PREVIEW: No. 14 Tech, No. 23 Texas to renew rivalry
https://texastech.com/news/2022/1/3...-no-14-tech-no-23-texas-to-renew-rivalry.aspxNo. 23 Longhorns at No. 14 Red Raiders | 8 p.m., Tuesday | Lubbock, Texas | TV: ESPN2
January 31, 2022LUBBOCK, Texas – A longstanding rivalry will be renewed and intensified when No. 14 Texas Tech hosts No. 23 Texas at 8 p.m. on Tuesday in a Big 12 fight at the United Supermarkets Arena. The game between teams with identical records is the 152nd in the series that dates back to 1939, but is the first in the return of UT head coach Chris Beard who led the Red Raiders to unprecedented heights over the past five seasons.
The Red Raiders (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) and head coach Mark Adams are coming off an emphatic 76-50 win over Mississippi State last Saturday, while the Longhorns (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) hung on for a 52-51 win over Tennessee in their Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup. Tech has won seven of 10 against Texas, including sweeping the regular-season series last season before falling in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals. The 16-5 start for Adams matches Bob Knight (2001-02 season) for the best start for a first-year Tech head coach through 21 games. Beard was 15-6 in his first season of 2016-17 at Tech with Adams as his associate head coach.
Bryson Williams was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday and leads the Red Raiders with 13.5 points per game for the season and 17.3 points per Big 12 game. Williams earned the honor after going off for 33 points last Monday in the 94-91 overtime loss at Kansas before scoring 10 points against MSU to extend a streak of double-figure scoring performances to nine games. He's currently second in the Big 12 by shooting 54.4 percent from the field.
Five players are averaging double-figure scoring for Tech coming into the 22nd game of the season with Terrence Shannon, Jr. (12.0), Kevin McCullar (10.5), Kevin Obanor (10.4) and Davion Warren (10.3) all producing this season. Adonis Arms is averaging 8.4 points per game after leading the Red Raiders with a season-high 16 points in the win over Mississippi State. Arms has led Tech in scoring in four games this season, while Williams has in seven, McCullar and Shannon in four each and Obanor twice. The Red Raiders are coming off their second 20-assist game of the season and are averaging 14.4 assists per game this season.
Tech is currently 13-0 at home this season matching Gonzaga, Providence and Kentucky for the most home wins in the nation this season without a loss. The Red Raiders extended their overall 15-game non-conference home winning streak with the victory over MSU last weekend and already have four Big 12 home wins over Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and West Virginia on their resume. Tech is 35-29 against Texas at home in the series history, including a 68-59 win last season on Feb. 27, 2021 and is 6-2 in the last eight matchups at the USA.
The Longhorns come to Lubbock with a 2-4 record on the road this season, including going 2-2 in Big 12 road games. Texas is led by Beard who is in his first season with the Longhorns after five seasons as the head coach at Texas Tech. Beard amassed a 112-55 record as the Red Raider head coach, guiding the program to the 2018 NCAA Elite 8 and 2019 NCAA National Championship Final – the first time for both accomplishments in program history.
QUICK FACTS
Matchup: Texas (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) at No. 13 Texas Tech (16-5, 5-3 Big 12)
Venue: United Supermarkets Arena (15,098)
Tip: 8:05 p.m., Tuesday
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Mark Neely (play-by-play), Chris Spatola (analyst)
Radio (Texas Tech Sports Network): 97.3 Double T FM
Radio Talent: Geoff Haxton (play-by-play), Chris Level (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Radio Channels: Ch. 81
Series History: Texas leads 88-63; In Lubbock: Tech leads 35-29; Last 10: Tech leads 7-3; Ranked vs. Ranked: Texas leads 4-2
NATIONAL POLLS/STATS
The Red Raiders dropped back one spot in the AP Poll on Monday after jumping from No. 18 to No. 13 in last week's rankings. The team has now been ranked for eight straight weeks following being unranked in the preseason poll and for the first five polls of the season. Tech entered the rankings at No. 25 on December 13 and was ranked No. 25 for four straight weeks before moving up to No. 19 and No. 18. Texas Tech comes into the matchup against the No. 23 Longhorns with a 4-3 record against ranked opponents this season, earning wins over No. 13 Tennessee (Dec. 7), No. 6 Kansas (Jan. 8), No. 1 Baylor (Jan. 11) and No. 15 Iowa State (Jan. 18). The losses came against No. 5 Gonzaga (Dec. 18) and No. 11 Iowa State (Jan. 5) and No. 5 Kansas (Jan. 24). Tech is currently 2-0 against ranked opponents at home this season with the wins over Kansas and Iowa State.
The Red Raiders come into this week leading the Big 12 by holding opponents to just 38.3 percent shooting which ranks 14th nationally and are 17th in the country with teams averaging just 60.3 points per game. Only three opponents have scored of 70 points all season against the Tech defense which is currently third in the Kenpom.com defensive efficiency rating. Mississippi State was the 10th opponent held under 60 points this season and the 26-point win pushed Tech's margin of victory to 14.5 which is 14th nationally. Offensively, Tech had its best shooting performance of the season at 61.7 percent and is now at 47.6 percent for the season which ranks fourth in the conference and 31st nationally.
