, who returned only one starter in Davide Moretti from last year's team, have played without leading scorer Jahmi'us Ramsey the past two games after he was injured with 10 minutes remaining against Iowa in the first game of the Las Vegas Invitational. Ramsey, a freshman from Arlington who is leading the team with 17.3 points per game to go along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists, is listed as day-to-day with a left hamstring injury. Before his setback, Ramsey was coming off a career-high 27 point performance against Long Island where he hit five 3-pointers and was averaging 19.4 points per game.
"He's starting to do more with his rehab but is still day-to-day," Beard said. "The first couple of days it was training room based, but now he's moving around. When he gets to full speed, he will play. Until then, we will just continue to see how he feels every day. There is a pattern that he's felt better each day. We're hopeful that he will play in this game but we probably won't know until the morning of."
The Red Raiders, who are playing six freshmen and eight underclassmen this season, are led by Beard who is 81-34 in his fourth season leading the program. He was named the 2019 Associated Press National Coach of the Year along with earning Big 12 Coach of the Year the past two seasons. In the eighth season as a head coach in the NCAA, Beard has a 73.4 winning percentage which ranks eighth nationally among active coaches.
GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and Louisville will be broadcasted on ESPN with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Holly Rowe on the call and on the Texas Tech Sports Network's flagship station Double T 97.3 in Lubbock with Geoff Haxton and Chris Level. The game will also be available on ESPN Radio with Marc Kestecher and Bob Valvano. Fans can also find the game on any streaming device and can follow the game at @TexasTechMBB. The Red Raiders will be followed by a Jimmy V Classic matchup between Indiana and UConn at MSG.
STAT RANKINGS: Texas Tech travels to New York ranked second in the nation with 18.8 assists per game and is leading the Big 12 with 131 made free throws, 150 total assists and 323 total rebounds. The Red Raiders rank 30th nationally with a 8.3 rebounding margin, 35th with a 76.2 free-throw percentage and 44th with a 13.9 scoring margin. The team is forth in the conference by scoring 79.0 points per game by limiting opponents to 40.0 percent shooting. Individually, Davide Moretti the NCAA active career leader at 91.8 percent and is currently fourth nationally at 96.0 percent this season (24 of 25). Chris Clarke is third in the Big 12 at 5.63 assists per game and fifth with 8.4 rebounds per game. Clarke's 47 total assists are the third most in the conference and the 39th most throughout the nation entering this season. Following its win over Pitt on Friday night, Louisville ranked eighth nationally by limiting opponents to 35.3 percent shooting and were outscoring opponents by a 19.6 margin which was also the eighth best. The Cardinals are one of only 16 teams still unbeaten through Nov. 6. *This portion of the game preview will be updated on Monday
LAST TIME OUT: Texas Tech is coming off a 65-60 overtime loss at DePaul last Wednesday in its first true road game of the season. Freshman guard Terrence Shannon, Jr. led the Red Raiders with a career-high 24 points after going 9-for-18 from the field with two 3-pointers, while Kyler Edwards added 12 and Davide Moretti scored 10 with seven points coming from the free-throw line. The Red Raiders matched a season-high with 22 turnovers against the Blue Demons and were held to single-digit assists for the only time this season. Tech went 12-for-15 from the free-throw line but was only 21 of 53 (39.6 percent) from the field.
SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech and Louisville will play for the first time when the programs meet up at MSG on Tuesday night. Tech is 8-24 all-time against the ACC, including falling to No. 2 Duke last season at MSG. Chris Beard is 1-2 against the conference with a 75-64 win over Boston College on Nov. 18, 2017 before falling to Virginia in overtime of the NCAA Championship Final last season.
