Jamal Williams, Jr. scored 15 points in his Red Raider debut.

November 13, 2012

Texas Tech Notes | Omaha Notes | Big 12 Notes

Opponent: Omaha Mavericks
Date/Time: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 / 7 p.m.
Location: Lubbock, Texas (United Spirit Arena / 15,098)
Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network from Learfield Sports
   Brian Hanni (Play-By-Play) and Chris Level (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: None
Television: FOX Sports Southwest Plus
    Channel: Lubbock Suddenlink (81 / HD281), Direct TV (677)
   http://www.texastech.com/texastechtv/texastech-tv.html#channels
   Brian Jensen (Play-by-Play), John Harris (Analyst)
On The Web: Live in-game statistics and other coverage can be found at www.texastech.com
Rankings: Texas Tech: None. Nebraska-Omaha: None.
Head Coaches: Texas Tech: Chris Walker (Career: 1-0 in one season; At Texas Tech: Same.) Omaha: Derrin Hanson (Career: 123-86 in eight seasons; At Omaha: Same.)
Against Nebraska-Omaha: Texas Tech is 1-0 all-time vs. Omaha; Walker is 0-0 all-time vs. UNO.

Red Raiders Host Mavericks

The Texas Tech Red Raiders return to action Wednesday against the Omaha Mavericks at 7 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena.

The last time these two teams met was Dec. 10, 1941, in Lubbock. Ironically, that game was also on a Wednesday. It was also the first athletic event on campus following the Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor. The Red Raiders prevailed, 42-31, behind 12 points from All-Border Conference center Byron Gilbreath.

The Red Raiders look to start the season 2-0 for the fourth time in the last five years. A win would mark the 39th 2-0 start in the 88-year history of the program.

Red Raider head coach Chris Walker will look to become the seventh coach at Texas Tech to start his career in Lubbock 2-0, joining Dell Morgan (1931), Bob Bass (1969), Gerald Myers (1971), Bob Knight (2001), Pat Knight (2008) and Billy Gillisipie (2011).

Texas Tech is coming in off of an 89-79 win over Prairie View A&M in the season opener at the United Spirit Arena. Sophomore Jordan Tolbert returned right where he left off last season, leading the team in points (16) and rebounds (7). He led four players in double figures – Jamal Williams, Jr. (15 points), Daylen Robinson (14 points) and Josh Gray (10 points).

The Mavericks will be hitting the hardwood for the third time this season, but their first on the road. Omaha dropped Northern Illinois, 77-64, on Friday to open the season, but came up on the short against St. Mary (Kan.), 96-86, on Sunday in Omaha.

Omaha, which is a member of The Summit League, has four players averaging double digits this season, led by John Karhoff (15.0 points). Other double-digit scorers are Alex Phillips (12.0 points), CJ Carter (12.0 points) and Alex Welhouse (10.5 points).

RECORD vs. OMAHA
Wednesday’s game against Omaha will mark the second all-time meeting between the two programs.

Overall: 1-0 • Home: 1-0 • Road: 0-0 • Neutral: 0-0
DATE          OPPONENT    W/L    TT    OPP
12/10/41    Omaha         W      42     31

LAST MEETING: OMAHA
LUBBOCK, Texas (Dec. 10, 1941) — Texas Tech (1-1) pulled out a 42-31 victory over Omaha University in the home opener for the Red Raiders.

Center Byron Gilbreath led Texas Tech with 12 points against Omaha.

Red Raider head coach Berl Huffman went on to lead Texas Tech to a second place finish in the Border Conference and an appearance in the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) tournament.

ABOUT OMAHA
Omaha is in its first full year in NCAA Division I and competes in the Summit League.

The Mavericks have started the season 1-1 after upending Northern Illinois, 77-64, on Friday to open the season, but came up on the short against St. Mary (Kan.), 96-86, on Sunday in Omaha.
Omaha is led by head coach Derrin Hanson, who is 123-86 in eight seasons at the helm of the Maverick program.

The Mavericks have four players averaging double digits this season, led by John Karhoff (15.0 points). Other double-digit scorers for the Mavericks are Alex Phillips (12.0 points), CJ Carter (12.0 points) and Alex Welhouse (10.5 points).

MAKING A DEBUT
Head coach Chris Walker became the eighth Red Raider head coach to win his debut with the Red & Black The previous 14 head coaches had gone 7-7 in their head coaching debuts.

Four of the last six Red Raider head coaches have  made the jump from Texas Tech assistant coach to head coach. Walker joins Pat Knight, James Dickey and Gerald Myers to make the jump to head coach.
Walker will look to become the seventh coach at Texas Tech to start his career in Lubbock 2-0, joining Dell Morgan (1931), Bob Bass (1969), Gerald Myers (1971), Bob Knight (2001), Pat Knight (2008) and Billy Gillisipie (2011).

