Thursday, December 17
Lubbock, Texas
6 p.m.
Texas Tech University
vs
No. 5 Kansas
RED RAIDER PREVIEW: vs. No. 5 Jayhawks
December 15, 2020 | Men's Basketball
No. 5 Kansas at No. 14 Texas Tech | 6 p.m., Thursday | TV: ESPN | Lubbock, Texas
LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 14-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders enter the ring for the start of their 18-round Big 12 fight against No. 5 Kansas at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders (6-1) are 5-0 at home this season coming into the matchup and 68-9 on their home court under Chris Beard who earned his 100th win as the Tech head coach with a 77-57 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Saturday. The program is 28-8 in Big 12 home games under Beard after going 6-3 last season. The Jayhawks (6-1) enter conference play on a six-game winning streak following a 95-50 win over Omaha last Friday in Lawrence, Kansas before having a scheduled home game against Tarleton State on Sunday canceled.
Texas Tech is on a four-game winning streak entering conference play with wins over the Islanders, Abilene Christian (51-44), Grambling (81-40) and Troy (80-46) following its only loss of the season to No. 6 Houston in a neutral-court matchup in Fort Worth. Mac McClung leads the Red Raiders at 14.1 points per game and now has 22 assists following a season-high six assists in the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Terrence Shannon, Jr. led Tech with 15 points and seven rebounds in the victory and is now scoring 11.8 points per game, while Kyler Edwards is averaging 11.3 points and leads the team with 3.6 assists per (25 total). Marcus Santos-Silva has recorded two double-doubles and is coming off a game against the Islanders where he had 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Santos-Silva leads Tech with 10 blocks following a career-high four blocks in the win over Abilene Christian last Wednesday and then three more against A&M-Corpus Christi. Micah Peavy also went for 12 points in the last game and is now averaging 6.9 points as a starter through seven games, while Nimari Burnett leads the Big 12 with 14 steals including a six-steal performance against Grambling.
Kansas travels to Lubbock on a six-game winning streak in response to opening the season with a 102-90 loss to No. 1 Gonzaga. The Jayhawks earned a 95-50 win over Omaha in their last game and also have wins over Saint Joseph's, Kentucky, Washburn, North Dakota State and Creighton on their non-conference resume. Jalen Wilson leads KU with 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season, while Ochai Agbaji is at 14.1 ppg. to go along with 18 assists. Christian Braun is adding 11.9 points and 5.6 rebounds and David McCormack has 10.1 ppg. and 5.7 rpg. through seven games. Marcus Garrett, a senior from Dallas, leads the team with 27 assists and 11 steals to go along with 8.6 points per game. Agbaji led KU with 18 points in the win over Omaha and Mitch Lightfoot came off the bench to add 14 points and seven rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY: Kansas leads the all-time series by a 37-6 margin with a 15-5 advantage in Lubbock. The Jayhawks won both matchups last season, including what turned out to be the final game of the season with a 66-62 win on March 7, 2020 in Lubbock. TTU earned a 91-62 home win on Feb. 23, 2019 for its last win in the series. This will be the fourth ranked-vs-ranked matchup in the past six matchups between the two programs and the seventh overall. KU is 5-2 in the matchups when both teams are ranked. The two teams will meet up again this season on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021 at the Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.
BIG 12 OPENERS: Tech is 3-1 in Big 12 openers under Beard and 11-13 all-time in the first game of the conference slate. The Red Raiders have opened Big 12 play with wins the past three seasons, including earning an 85-50 over Oklahoma State on Jan. 4, 2020. This will be the second time that TTU and Kansas have matched up against each other in the Big 12 opener with the Jayhawks taking a 94-82 decision on Jan. 6, 2001 in Lubbock.
MEDIA: The TTU-KU game will be broadcasted on ESPN with Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas on the call. This will be Tech's first game on ESPN this season. The game will also be broadcasted on the radio with Geoff Haxton and Chris Level through the Texas Tech Sports Network – locally on Double T 97.3. The broadcast team of Shulman and Bilas last called a Tech game last season when the Red Raiders earned a 70-57 win over No. 1-ranked Louisville at the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 10, 2019 at Madison Square Garden.