NEW-LOOK RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech is getting 58.3 percent of its scoring from underclassmen and 65.1 percent of points are coming from newcomers. The team returned only three players from last year's historic run, including one starter in Davide Moretti and reserve Kyler Edwards. Tech's starting lineup this season features freshmen Jahmi'us Ramsey and Terrence Shannon, Jr. who have made immediate impacts along with graduate transfers Chris Clarke and TJ Holyfield. Ramsey leads the Red Raiders in scoring at 17.3 points per game and is currently fifth in the Big 12 among all scorers and the top freshman scorer in the conference. Tech has been led in scoring by a freshman in four of eight games coming into the game against Louisville.
POLL REPORT: After dropping two games in Las Vegas last week Texas Tech fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 after being ranked No. 12 last week. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 11 two weeks ago and No. 13 in the preseason poll. *This portion of the game preview will be updated on Monday
AGAINST NO. 1s: Texas Tech comes into the matchup against top-ranked Louisville with a 0-6 all-time record against No. 1-ranked opponents. The Cardinals will be Tech's first ranked opponent this season after last year's team went 6-3 against ranked teams. Beard is 11-9 against ranked opponents as Tech's head coach.
vs. No. 1s: Overall • 0-6 | Home • 0-2| Away • 0-1 | Neutral • 0-3
Date Opponent Result Location
01/29/1997 [1] Kansas L • 86-77 Lubbock
03/09/2002 vs. [1] Kansas L • 90-50 Kansas City, Mo.
03/20/2004 vs. [1] Saint Joseph's L • 70-65 Buffalo, N.Y.
03/11/2010 vs. [1] Kansas L • 80-68 Kansas City, Mo.
01/09/2016 [1] Kansas L • 69-59 Lubbock
01/26/2016 at [1] Oklahoma L • 91-67 Norman
WINS AT MSG: Texas Tech has recorded two wins at Madison Square Garden with a 71-61 victory over Minnesota in the 2003 NIT and a 65-64 win over Utah in the 2003 NIT Preseason Tipoff.
LOSING STREAK: The Red Raiders have lost three straight non-conference games for the first time since the 2012-13 season and will look to avoid the first four-game non-conference losing streak since the 1990-91 season.
OVERTIME GAMES: With back-to-back overtime losses against DePaul (65-60) and Creighton (83-76), Texas Tech is now 51-51 all-time in overtime contests and 4-5 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.
PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 83 games with the Red Raiders and graduate transfers Chris Clarke and TJ Holyfield who bring experience to a team that has seven freshmen on the roster. Moretti has started 46 straight games for the Red Raiders and was an All-Big 12 Third Team selection last season as a sophomore. A guard from Italy, Moretti scored a career-high 23 points in the overtime loss to Creighton and is coming off a game at DePaul where he had 10 points after going 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. Moretti is currently averaging 13.8 points per game and is shooting 45.9 percent from the field (18-for-41), 43.9 percent on 3-pointers (18 of 41) and is 24-for-25 from the free-throw line to lead the Big 12 at 96.0 percent. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 59 of 83 games played, including making a career-high five in a win last season against Mississippi Valley State. For his career, Moretti has made 117 3-pointers and is 145 of 158 from the free-throw line (91.8 percent). Moretti went 12-for-12 at the free-throw line against Oklahoma State last season in a year where he led the nation at 92.4 percent. Prior to this season he was named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List after earning the Elite 90 Award at last year's Final Four.
Clarke leads the Red Raiders with 8.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game in his first season with the program. A grad transfer from Virginia Tech, Clarke secured 11 rebounds and had four assists in the overtime loss at DePaul after having nine assists and a season-high 17 points against Creighton. He recorded the only double-double of the season for the Red Raiders this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa and currently has three double-digit rebounding performances with a season-best 12 rebounds against Tennessee State. He also had an 11-assist performance against Houston Baptist and has had three or more assists in all eight games this season. Combining stats from three seasons at Virginia Tech, Clarke now has 776 points, 584 rebounds and 257 assists through 87 collegiate games played. He has led the team in assists in six games and in rebounding in five. Holyfield was named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List on Thursday after also earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week back on Nov. 11. A graduate transfer from SFA, Holyfield is averaging 10.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in his first season with the Red Raiders including scoring a career-high 21 points against Houston Baptist a game after dropping 20 against Bethune-Cookman. He has scored in double digits in four of eight starts this season, starting with 15 in the season-opening victory over Eastern Illinois and 10 against Iowa. He has secured five or more rebounds in five games with a season-high seven against Long Island. Holyfield has scored 1,162 points, secured 630 rebounds and blocked 141 shots in his collegiate career when combining statistics from his first three seasons at SFA before transferring.
