Texas Tech at DePaul Preview
LUBBOCK, Texas – The second trip of three straight takes Texas Tech to Chicago this week where the Red Raiders will play unbeaten DePaul at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the Big 12-Big East Battle at the Wintrust Arena.
The Red Raiders (5-2) will play their first true road game of the season after dropping a pair of neutral-court matchups against Iowa and Creighton last week at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational at the Orleans Arena and before playing No. 1-ranked Louisville (7-0) next week at the Jimmy V Classic in New York. Tech was down by 14 at halftime against the Bluejays, fought back to force overtime but then was outscored 9-2 in the extra five minutes to fall 83-76 following a Thanksgiving night 72-61 loss to Iowa after starting the season with a 5-0 record. The Blue Demons (8-0) are coming off a 73-68 road win over Minnesota last Friday and also have Power 5 wins over Iowa and Boston College this season. DePaul is 5-0 at the Wintrust Arena and currently ranks fifth nationally with 50 total blocks and is 12th by limiting opponents to 35.6 percent shooting this season. The team earned a 93-78 win at Iowa on Nov. 11 in the matchup of the only common opponent of Tech's this season. Texas Tech will look to avoid its first three-game non-conference losing streak since the 2012-13 season.
GAME COVERAGE: The game between Texas Tech and DePaul will be broadcasted on FS1 with Tim Brando and Bill Raftery 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. Fans can also find the game on any streaming device by using the FOX Sports Go app and can follow the game at @TexasTechMBB.
STAT RANKINGS: Texas Tech continues to lead the nation with 20.1 assists per game and is the Big 12 leader with 141 total assists through seven games. The Red Raiders had a season-high 31 assists in a win over Houston Baptist and also had 25 in the season-opening win over Eastern Illinois. Individually, Chris Clarke is third in the conference and 24th nationally at 6.1 assists per game and Kyler Edwards is seventh in the conference with 4.1 assists per game. Tech is second in the Big 12 and 12th in the NCAA with a 1.52 turnover-to-assist ratio and tops the conference with a 8.9 rebounding margin advantage per game. The Red Raiders are averaging 81.7 points per game which ranks third in the conference, are second in the Big 12 by shooting 46.7 percent and are third in the Big 12 by holding teams to 40.0 percent shooting.
POLL REPORT: After dropping two games in Las Vegas last week Texas Tech dropped 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. Louisville (7-0) moved up from No. 2 to the top spot in the AP Top 25 and will play No. 4 Michigan on Tuesday and Pittsburgh on Friday before next week's game against Tech at Madison Square Garden. Kansas (6-1) moved up to No. 2 and Baylor (5-1) is now No. 18 to represent the Big 12. Duke (7-1) dropped from the top-ranked team in the nation to No. 10 after its loss to SFA last Wednesday. The Red Raiders received 43 votes in this week's poll, while DePaul had 18 votes.
SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech is 0-2 all-time against DePaul with the last matchup coming on Nov. 25, 2011 at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Florida. DePaul won that game by a 76-70 margin after also winning the first matchup by a 50-47 margin on Dec. 17, 1983 in Osaka, Japan. The Blue Demons were ranked No. 4 in the nation in the game in 1983 in Japan. Tech finds itself with a 2-15 all-time record against the Big East following its loss to Creighton. In the 2015-16 season, coach Beard took his Little Rock team to Chicago and earned a 66-44 win over the Blue Demons led by Josh Hagins who scored 19 points for the Trojans on Dec. 12, 2015.
LAST TIME OUT: Down 14 at halftime against Creighton, Texas Tech stormed back in the second half to force overtime time with a 74-74 score at regulation but would fall 83-76 for its second straight loss in Las Vegas. Davide Moretti led the Red Raiders with a career-high 23 points and Chris Clarke added 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, while Kyler Edwards had a career-high eight rebounds to go along with 14 points and four assists. Tech, which trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half, committed only nine turnovers in the loss but saw the Bluejays make 10 3-pointers and shoot 51.7 percent from the field .