POLLS: Rising three spots following a four-game winning streak, the Texas Tech men's basketball team is back at No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and also at No. 14 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. The Red Raiders were at No. 17 in both polls last week and were at No. 14 in the AP Preseason Top 25. Gonzaga remains the top-ranked team in the nation followed by Baylor, Iowa and Michigan State in the rankings followed by the Jayhawks and Houston. The Big 12 is also represented by West Virginia at No. 8 and No. 11 Texas. The Red Raiders were originally scheduled to play No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 19 in Phoenix at the Jerry Colangelo Classic but had the game canceled due to COVID-19 when the NCAA pushed the start of the season back.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Texas Tech entered the week in the top-10 of three national stat categories and in the top-25 of 11. The Red Raiders lead the nation with 197 free throws attempted and are second with 133 made, while defensively the team ranks seventh by limiting opponents to only 51.6 points per game and are 18th with teams shooting only 35.5 percent. With four straight games of forcing 20 or more turnovers and having only committed four turnovers against Corpus Christi, the team's 8.4 turnover margin advantage ranks 11th throughout the nation and tops the Big 12. Tech is 12th nationally and leads the Big 12 with 60 steals, is 13th with 110 assists and 14th with 31 blocked shots.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will have its first true road game of the season when it travels to play Oklahoma on Tuesday, Dec. 22 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners (3-1, 1-0) will play a pair of non-conference games this week against Oral Roberts and Houston Baptist before hosting the Red Raiders. OU started Big 12 play with an 82-78 win over TCU on Dec. 6 in Fort Worth. Tech and Oklahoma are set for a 6 p.m. game which will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
THE RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech's roster is made of 13 players this season with six returners and seven newcomers. Marcus Santos-Silva is the team's lone senior while the junior class is made up of Kyler Edwards, Avery Benson, Mac McClung and Jamarius Burton. The sophomore class includes Kevin McCullar, Terrence Shannon, Jr. and Clarence Nadolny. Tyreek Smith is a redshirt freshman in a class that welcomes in Chibuzo Agbo, Nimari Burnett, Micah Peavy and Vladislav Goldin.
The program returns two starters in Edwards and Shannon from last season, while McCullar started six games in Big 12 play. McCullar has not played this season due to an ankle injury. Off last year's team, starters Davide Moretti, TJ Holyfield and Jahmi'us Ramsey left and are currently beginning professional careers. Ramsey led the team with 15.0 points per game and Moretti was second at 13.0 ppg., leaving the Red Raiders with 38.9 percent of their scoring back off last year's roster led by Edwards who averaged 11.4 per game.
SENIOR (1): Santos-Silva is in his first season at Texas Tech after playing his first three at VCU and has two double-doubles through four games with a 13 rebound/10 point game against Northwestern State and 12-point, 10-rebound performance against Sam Houston. He leads the team in blocks after having a career-high four against ACU and then following it up with three last Saturday against A&M-Corpus Christi. A 6-foot-7 forward, he's currently averaging 8.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, Santos-Silva graduated from VCU this summer and has accumulated 885 points, 673 rebounds and 102 blocked shots through 104 games in his career. Beard said of Santos-Silva: "He's a guy that wants to get better and is working hard to get better. He's mature, experienced and has thick skin to want the truth. He doesn't live in La-La Land. He understands what his strengths are and what he needs to improve on. I think it's our job to make sure he has his best year ever. He's a guy who holds himself accountable, wants his coaches to hold him accountable and his teammates accountable. He is respected enough already to hold other players accountable on our team. He's got the looks of a great leader and we have high expectations for him. It's hard being a leader and best player guy. He wants that responsibility."
