Jan. 18, 2001
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TEXAS TECH LOOKS FOR FIRST BACK-TO-BACK CONFERENCE WINS SINCE '98-99
Texas Tech hasn't put together back-to-back league wins since knocking off Baylor and Kansas in consecutive games during the 1998-99 season. The Red Raiders will get that opportunity Saturday when they host the Colorado Buffaloes at 2 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena.
The Red Raiders are coming off of a 60-59 last second win over No. 21 Oklahoma Tuesday night in Lubbock. Jamal Brown's seven-foot jumper between two defender banged off the glass and through the basket with 1.5 seconds remaining on the clock to seal the win.
The Buffaloes are looking to get back on the winning track following a 1-3 start in league play. CU dropped an 84-68 decision in its last meeting at Iowa State Tuesday night. CU's lone league win came against Texas A&M in Boulder.
A TEXAS TECH WIN WOULD...
Improve Tech's record to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in league play. The 3-2 league mark would be the best start in Big 12 play for Tech since the 1996-97 season when the Red Raiders opened 5-1.
Mark the first time in two seasons that Texas Tech has won back-to-back league games.
Give Tech its first win over Colorado since the 1984 season.
Give the Red Raiders their first plus-.500 record in league play since opening the 1998-99 Big 12 season with a win over Baylor for a 1-0 mark.
Up James Dickey's career coaching record to 166-112.
Improve Tech's all-time record to 1,100-829.
A TEXAS TECH LOSS WOULD...
Drop Tech to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in league play.
Drop Tech's home record to 5-5 on the season.
Move Colorado's win streak in the series to six games.
NOTING THE WIN OVER OKLAHOMA
Texas Tech improved to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in Big 12 play.
The win was the first over a ranked team for Texas Tech since knocking off No. 24 Kansas 90-84 in Lubbock on Feb. 13, 1999.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak to the Sooners.
Marcus Shropshire got back in the scoring column with seven points, despite hitting only 2-of-7 shots from the field. He was held scoreless at Oklahoma State for the first time in 10 games.
The Red Raiders improved to 7-0 in games when out-rebounding their opponent.
Jamal Brown led the Red Raiders in scoring with 18 points, marking the fifth game this season he has led the team.
Texas Tech led the Sooners in points in the paint (30-22), points off turnovers (13-12), second chance points (8-7) and fast break points (8-4).
Tech held OU starting center Ronnie Griffin and starting forward J.R. Raymond scoreless in the game. The two had combined to average 12.2 points per game on the season.
Mikey Marshall grabbed a career-high tying seven rebounds and dished out a career-high five assists.
Cliff Owens led the team with eight rebounds. He has led the team on the boards in 11 games this season.
Johnny Phillips tied a career-high with four blocks. He also grabbed five rebounds.
Tech registered eight blocks in the game. The team only totaled seven in the previous four.
TECH WIN IS FIRST OVER RANKED TEAM IN TWO YEARS
Texas Tech's 60-59 win over No. 21 Oklahoma was the first for the Red Raiders over a ranked team since knocking off 24th-ranked Kansas 90-84 on Feb. 13, 1999. Both games were in Lubbock. The last time Tech defeated an opponent ranked higher than 21st was a 77-68 win over 11th-ranked New Mexico on Dec. 4, 1996. During that same season, the Red Raiders also defeated No. 21 Fresno State.
LEADING THE RED RAIDERS
Andy Ellis leads the team with 16.6 points per game and has led the team throughout the season. Cliff Owens and Jamal Brown follow with 12.8 and 11.5 points, respectively. Owens has been the man inside, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game, while Ellis logs 6.3 boards. Brown leads the Big 12 and ranks fifth nationally with 7.3 assists per game. Brown also leads the team with 23 made three-point baskets, while Marcus Shropshire has knocked down 21 extra-point attempts and is averaging 6.6 points. Andre Emmett comes off the bench for Tech to average 7.7 points per game.