HALFTIME DEFICITS: Texas Tech has trailed at halftime in the past three games and has gone 2-1 in those games. Down 42-41 against Long Island at halftime, the Red Raider would roll to a 96-66 win by outscoring the Sharks by a 55-24 margin in the second half. In Vegas, Tech was down 10 to Iowa and 14 against Creighton. The Red Raiders are coming off a 2018-19 season where they were trailing in 14 games at halftime and came back to win eight of them. Tech's largest halftime deficit last season that it came back from was nine against Memphis and Southern Cal in non-conference play. Under Beard, Tech has won 21 games when going into the break with a deficit.
OVERTIME GAMES: With its 83-76 overtime loss to Creighton to finish the Las Vegas Classic, Texas Tech is now 51-50 all-time in overtime contests and 4-4 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.
PLAYER NOTES: Texas Tech is led by junior Davide Moretti who has competed in 82 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 is coming off scoring a career-high 23 points in the loss to Creighton where he made eight shots, including knocking down three 3-pointers and going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. A guard from Bologna, Italy, Moretti is currently 17-for-17 from the free-throw line, is shooting 51.6 from the field (33 of 64) and has knocked down 17 of 37 shots from beyond the arc (45.9 percent) through seven games this season. Moretti, who led the nation at 92.4 percent (97 of 105) from the free-throw line last season, has scored in double figures in six of seven games this season and in 33 during his career. He has scored 666 points, made 116 3-pointers and is 138-for-150 (92.0 percent) from the free-throw line in his career which is the best in program history. Along with scoring, Moretti has dished out 2.7 assists per game this season and has 152 assists in his career. He had a previous career-high of 21 points last season against Arkansas and has now scored 20 or more points in four games. Moretti had scored 19 points earlier this year against Tennessee State where he had a season-high four 3-pointers which was one shy of his career-high of five 3-pointers against Mississippi Valley State last season. Moretti earned All-Big 12 Third Team honors last season and was named the Elite 90 Award winner at the Final Four with the highest GPA among all student-athletes at the tournament.
Clarke transferred to Texas Tech after playing three years at Virginia Tech where he played 79 games. A guard from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Clarke leads the Red Raiders with 8.0 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game this season and is now at 6.3 points per game after scoring a season-high 17 against Creighton following 11 in the game against Iowa. Clarke, who added nine assists and seven rebounds against the Bluejays, has the lone Texas Tech double-double this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against the Hawkeyes where he also had five assists. He had a season-high 12 rebounds against Tennessee State and a career-high 11 assists against Houston Baptist. Clarke has come off the bench in six games and made his first start for the Red Raiders last Friday against Creighton where he played 39 minutes in the overtime game. Against the Bluejays, Clarke was 8-for-14 from the field including making his first 3-pointer of the season. Clarke scored the game-tying basket with 33 seconds remaining in regulation. He has recorded seven or more rebounds in six of seven games this season and now has 573 career rebounds (6.6 per) and 253 assists when combining Texas Tech and Virginia Tech statistics. Holyfield came to Texas Tech after playing three seasons at SFA and currently is averaging 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game through seven starts. An Albuquerque, New Mexico native, Holyfield scored a season-high 12 points in the win over Houston Baptist after scoring 20 against Bethune-Cookman. He went 9-for-10 from the field against HBU and leads the Red Raiders by shooting 64.0 percent from the field. He had a season-high seven rebounds in the win over LIU and leads Tech with seven blocked shots. Holyfield has scored 1,162 career points, 141 blocks and 628 rebounds when combining stats from SFA and Tech.
Jahmi'us 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. Ramsey missed the Creighton game due to an aggravated left hamstring that he injured in the second half against Iowa in the first game at the Las Vegas Classic. 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 comes into the matchup against DePaul with 4.1 assists per game and averaging 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds. A sophomore from Arlington, Texas, Edwards played a reserve role in all 38 games as a freshman during Tech's run to the NCAA Championship Final and has started all seven games to begin his second year in the program. Edwards recorded 14 points and a career-high eight rebounds in the loss to Creighton last Friday along with having four assists. Through seven games, Edwards has four or more assists in four game including matching a career-best with six assists in a win over Long Island. He has scored in double figures in the past five games starting with a season-high 15 points in the win over Houston Baptist on Nov. 13 in Midland, Texas. He had a career-high 19 points last season as a freshman when he went off for 19 points on a 7-for-7 shooting performance that included four 3-pointers. He ended his first season with 12 points in the championship final against Virginia. Edwards is currently 18-for-19 at the free-throw line this season. Along with Edwards, Avery Benson is producing during his redshirt sophomore season. An Arkansas native, Benson has played in all seven games this season after playing in 20 last season. He is averaging 4.0 points and 1.4 rebounds per game this season after scoring four and securing four rebounds against Creighton. He scored a season-high six points in the win over Bethune-Cookman and had five against HBU. Against the Bluejays, Benson took a charge in the final minute to set up the game-tying basket.