JUNIORS (4): Edwards, who is averaging 11.3 points, 3.6 assists. and 5.0 rebounds through seven games, recorded his double-double of his career with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Grambling after going for a season-high 14 points against Troy with four 3-pointers. He followed those two performances up with his season-high 19 points against ACU and nine against Corpus Christi last week. The team's leader in assists with 25 this season, he also had five assists against Grambling and four against Troy. He is back for his third season after playing a reserve role in all 38 games as a freshman during the Final Four run and starting all games last year as a sophomore. An Arlington native, Edwards averaged 11.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game to go along with 95 assists as a junior and has started the first seven games this season. He's scored 641 points, accumulated 162 assists and has made 92 3-pointers through 76 career games. He wore No. 0 the first two years of his career, but offered it to McClung over the summer as the Red Raiders where recruiting him. He was No. 11 in high school. Edward said: "It's a competition every day with our team. No one is going to take a day off." The junior class includes Burton and McClung who both transferred in and both received NCAA waivers to play this season. McClung transferred to Texas Tech after he averaged 14.2 points, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.8 rebounds in 50 career games at Georgetown University. McClung has led the Red Raiders in four of seven games in scoring, including scoring 20 in the opener and 20 against Troy. He is coming off having six assists and three steals against Corpus Christi, but was limited to a season-low five points. His six assists were one shy of his career-high of seven in a game against SMU on Dec. 7, 2019 while playing for the Hoyas. He had 17 points at halftime against Troy and would score all 12 of his points in the game against Grambling in the second half. He was a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week last season and is the all-time leading scorer in Virginia High School League history where he scored 2,801 points in his prep career. McClung, who has now scored 809 points in 57 career games, averaged 15.7 points per game as a sophomore for the Hoyas. Edwards and McClung were both named Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selections. Burton arrived after two years at Wichita State where he averaged 10.3 points and added 102 assists last season. A Charlotte, North Carolina native, he has racked up 244 assists and scored 567 points through 73 games in his career. Burton started against ACU and has played the other six games as a reserve. He scored a season-high 10 points against Grambling and also had three assists. He's currently averaging 5.3 ppg. and has 16 assists through seven games. Benson is the only player on this year's team that was on the 2018 Elite 8 team and 2019 NCAA Championship finals team. A fourth-year player from Arkansas, Benson scored a career-high 10 points to help lead the Red Raiders to a win over No. 1-ranked Louisville in last year's Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Benson has played in 58 games in his career and is the only play on this year's team who was on the 2018 Elite 8 and 2019 NCAA Final Four team.
SOPHOMORES (3): Shannon and McCullar highlight the sophomore class with both players returning from strong 2019-20 seasons but both did not play against ACU. Due to an ankle injury, McCullar has not played this season. A Chicago native, Shannon led the Red Raiders with 15 points and seven rebounds last Saturday against Corpus Christi. He was 5-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 at the free-throw line to lead the team in scoring for the first time this season and the third in his career. He is currently averaging 11.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He averaged 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds as a true freshman where he made 21 starts and played in 29 games. He started six of seven games, missing the ACU game due to an injured ankle. Shannon scored a season-high 16 points in the opener against Northwestern State and has scored in double figures in five of six games that he's played in. Against Grambling, Shannon was 5-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 at the free-throw line where he is now 106-for-129 (82.2%) for his career. He has now scored 355 points through 35 games in his career (10.1 ppg). He scored a career-high 24 points at DePaul and secured a career-best 11 rebounds at Kansas. Shannon is on the Julius Erving Award Watch List for the top forwards in college basketball. McCullar is in his third season with the Red Raiders following a redshirt season during the historic 2018-19 season and then playing an important role last season on the court. He would finish his first season on the court by averaging 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, including scoring a career-high 15 points at Oklahoma State and grabbing a career-best 11 rebounds at Iowa State. McCullar started six games and played in 29 as a redshirt freshman. McCullar said: "I feel like it was just getting out there and getting experience and playing some. I just tried to build on every game. Being out there you grow more and more. Now I'm looking forward to this year because I can see the film I have from last year. Learn from those mistakes and things that I did good and build on that." Nadolny played in 24 games as a true freshman in a reserve role where he scored a career-high nine points against Houston Baptist. He's currently averaging 2.1 points per game this season with a high of six coming against Corpus with a pair of 3-pointers. He also scored five against Sam Houston and has now scored 62 points in 31 games at Tech.