THE TIES THAT BIND
Assistant coach Jeremy Cox and assistant director of operations Jim Shaw are both in their first season at Texas Tech after serving on Doc Sadler’s staff at the University of Nebraska.

Omaha has two players who have ties to this region – Alex Phillips and Mike Rostampour. Phillips transferred to Omaha, after playing at New Mexico Junior College, while Rostampour played for one season at Grayson College in Denison, Texas.

RETURNING POINTS
Texas Tech’s top three scorers from last season return to the lineup this year, as the Red Raiders will continue to look for offensive support from sophomore Jordan Tolbert (11.5 points), Ty Nurse (8.9 points) and Jaye Crockett (8.8 points).

These three combined to produce 48.2 percent of the offense for the Red Raiders last season.
Also returning are redshirt freshman Toddrick Gotcher (7.3 points), Luke Adams (4.2 points) and Clark Lammert (3.0 points), give the Red Raiders 60 percent of its offense from last season.

In the season opener, the returning Red Raiders produced 34.8 percent of the scoring and 35.1 percent of the rebounding.

GOTCHER GETS MEDICAL REDSHIRT
Garland native Toddrick Gotcher was granted a medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending foot injury last season.

Prior to his injury, Gotcher was averaging 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He played in just nine games last season, including eight starts, averaging 29.9 minutes per game.

Jordan Tolbert PART II
Sophomore Jordan Tolbert put together one of the finest freshman campaigns in the history of Texas Tech last season, becoming the first Red Raider freshman to lead the team in scoring since Rick Bullock in 1972.

He lived up to the billing during the season opener against Prairie View A&M, as he went 7-for-7 for 16 points, while pulling down seven rebounds. It was his 17th career double-digit scoring effort while playing for the Red Raiders

Tolbert currently ranks fifth in the Big 12 Conference in scoring and 14th in rebounding.

Tolbert averaged 11.5 points per game as a freshman, to go along with 5.7 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures 16 times last season and recorded a pair of double-doubles.

He ranked in the top 15 in scoring and rebounding in the Big 12 and earned the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honor just after Christmas.

Tolbert netted 27 points twice last season against TCU and Cal State-Bakersfield. Those two outputs rank in the top five for a freshman at Texas Tech.

In all, he netted 20 points five times last season. He ranks in the top five for Texas Tech freshman in scoring average, total points, rebounding and field goal percentage.

TECH WIN 60TH SEASON OPENER
Jordan Tolbert scored 16 points as Texas Tech defeated Prairie View A&M 89-79 Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

Texas Tech is now 60-27 in season openers, including winners of 13 straight. The Red Raiders are 13-1 all-time in season openers in the United Spirit Arena.

The Red Raiders’ win came in head coach Chris Walker’s first game.

Tolbert was 7 for 7 from the field and had seven rebounds.

Jamal Williams Jr. added 15 points for Texas Tech, including 3-pointers on three straight possessions to spark an early run that gave the Red Raiders a lead they carried through the rest of the game.

Prairie View trailed by 20 points before getting as close as eight in the second half. Carl Blair was 15 of 17 from the free-throw line and finished with 19 points for the Panthers. Ryan Gesiakowski added 18 points.

POSTGAME NOTES: PRAIRIE VIEW
•    Attendance: 8,515
•    Texas Tech Starters: Josh Gray, Toddrick Gotcher, Jamal Williams, Jr., Dejan Kravic and Jordan Tolbert. It is Tolbert’s 30th career start and Gotcher’s ninth career start. It was the first career start for Gray, Williams and Kravic.
•    Texas Tech won its season opener for the 13th consecutive season, improving Texas Tech’s record to 13-1 in season openers at the United Spirit Arena. Overall, the Red Raiders are 61-27 in season openers.
•    Texas Tech is now 6-0 all-time against Prairie View A&M with the win.
•    Texas Tech head coach Chris Walker became the eight head coach in program history to win his debut at the helm of the program. Red Raider head coaches are 8-7 all-time in their debut.
•    Texas Tech scored 50 points in a half for the first time since netting 54 points in the second half against Georgia Southern at United Spirit Arena on Nov. 23, 2010. The last time Texas Tech had 50 points in the first half was when the Red Raiders dropped 50 on No. 6 Texas on Jan. 27, 2010.
•    In all, 10 different Red Raiders scored in the game, including double-digit efforts from Jordan Tolbert (16), Jamal Williams, Jr. (15), Daylen Robinson (14) and Josh Gray (10).
•    Sophomore Jordan Tolbert recorded his 17th career double-digit scoring performance. He finished the night with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Tolbert led the Red Raiders in scoring last year with 11.5 points per game.
•    Junior transfer Jamal Williams, Jr. made his Red Raider debut with a splash, picking up 10 first half points. He scored 10 consecutive points for Texas Tech in a 10-2 Red Raider run. Williams finished the night with 15 points and 6 rebounds.
•    Junior transfer Daylen Robinson 14 points in his debut for Texas Tech. He was 4-of-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line.
•    Junior Dejan Kravic recorded five blocks in the opener. The last time a Red Raider had five blocks in a game was D’walyn Roberts against Ole Miss on March 23, 2010.
•    Junior Jaye Crockett fouled out with 2:37 to play. Crockett finished the night with five points and four rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
•    Freshman Josh Gray made his collegiate debut, chipping in 10 points and four assists. Gray was ranked as the 107th best player in the ESPN.com 2012 recruiting class.
•    Texas Tech had 11 steals in a game for the first time since Grambling State on Dec. 18, 2011.
•    The Red Raiders netted 30 field goals in a game for the first time since Grambling State on Dec. 18, 2011. Texas Tech was 30 for 59 (50.8 percent).