BROWN RANKS AMONG NATION'S TOP FIVE
Point guard Jamal Brown not only leads the Big 12 with 7.3 assists per game, but ranks fifth in the nation. Marist's Sean Kennedy is the nation's leader in assists with 9.6 per game. Brown has posted four double-digit assist games this season. He dished out 11 in each game against UL Lafayette and UTEP. Brown handed out 10 balls against Texas A&M-CC and 10 more at TCU. In addition to his assists totals, Brown has recorded three double-doubles this season.
ELLIS TURNING IN ANOTHER STRONG SEASON
Center Andy Ellis leads the team with 16.6 points per game and is second on the boards with 6.3 rebounds. Ellis ranks seventh in the Big 12 in scoring. Ellis posted back-to-back double-doubles earlier this season against UTEP and Ball State. He has scored in double-figures in all but one game this season and has led the team in scoring in seven games and has four game-high honors. He also leads the team with five 20+-point games.
GLASS CLEANING COMES NATURAL FOR OWENS
Throughout his career senior forward Cliff Owens has had a knack for crashing the boards and leading Texas Tech in rebounding. Owens led the Red Raiders with 7.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 1997-98 and paced the team again the following season with 7.0 boards per game. After sitting out last season with an ankle injury, Owens once again leads the team on the glass. He is currently averaging 7.7 rebounds and has led the team in 11 games. Four times he has garnered game-high honors.
PHILLIPS APPROACHING 100 CAREER GAMES
Senior center Johnny Phillips is fast approaching 100 career games at Texas Tech. Phillips leads the team with 97 career games played. Senior forward Cliff Owens follows with 92. Tony Benford is the all-time games played leader at Tech with 121 from 1982-86.
TECH'S STRUGGLES IN FINAL FIVE
The Red Raiders have had a problem in the final five minutes of games this season. The opposition is out-scoring Texas Tech 152-118 this season in the closing minutes. The Red Raiders led UTEP 71-64 with five minutes remaining, but lost 81-80 after yielding a 17-9 run. In the last game, Tech led Oklahoma 57-50 with five minutes to play and narrowly escaped with a 60-59 win.
LEADING AT THE BREAK
Texas Tech is 6-1 on the season when leading at halftime. The lone loss came to UTEP after the Red Raiders entered the intermission period with a 46-39 advantage.
TECH PERFECT WHEN SHOOTING BETTER THAN OPPONENT
The Red Raiders are 7-0 this season when posting a better shooting percentage than their opponent.
BENCH PRODUCTION
Texas Tech is receiving an added boost this season from the bench. Tech's nonstarters are averaging 18.9 points per game - 25.7 percent of the team total. Last season, bench scoring averaged 11.2 points per game. The Red Raiders are 5-2 on the season when the Tech bench out-scores the opposition's bench.
TECH FINDS SUCCESS WHEN LEADING LATE
Texas Tech is 6-1 when leading with five minutes remaining in the game. The only loss came to UTEP after Tech held a seven-point lead with five minutes to play.
STRUGGLING IN THE 80'S
Seven times during the 2000-01 season, the Red Raiders have allowed opponents to score more than 80 points and six of those seven have gone down in the loss column for Texas Tech.
ELLIS NAMED TO PRESEASON TEAMS
Texas Tech junior center Andy Ellis has been tabbed by three college basketball publications as a preseason All-Big 12 selection.
Ellis is listed as a second-team All-Big 12 selection by The Sporting News and Athlon Sports. Street and Smith's has Ellis listed as an All-Big 12 selection along with Jamaal Tinsley (Iowa State), Kimani Ffriend (Nebraska), Drew Gooden (Kansas) and Bernard King (Texas A&M).
Ellis, who injured his hand last month, averaged 16.9 points per game and 8.9 rebounds during the 1999-00 season before dislocating his left shoulder against Nebraska in the 14th game of the season that forced him to sit out the remainder of the year.