Terrence Shannon, Jr. scored a career-high 24 points and also grabbed eight rebounds against DePaul. A Chicago native returning to his hometown for the first time in his collegiate career, Shannon was 9-for-18 from the field and also went 4-for-5 at the free-throw line. It was his first game leading the Red Raiders in scoring. A 6-foot-6 freshman guard, he is now averaging 11.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game through eight games in the starting lineup for the Red Raiders. His 24 points included 13 in the second half where he was 5-for-9 from the field against the Blue Demons. Shannon's previous career-bests came in wins over Tennessee State and Long Island after he had opened the season with 11 points in the win over Eastern Illinois. He is currently 30-for-36 at the free-throw line this season with seven made free throws in games against EIU, TSU and Iowa. Shannon, who is the only freshman on the team to have started all eight games, had a career-high nine rebounds against the Hawkeyes and has had four or more rebounds in half the games this season.
Jahmi'us Ramsey has not played in the past two games after suffering a left hamstring injury against Iowa on Nov. 28 in Las Vegas. He is listed as day-to-day. Ramsey leads the Red Raiders with 17.3 points per game and is also adding 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 assists to begin his freshman season. A 6-foot-4 guard from Arlington, Texas, Ramsey helped lead Duncanville High School to the Class 6A State Championship by averaging 21 points per game in his senior season and has continued to dominate as he steps up to the collegiate level. Prior to Las Vegas, Ramsey scored a season-high 27 points and had six rebounds in a win over Long Island that earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors. He has scored in double figures in five of six games played, including scoring 25 against Houston Baptist where he was 10-for-13 from the field with three 3-pointers. In his 27-point outpouring, Ramsey was 5-for-6 from beyond the arc against LIU. He is also proving to be strong rebounder from the guard position, pulling down a season-high nine in the win over Bethune-Cookman and having four or more rebounds in all six games he's played in.
Kyler Edwards has scored in double digits in six straight games after going for 12 points with two 3-pointers in the overtime loss at DePaul last week. A guard from Arlington, Texas, Edwards has started all eight games this season after playing a reserve role in all 38 last season as freshman during the historic run to the final Monday night of the college basketball season. Edwards, who has 11 double-digit scoring performances in his career, is averaging 10.8 points, 3.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders this season after averaging 5.5 points last season. He scored a season-high 15 in the win over Houston Baptist on Nov. 13 to start his scoring streak that also includes a 14-point performance against Creighton. Edwards has made a 3-pointer in six of eight games and has 10 for the season. He is also 18-for-19 from the free-throw line this season and has had at least one assist in every game, including matching a career-high with six assists against Long Island. Edwards scored a career-high 19 points last season as a freshman against Northern Colorado when he was 7-for-7 from the field with four 3-pointers and also had 12 points in the NCAA Championship Final against Virginia where he was 4-for-5 from the field with two 3-pointers. He has hit two or more 3-pointers in his career 10 times, including making two in the past two games. Edwards comes into the matchup against the Cardinals having scored 294 points and with 72 assists through the first 46 games of his collegiate career. Avery Benson joins Edwards in the sophomore class and is currently averaging 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. An Arkansas native, Benson matched a career-high with six points and had five rebounds last Wednesday against DePaul after going 2-for-3 from the field with a 3-pointer. He has played in 28 games as a reserve where he has shot 13-for-25 (52.0 percent).