RED RAIDERS WINS EXHIBITION
Dejan Kravic led four players in double figures, as Texas Tech rolled past Texas-Permian Basin, 88-63, Thursday night at the United Spirit Arena in the Red Raiders’ lone exhibition game before the start of the regular season.

Thursday also marked the debut of first-year head coach Chris Walker, who saw his Red Raiders jump out to a 54-26 halftime lead.

Kravic, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, netted 16 points and pulled down six rebounds, while Trency Jackson chipped in 13 points, Dusty Hannahs had 12 and Daylen Robinson added 10.

Texas Tech jumped out to a 23-6 lead with 10:56 to play in the first and increased the margin to 54-26 going into the break thanks in large part to the Red Raiders’ ability to connect on 64.5 percent from the field.

The shooting went somewhat cold in the second half, as Texas Tech connected on just 14 of 38 shots from the first (36.8 percent).

In all, 12 of the 13 Red Raiders scored on the night and eight different players netted at least five points on the night for a balanced scoring attack.

A SENIOR NAMED TY
The 2012-13 Red Raiders are a young squad, as Texas Tech’s roster features four freshmen, four sophomores, five juniors and one senior — Ty Nurse.

Nurse recorded two points, two steals and an assist off the bench against Prairie View A&M.

After a two-year career at Midland College, Nurse transferred to Texas Tech last season, where he played in 30 games and earning 24 starts.

In his Red Raider debut, he netted 29 points against Troy in last year’s season opener. Nurse finished second on the squad in scoring (8.9 points).

Nurse is one of the nation’s best free throw shooters in the nation. He finished the year with a 90.4 percent free throw shooting average and only missed six free throws all year. At one point, he had made 27 straight. For six weeks, he led the nation in free throw percentage.

WILLIAMS HAS STELLAR DEBUT
Junior transfer Jamal Williams, Jr. made his presence felt in the season opener, as the Brooklyn native notched 15 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Williams, who transferred from Lake Land College, was 4 of 9 from the field and 4 of 8 from the 3-point line, while connecting on 3 of 3 from the charity stripe.

At Lake Land, Williams averaged 10.6 points, 3.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds as a sophomore last season.


ROBINSON STEPS UP
Junior transfer Daylen Robinson came off the bench against Prairie View A&M to provide a spark for the Red Raiders.

Robinson, who transferred from Moberley Area Community College in Missouri, connected on 4 of 7 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line for 14 points. He also chipped in three steals, a rebound and an assist in 26 minutes of play.

Last season, Robinson averaged 11.5 points, 4.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds as a sophomore.

GRAY READY FOR NEXT LEVEL
Freshman Josh Gray was the lone true freshman in the starting lineup in the season opener against Prairie View A&M.

Gray, who was rated the 107th best recruit in the nation by ESPN.com, recorded 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals in his debut.

As a senior at Houston Wheatley High School, he averaged 24 points, six assists and three steals per game while leading Wheatley to the Texas Class 4A playoffs.

KRAVIC GIVE PRESENCE INSIDE
Redshirt junior Dejan Kravic, a transfer from York University in Canada, give Texas Tech a big presence in the middle this season.

The 6-11 native of Serbia recorded nine points, seven rebounds and five blocks in the season opener. The last time a Red Raider had five blocks in a game was D’walyn Roberts against Ole Miss on March 23, 2010.

Kravic sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. He averaged 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks as a sophomore at York before transferring.