Red Raider Preview: No. 10 Kansas

Tuesday, January 2

Lawrence, Kan.

8:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

No. 10 Kansas

January 01, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

The Red Raiders will play their second consecutive ranked vs. ranked matchup on Tuesday.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 18 Texas Tech men's basketball team squares off with No. 10 Kansas during its first true road game of the season at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday.

Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPN as part of Super Tuesday along with the ESPN app. Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla will serve as the announcing team.

The Texas Tech Sports Network will carry the game live on its flagship stations Double T 97.3 FM, 100.7 FM The Score and 950 AM in Lubbock. Geoff Haxton and Chris Level will have the radio call. The radio broadcast also will be available on the Texas Tech Sports Network radio affiliates, online at www.TexasTech.com and the Tune-In Radio app. Fans can interact live with Friday's broadcast by following @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.

The Red Raiders (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) dialed up a convincing 77-53 victory over No. 18 Baylor and were the only home team to win on Big 12 opening weekend. It was the program's third victory over a Top 25 opponent this season and seventh in its last eight games versus Top 25 foes at home.

Texas Tech moved up four spots to No. 18 in this week's Associated Press poll released earlier today. The No. 18 ranking is the highest for the program since also being ranked No. 18 on Feb. 9, 2004 under Bob Knight with Chris Beard as an assistant coach.

The Jayhawks (11-2, 1-0 Big 12) buried 17 three-pointers en route to a 92-86 shootout decision at Texas to claim their 27th consecutive conference opening win. Kansas also has pieced together 11 straight victories in Big 12 home openers going back to the 2006-07 season.

The Jayhawks have won 33 of 37 all-time meetings and 16 straight in the series since 2009-10 over Texas Tech. The 13-time defending Big 12 regular season champions will be ranked inside the AP Top 10 for the 26th time in 31 meetings as Big 12 members.

"I don't know if you could ever prepare for Kansas until you actually play them," Beard said. "I do think that we've played teams that have multiple shooters on the floor at one time so maybe we can draw a little bit from those experiences. When you play Kansas, especially at Allen Fieldhouse, it's a whole other monster. The word around our camp is opportunity. You get into this to play against the best and coach against the best. This is a great early conference game for us to see where we stack up against one of the best teams in the country."

ABOUT TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders continue to sport one of the nation's top defensive units through 13 games. Texas Tech is ranked second nationally allowing 58.2 points per game only behind Virginia and surrendering a 36.0 defensive field goal percentage only behind Michigan State.

The Red Raiders check in among the NCAA's Top 40 in seven additional categories which include rebounding margin at plus 7.8 to rank 26th and offensive field goal percentage at 49.4 percent to rank 27th.

Keenan Evans has piled up 16.6 points, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He has ran off double figures in seven straight games, 12 of 13 games this season and 37 of his last 39 outings. The senior guard has registered 1,154 career points which is 26th on Texas Tech's all-time list. The Red Raiders have won nine of 13 games when Evans eclipses 20 or more points.

The freshman trio of Jarrett Culver, Davide Moretti and Zhaire Smith continue to give Texas Tech a punch off the bench. The trio combined for 32 of the team's 42 points en route a healthy 42-4 bench points edge during the Baylor game.

Smith and Culver hold the fourth and fifth place spots among Big 12 freshmen with 10.7 points and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Smith has garnered an eight-game run in double figures where he has improved his scoring mark to 12.8 points per game on 38-for-58 from the floor. Culver started Texas Tech's last two nonconference games and has chipped in 11 of his team-leading 20 steals over his last four outings.

Niem Stevenson has worked his way to 8.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He has found his groove with 10-plus points during six of his last eight appearances. Stevenson turned in one of his better outings of last season with 22 points and 10 rebounds versus then No. 3 Kansas on Feb. 11.

Zach Smith has provided a balanced 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. He closed the nonconference in style with a season-high 16 points during the Abilene Christian game. Smith heads into Tuesday's action 18 points away from 1,000 for his career and 14 blocks shy of Tony Battie's program record.

Tommy Hamilton IV and Norense Odiase have added 6.3 points and 4.3 points per game, respectively. Hamilton IV has racked up 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game over his last six games off the bench. He tallied eight points and seven rebounds against No. 18 Baylor.

Justin Gray has picked up 5.6 points per game and posted a season-high 11 points against Abilene Christian to finish nonconference action. Brandone Francis has knocked down 10 of his 21 field goals from three-point territory en route to 4.3 points per game.

"Every time you play a game in this conference, chances are that you are playing a ranked team," Beard said. "That's what makes the Big 12 great for so many reasons. That's why so many of our teams make great runs in the tournament and there has been National Championships. In this league, we really prepare each other. On the other hand, it's been said that we kind of beat each other up, but it's a long haul. To me, that's opportunity. That's what it's all about. I think our players – especially our seniors – are really embracing the opportunities in the next nine or ten weeks to play against the best competition in the country."

ABOUT KANSAS
The Jayhawks are one of six teams nationally to have five players averaging over 10.6 points per game or better. Kansas is joined by Duke, Gonzaga, Villanova, TCU and William & Mary.

The four-guard attack of Devonte' Graham (17.2 PPG), Svi Mykhailiuk (16.6 PPG), Malik Newman (10.6 PPG) and Lagerald Vick (17.4 PPG) has combined to drain 135 three-pointers. Graham, Mykhailiuk and Vick are all connecting at over a 45 percent clip from three-clip territory.

Vick has posted 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He's upped his scoring average by 10 points per game between his sophomore and junior seasons. Vick tucked away his fourth game of over 20 points in his last seven outings with a 21-point outburst at Texas.

Graham has already surpassed 1,000 career points as a junior. He is first in assists (449), second in points (1,299), second in steals (159) and tenth in rebounds (333) on the Big 12 active lists. Graham has come away with double figures in nine of his last 10 outings sparked by a pair of 35-point games versus Toledo on Nov. 28 and Syracuse on Dec. 2. He tallied 23 points and eight assists at Texas last time out.

Mykhailiuk has pumped in 16.6 points and 2.6 assists per game. He has been consistent with 10-plus points in 12 of 13 games with a pair of 20-point efforts in his last three appearances. Mykhailiuk tacked on 20 points during the Texas game.

Newman has secured 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. The Mississippi State transfer has notched double figures in nine of 13 games.

On the interior, Udoka Azubuike has been effective and efficient on both ends of the floor with 15.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He is the only Big 12 player to rank in the league's Top 10 in scoring and rebounding and has sank 75 percent of his field goals attempts which is second nationally. Azubuike posted his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds at Texas.

UP NEXT
Texas Tech continues its stretch of three straight weekend home games to start Big 12 action when Kansas State visits the United Supermarkets Arena on Saturday.

Tip time is slated for 3 p.m. CT, and tickets can be purchased for as low as $15 online at www.TexasTech.com or at the United Supermarkets Arena Box Office which opens starting at 1 p.m. CT on gameday.

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 by liking TexasTechMBB on Facebook along with following @TexasTechMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.