Along with Ramsey and Shannon from the starting lineup, Texas Tech is getting contributions from freshmen Kevin McCullar, Clarence Nadolny, Andrei Savrasov and Russel Tchewa. The class includes redshirts from McCullar and Savrasov who were on last year's team and experienced the run to the Big 12 regular-season title and the NCAA Championship Final. A guard from San Antonio, McCullar is averaging 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game this season with a career-high high 10 points against LIU after scoring seven against Tennessee State. Savrasov is a forward from Russia scored a career-high six points against Creighton and then had two against DePaul. He had not scored in his previous five games played and is now averaging 1.3 rebounds per game with a season-high five against Bethune-Cookman. Nadolny is providing 3.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per game, while Tchewa is scoring 2.6 points per game. Tchewa, a 7-foot center from Cameroon, has two six-point performances this season against EIU and LIU while Nadolny had his top scoring performance with nine points against Houston Baptist. A guard from France, Nadolny scored five points in the last home game against LIU and is currently shooting 8-for-17 from the field.
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.
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 an 81-34 record coming into the game against Louisville. 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. 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 19 wins away from 100 at Tech, Beard is 177-64 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.
OPPONENT NINE: Louisville comes into its matchup against the Red Raiders with a 9-0 record after earning a 64-46 win over Pitt on Friday night to move to 2-0 in ACC play. The top-ranked Cardinals are averaging 77.1 points per game by shooting 49.6 from the field and 39.1 percent on 3-pointers, while defensively they're limiting opponents to 57.6 points per game and to 35.3 percent shooting. UofL is averaging 15.6 assists per game and has an 8.4 rebounding margin advantage this season. Jordan Nwora leads the Cardinals with 21.6 points per game and is also grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game, while Steven Enoch is at 10.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. A junior from Buffalo, New York, Nwora scored 19 points and had six rebounds in the win over Pitt. Enoch has recorded three double-doubles this season, while Nwora has two. Ryan McMahon brings a 10.2 scoring average into the Jimmy V Classic and Dwayne Sutton leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game to go along with 9.4 points per game. A 6-foot-5 senior from Louisville, Sutton has two double-doubles this season and averages 5.7 rebounds per game in his career through 79 games. Malik Williams recorded his first double-double of the season after scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the win over Pitt. A 6-foot-11 junior, Williams is averaging 6.4 points and 6.6 rebounds this season.
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. 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 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 is in the process of developing a team that replaces 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.
WE PUBLISHED 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 is available now online and in stores. It is published by the TTU Press.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will return to Lubbock after playing Louisville to host Southern Mississippi on Monday, Dec. 16 and UTRGV on Dec. 21 at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders are currently 4-0 at home this season.
STREAKING: Texas Tech has won 51 straight non-conference home games after its 96-66 win over LIU on Sunday. The team came into the season following a 67-64 win over Arkansas to complete a 9-0 mark in those games last year. TTU started the streak with a 100-69 win over St. Mary's on Dec. 30, 2013. Chris Beard is 32-0 in non-conference home games as the team's head coach.
JIMMY V CLASSIC: The 2018 V Week for Cancer Research set a new record, helping raise more than $8.3 million for the V Foundation for Cancer Research – representing an 83% increase from 2017. ESPN engaged new partners and created innovative fundraising and awareness-building campaigns, which ran from Nov. 27 – Dec. 8, and educated fans on the importance of cancer research. Additionally, ESPN created the Tyler Trent Fund at the V Foundation for Cancer Research to support cancer research for adolescents and young adults. Over the past 12 years, V Week fundraising has totaled over $30 million for cancer research. The V Foundation for Cancer Research is dedicated to declaring victory over cancer. ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator, founded it in 1993. Since 1993, the Foundation has funded more than $225 million in cancer research grants nationwide. It awards 100 percent of all direct cash donations to cancer research and related programs. Due to generous donors, the Foundation has an endowment that covers administrative expenses. The Foundation awards peer-reviewed grants through a competitive awards process vetted by a Scientific Advisory Committee. For more information on the V Foundation, please visit www.jimmyv.org.
