Red Raider Preview: TCU

Tuesday, February 7

Fort Worth, Texas

8:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

TCU

February 06, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Game24TCUNotes

With a win, Texas Tech will earn its fourth regular season series sweep of TCU as Big 12 members.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball team wraps up three straight midweek road games inside the Lone Star State versus TCU at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena on Tuesday.

Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNEWS along with www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Mitch Holthus and Stephen Howard will serve as the announcing team.

The Texas Tech Sports Network will carry the game live on its flagship stations 97.3 FM, 100.7 FM and 950 AM in Lubbock. Geoff Haxton and Chris Level will have the call. The radio broadcast also will be available on the Texas Tech Sports Network radio affiliates, online at www.TexasTech.com and the TuneIn Radio app. Fans can interact live with Tuesday's broadcast @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.

The Red Raiders (16-7, 4-6 Big 12) ended their three-game Big 12 losing streak with a 77-69 victory over Oklahoma last Saturday. Texas Tech had five players secure double figures highlighted by a season-high 18 points courtesy of Aaron Ross.

"To me, you're not even a part of the fight until you win on the road in the conference race," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "We've yet to do that. I think you've got to put wins back-to-back. To this point, we're an inconsistent team. That's who we are. We've won one, lost one, won one, lost one, so one of many goals, objectives that we have is to get to where we can win multiple games in a row."

TCU (16-7, 5-5 Big 12) enters the week in a fifth place tie with Kansas State who the Horned Frogs defeated earlier this month. Recently, TCU has scorched the nets for over a 50 percent shooting clip in three straight – a program first since February 2001. The Frogs also have dialed up 10 or more three-pointers four times this season after having done so a total of four times during the last four seasons.

Texas Tech rode the trio of Keenan Evans, Justin Gray and Zach Smith who racked up 32 of their 59 points during the second half of a 75-69 victory over TCU on Jan. 18. The Red Raiders closed the contest with 11 of the last 17 points over the final 3:08 and hit on 25-of-31 at the free throw line.

About Texas Tech
Texas Tech has won 12 of its 15 games when outrebounding its opponents. Last time out, the Red Raiders secured a 32-30 rebounding edge versus Oklahoma.

Texas Tech checks in among the NCAA's Top 40 in six categories sparked by a 48.6 field goal percentage which is 26th, a 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio which is 28th and a 65.3 points per game scoring defense which is 38th.

Keenan Evans has ripped off 11 consecutive games in double figures and 19 of his 22 appearances on the season. His 14.2 points per game are 11th in the Big 12 rankings. Evans also has posted a 42.5 percent three-point clip (3rd), 80 percent on free throws (4th) and 48.3 percent field goal clip (11th) on the Big 12 list.

Zach Smith has picked 13.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists per game. He is the only player in the Big 12 to possess Top 6 marks in rebounds and blocks per game. Smith has reached double figures in eight of his last 10 outings and registered a blocked shot in 20 of his 22 appearances. He has piled up 126 rejections which is second in program history only behind Tony Battie at 162.

Anthony Livingston has matched his season-long streak of three straight games in double figures and is third on the team with 11.3 points per game. He has buried a team-leading 46 treys most recently a trio of three-balls versus Oklahoma. Livingston has rattled home a 41.8 percent clip is sixth whereas his 2.0 triples per game is ninth on the Big 12 ledger.

Aaron Ross has exploded for double figures in three of his last four outings and notched a season-high 18 points during the Oklahoma game. He has notched 13.3 points per game to fuel the four-game stretch. Ross' 90.2 free throw percentage is second in the Big 12 and is rated among the NCAA's Top 20.

Justin Gray has started Texas Tech's last 19 games, while Niem Stevenson jumped into the starting five for the second time this season against Oklahoma. Stevenson has heated up as of late with 10.8 points per game and connected on nine of his 19 triples over his last four appearances. Gray has been effective and efficient on his two-point attempts going 77-for-126 and added 14 points as part of the OU win.

Thomas Brandsma, Shadell Millinghaus, Matthew Temple and Devon Thomas round out Texas Tech's 10-man playing rotation. Thomas is the team leader with 76 assists and 24 steals and committed one turnover or less in 17 of 23 games this season.

Texas Tech has played 20 of its 23 games this season which includes its last seven games without Norense Odiase who provided 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game last season.

"Aggressive – Sometimes, aggressive means running the offense," Beard said. "Sometimes, aggressive means making a play early in the shot clock. At the end of the day, it's a players' game. I have a lot of confidence in our players, and I think that they understand the difference between running the offense and making a play late in the game."

About TCU
The Horned Frogs have already set a program mark with five Big 12 victories and have won back-to-back decisions to start February at Kansas State, 86-80 in overtime, coupled with a 78-63 win over Texas last Saturday.

TCU has a pair of teammates with at least 100 assists in Alex Robinson and Jaylen Fisher for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Robinson is rated second with 5.6 assists per game followed by Fisher at 4.4 assists per game which is seventh in the Big 12 rankings. The duo also has reached 10-plus points a combined 27 times this season. Robinson is on a season's best four-game run sparked by a 20-point outburst against Auburn on Jan. 28 as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Vladimir Brodziansky has piled up 18.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game during Big 12 action. He has ripped off double figures in nine of 10 conference games sparked by a quartet of games over 20 points. Brodziansky poured in 22 points and six rebounds in the first meeting versus Texas Tech. His 56 total blocks rank eighth for the most in a single-season at TCU.

Kenrich Williams has nearly averaged a double-double with 10.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. The 9.3 rebounds are second on the Big 12 leaderboard. He has amassed nine double-doubles on the season which is tied with Baylor's Johnathan Motely. Williams' last double-double was 11 points and 10 rebounds at Kansas State on Feb. 1.

Desmond Bane and JD Miller have chipped in 7.8 points and 7.0 points per game, respectively. Miller has been hot as of late and doubled his average to 14.0 points per game over his last three appearances. He exploded for a season-high 18 points aided by four three-pointers during the Kansas State game.

"You can't let talented guys get in a rhythm, so we can't let those guards or Brodziansky the same way for 40 minutes," Beard said. "We'll have to change throughout the game, and I'm sure TCU feels the same way about us. But, certainly, when you double the post or double the drive, you give some things up around the perimeter. When you take away the perimeter shots, you give up some things in one-on-one situations. At the end of the day, it's a game where you have to adjust throughout the game especially when you play against good, well-coached teams like TCU."

Up Next
Texas Tech is scheduled to face three consecutive ranked opponents beginning with No. 3 Kansas on Saturday. Tipoff is on-tap for 1 p.m. CT from the United Supermarkets Arena. The game will be televised by ESPN in addition to the Watch ESPN app.

There are a limited number of 200-level tickets available to Saturday's game for as low as $15 online at www.TexasTech.com or in person at the United Supermarkets Arena Box Office which opens 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

Texas Tech is offering enhancements for the remainder of the season to better serve its fans. The S1 Parking Lot at the John Walker Soccer Complex will be open for free parking for all fans. Texas Tech also will provide a free shuttle beginning 75 minutes prior to tipoff and 60 minutes following the game to transport fans to and from the United Supermarkets Arena.

Fans are reminded to go clear at all Texas Tech basketball games. The clear bag policy provides a safer atmosphere and speeds up the entry process into the United Supermarkets Arena.

Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TexasTechMBB and @TexasTechMBB on Twitter and Instagram.