A Chicago native, Terrence Shannon, Jr. will play in his hometown for the first time in his collegiate career on Wednesday night against DePaul. A 6-foot-6 freshman guard, Shannon went to Lincoln Park High School in Chicago before attending IMG Academy in Florida. Shannon has started all seven games for the Red Raiders and is averaging 9.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He scored a career-high 13 points in wins over Tennessee State and Long Island and is coming off an eight-point performance against Creighton. He had a season-high nine rebounds and also added nine points in the loss to Iowa.
During the run to the Big 12 regular-season championship and NCAA Championship Final, Texas Tech redshirted two players in Kevin McCullar and Andrei Savrasov. The pair of players practiced with the team and was there for each historic game to bring that experience into this season. McCullar, a 6-foot-6 guard from San Antonio, is averaging 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game with a season-high 10 points coming against LIU on Nov. 24. In his first double-digit scoring performance of his career, McCullar was 4-for-7 from the field with two 3-pointers and also added three rebounds. He had a season-high four rebounds in the loss to Iowa before being held scoreless and grabbing only one rebound against Creighton. A 6-foot-7 forward from Russia, Savrasov scored the first points of his collegiate career in the loss to the Bluejays after he hit two 3-pointers and finished with six points. He has played a reserve role in six games this season and is averaging 1.3 rebounds with a season-high five rebounds in the win over Bethune-Cookman in the second game of the season. Along with McCullar and Savrasov, the Red Raiders are getting production from Clarence Nadolny and Russel Tchewa during their true freshman seasons. Nadolny is at 3.3 points per game and Tchewa is scoring 3.0 points and pulling down 1.3 rebounds per game. A 7-foot center from Cameroon, Tchewa scored a career-high six points in the win over LIU while Nadolny (France) had a season-best nine points in the win over HBU.
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 (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 81-33 record coming into the game against DePaul. 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 177-63 as a collegiate head coach after prior leadership at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry.
OPPONENT EIGHT: DePaul remained unbeaten through eight games after going on the road and knocking off Minnesota 73-68 last Friday. The Blue Demons are scoring 78.4 points per game and are shooting 49.4 percent from the field with 58 3-pointers, while limiting opponents to 63.8 ppg. and to 35.6 percent shooting. Charlie Moore, a transfer from Kansas, leads the Blue Demons at 17.1 points per game along with 53 assists and 13 steals. A Chicago native who had his transfer waiver approved by the NCAA played in 35 games last season for the Jayhawks where he averaged 2.9 points and 1.3 assists per game. In Lubbock, Moore scored nine points and had one assists in the game where Texas Tech earned a 91-62 win over the Jayhawks after being limited to two points in the matchup in Lawrence. Moore led the Blue Demons with 21 points and 12 assists in the win over Minnesota after scoring 24 and dishing out eight assists at Boston College. Paul Reed, a junior from Orlando, Florida, is averaging 15.3 points per game and leads DePaul with 10.4 rebounds per game. He has recorded six double-doubles which leads the nation and his 28 total blocks are the fourth most throughout the nation. Reed had nine rebounds and 11 rebounds against Minnesota after scoring 25 points and securing 12 rebounds for a double-double in their win over Iowa. Jaylen Butz is at 10.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while Jalen Coleman-Lands is scoring 9.4 points and has 11 assists from the starting lineup.
DePaul is currently 5-0 on its home court and ranks 12th nationally with 6.3 blocks per game. With 50 total blocks, the team is fifth in the NCAA in the category and 12th defensively by limiting opponents to just 35.6 percent shooting. The Blue Demons will return to action by hosting Buffalo on Sunday at the Wintrust Arena.
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.
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.
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.
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: Following its trip to Chicago, Texas Tech will play against No. 1-ranked Louisville on Dec. 10 in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York before hosting Southern Mississippi on Dec. 16 in its next home game.