FRESHMEN (5): There was optimism in this year's freshman class at the start of the season that is coming into fruition. Smith is in his second season after redshirting last year along with a four-player true freshman class and is joined by four true freshmen who are making impacts. Peavy has started all seven games and is averaging 6.9 ppg. and 2.7 rpg. after going off for 12 points and five rebounds against the Islanders in the last game. He scored 12 points against Houston after beginning his career with 14 points in the opener against Northwestern State. He earned TABC Class 6A Player of the Year honors as a senior at Duncanville High School where he averaged 19 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He was named to the Jordan Brand Classic roster and was ranked second in Texas in the recruiting class. Peavy, who played for his father at Duncanville, helped lead his team to the 2019 Class 6A State Championship as a junior along with former Red Raider Jahmi'us Ramsey who was a senior on that team. Peavy was named the MVP of the State Championship game. Smith suffered an injury during the 2018-19 season that forced him to miss the season after he had averaged 17.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game as a senior at Trinity Christian. He matched a career-high with seven points against Troy after also scoring seven in the opener and is second on the team with six blocked shots. He scored five points and had four rebounds for the fourth game this season against Corpus. A Louisiana native, Smith moved to the Dallas area in high school where he was named the TAAPS 5A Player of the Year as a junior and all-state honors as a senior. Smith is averaging 3.9 points, 2.7 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 0.9 blocks per game with a career-high of three against Troy. Burnett is the first McDonald's All-American to play at Texas Tech and the highest ranked recruit in program history. He's currently averaging 6.3 points per game and leads the team with 14 steals. Burnett recorded six steals against Grambling which was one shy of matching the single-game TTU record and he also scored a career-best 12 points in the win. He's coming off a game against Corpus where he had five points and three rebounds. Burnett scored in double figures for the second straight game with 10 points against ACU to go along with three more steals following his career-high 12 points against Grambling. A Chicago native, he played at Prolific Prep in California and he was also named to the 2020 Jordan Brand Classic, played for the USA in the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup and participated in the USA Basketball Junior National Team Minicamp. Agbo is a sharpshooter from California who is coming off a senior season where he averaged 22 points per game at Saint Augustine High School in San Diego. Agbo is currently averaging 2.0 points per game with a season-high of five coming against Northwestern State. He was a 4-star recruit was his league's top player as a junior and the 2019-20 San Diego Preseason Player of the Year. Agbo is currently 3-for-9 from beyond the arc. Goldin is the tallest player on the roster this season, coming in at 7-foot-1 in his freshman season. The Russian forward played a season of prep basketball at Putnam Science before signing with the Red Raiders in the summer. He made his Red Raider debut against Troy, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in six minutes of play before going for six points, four rebounds and one block against Grambling to cap his first week of play. He is coming off scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds in limited action against the Islanders.
OUR LEADER: Beard is in his fifth season as the Texas Tech head coach where he has led the program to a 100-45 record, including an 8-2 mark in the NCAA Tournament. Beard was named the 2019 Associated Press National Coach of the Year and earned Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019. An assistant coach at Texas Tech under Bob and Pat Knight, Beard has amassed an impressive 130-50 record as a Division I head coach that started with one season at Little Rock where he was 30-5. He also has head coaching stops at Fort Scott Community College, Seminole State, McMurry and Angelo State in his collegiate career. Beard is the 17th head coach in Texas Tech history and reached 100 wins on Dec. 12, 2020 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He is the fastest Tech coach to reach that milestone following James Dickey (148 games), Bob Knight (150), Gerald Myers (152) and Polk Robison (170). Beard is now 196-75 as an NCAA head coach.
BEARD AT HOME (68-9)
2016-17: 16-3, 6-3 Big 12
2017-18: 17-1, 8-1 Big 12
2018-19: 17-1, 8-1 Big 12
2019-20: 13-4, 6-3 Big 12
2020-21: 5-0, 0-0 Big 12
THE STAFF: Beard is assisted this season by associate head coach Mark Adams, assistant coaches Ulric Maligi and Bob Donewald, Casey Perrin (Chief of Staff), Sean Sutton (Advisor/Player Development), John Reilly (Strength & Conditioning) and associate athletic trainer Mike Neal. Adams is entering his fifth season on Beard's staff and also assisted him at Little Rock. A 1979 graduate of Texas Tech, Adams is a former head coach at Clarendon College, Wayland Baptist, West Texas A&M, Texas-Pan American and Howard College. He earned 2019 TABC Assistant Coach of the Year and is a member of multiple hall of fames, most recently being inducted into the NJCAA's Men's Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class for 2020. Donewald is in his second season on the staff, but his first as an assistant. He has extensive experience in professional basketball and worked last season as the program's director of player development. Maligi is also in his second season on the staff and is widely respected as one of the top emerging assistants in the nation. He led the charge in the recruitment of this year's signing class which was the highest ranked in program history. Reilly, a Killeen, Texas native who competed on the BYU Track & Field team, is also in his fifth season having led the strength and conditioning each year for Beard. Neal is in his second season, coming over from Little Rock where he played basketball and was the team's athletic trainer during Beard's year leading the program.
UNCOMFORTABLE – BEARD EXPLAINS: "Being comfortable gets you beat every single time. You see it all the time in sports. You win a big game and the next time there's a letdown and a loss. We've all seen that. Life is the same way. You can have a great day at work and you could take the edge off. It takes a special person, we use the word 'elite', to remain uncomfortable. Coach Knight would talk a lot about when things were going good that we need to shake the tree from time to time. Everybody expects the best and have focus during times of adversity, but only the elite people can push themselves each day to stay uncomfortable. I think being uncomfortable is where growth comes from. Uncomfortable is what you have to be to compete in the Big 12. Our guys have embraced this. Each season we try to have a theme and with this year's group, we just feel that if we can stay uncomfortable we'll be where we need to be. We like our talent. We like our culture. If this team can keep pushing and not get too high or too low by staying uncomfortable right there in the middle, we think we have a great chance to grow."
SECURING POSSESSION: Beard stresses a 10-or-less turnover game is one of the keys to victory in every game the Red Raiders play. That was highlighted against Corpus Christi where the team had only four which is a low in the Beard era at Texas Tech. During his five seasons, Tech has committed 10 or less turnovers 53 times under Beard through 145 games. The four turnovers against the Islanders were the first this season in single digits. The program's low turnover output was highlighted at the 2019 Final Four with only seven in a win over Michigan State and eight in the overtime loss to Virginia in the National Championship game.
FORCING THE ISSUE: Texas Tech forced 30 turnovers against Grambling for the most since the 2009 season opener against South Dakota. Opponents have had 20 or more turnovers in the past four games, including 20 against Corpus. Tech has recorded 13 steals in two games this season, against Grambling and Northwestern State. That is the most steals in a game since a 15-steal game by the team against Rice on Dec. 16, 2017.
Game-by-Game Turnovers (TTU-OPPONENT): TTU 10-NSU 19; TTU 12-SAM 18; TTU 18-HOU 14; TTU 13-TROY 22; TTU 13-GRAM 30; TTU 16-ACU 22; TTU 4-TAMUCC 20
SHARING THE WEALTH: Texas Tech is averaging 15.7 assists per game after having 19 assists on 27 made baskets against A&M-Corpus Christi in its last game. McClung led the team with six assists in the win over the Islander and was the fifth different player to lead the team in assists in a game. Edwards has led Tech in three different games. Tech has had 15 or more assists in five of seven games, including a season-high 25 in the opener against Northwestern State. Edwards has the individual high this season with seven in that game against NSU.
STIFLING STARTS: The Texas Tech defense has been strong throughout the first seven games, but especially solid in the first half. Only three of the first seven opponents have scored over 20 points in the first half with Corpus managing 21. ACU was limited to only 14 points in the opening 20 minutes and Sam Houston was at 15. The 14 points scored by ACU at the break was the lowest since Northwestern State was held to 10 points at halftime in 2018.
PRESEASON RANKINGS: Texas Tech went into the 2020-21 season ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. The Red Raiders, who were ranked No. 13 in last season's AP Preseason Top-25 Poll and spent 12 weeks in the rankings, are one of five Big 12 teams in the preseason rankings. Gonzaga is the top-ranked team in the poll, followed by Baylor, Villanova, Virginia and Iowa. The Big 12 also has Kansas at No. 6, West Virginia at No. 15 and No. 19 Texas. Texas Tech was at No. 13 in the USA TODAY Top 25 Men's Basketball Coaches Poll which was announced on Thursday ahead of the 2020-21 season that is scheduled to begin in two weeks. The USA TODAY Sports men's basketball coaches poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of head coaches at Division I schools. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 12 in last season's first USA TODAY Coaches Poll. In this year's ranking, Baylor was the top-ranked team followed by Gonzaga, Villanova, Virginia and Kansas. Tech is one of five Big 12 teams in the poll, including West Virginia at No. 15 and Texas which is No. 22.
COVID IMPACT: In an effort to ensure adequate levels of safety, Texas Tech will implement a reduced capacity to approximately 25% at The United Supermarkets Arena this basketball season. In addition to the limited seating capacity, fans will see the following safety protocols this season: Big 12 Conference has mandated an established perimeter around the playing surface – 20 feet behind both team benches and 12 feet on all other sides of the court. Face coverings for all patrons (fans and staff) will be required at all times. A 100 percent mobile ticketing process. Mobile ordering in our concession areas to decrease contacts throughout the concourse. Kirby Hocutt said: "Our staff has worked diligently to ensure we accommodate as many of our fans as possible at our home basketball games. We also want to ensure we offer a safe and enjoyable experience, while being socially responsible."
NCAA BOUND: The Red Raiders were projected to make their third NCAA tournament last season before the season was canceled due to COVID 19. Tech, which advanced to the 2018 Elite 8 and 2019 National Championship final, had never made the NCAA tournament three straight seasons in program history. The Red Raiders finished last season with an 18-13 overall record and were 9-9 in conference play.
ABRUPT ENDING: Texas Tech was on the Sprint Center in Kansas City court warming up for its first-round matchup of the Big 12 Championship against Texas on Thursday, March 12, 2019 when both teams were pulled off the court. With the tournament being canceled, the Red Raiders went to the airport and returned home to Lubbock. Before arriving back to Texas that afternoon by plane, news broke that the NCAA had canceled the remainder of the season.
COVID RINGS: While the 2019-20 season ended without the opportunity to play for any postseason championships, Beard wanted to show his appreciation to the players who battled throughout the year. Each player on the roster received a ring to commemorate the season, a token of respect from Beard who felt it was important that the players could keep to remember the season that was cut short.
NBA DRAFT: Texas Tech's Jahmi'us Ramsey was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 43rd pick of the 2020 NBA Draft on November 18, 2020. An Arlington, Texas native, Ramsey earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year, All-Big 12 Second Team, NABC All-District First Team, Big 12 All-Newcomer Team, Big 12 All-Freshman Team and was a three-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week selection. Ramsey, who is the first Red Raider to earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year, finished the season fifth in the Big 12 in scoring and was second with a 42.6 percentage on 3-pointers and fifth with a 44.2 shooting percentage. Ramsey's selection in the NBA Draft gives the Red Raiders three straight years with a pick following Zhaire Smith (2018) and Jarrett Culver (2019). Tech has now had 25 players picked in the NBA Draft in its program history.
HISTORIC RUN: Texas Tech has ascended into one of the top college basketball programs in the nation under Beard. The program advanced to the 2018 NCAA Elite 8 in only his second season and then reached the Final Four for the first time in program history in his third season. The Red Raiders won the 2019 Big 12 regular-season championship before making their historic run in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Tech started the postseason journey with wins over Northern Kentucky and Buffalo in the first and second rounds hosted in Tulsa and then went through Michigan and Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in Anaheim. TTU topped Michigan State in the Final Four in Minneapolis before falling to Virginia in the 2019 NCAA Championship Final in overtime. The national runner-up finish is the best showing in program history.
FIRST-ROUND STUDENTS: Zhaire Smith and Jarrett Culver remain Texas Tech students despite being drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft as underclassmen. Both are currently enrolled in online classes at TTU where they remain focused on graduating while also being in the early stages of their professional playing careers. Smith said: "It is very important to me to get my education while playing because graduating was my first goal before playing basketball. I also made a promise to my mom and Coach Beard that I will finish. It means a lot to have Coach Beard motivating me by saying that education is the key. It's going to mean a lot to my family to see me graduate because school is not easy at all for me. They are going to cry tears of joy when I finish."
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Davide Moretti left the program following his junior season to pursue a professional career back home in Italy, but remains a Texas Tech student in pursuit of his degree. Moretti took a full load of classes in the 2020 Fall Semester and is on track to graduate in May. A Bologna, Italy native he now plays for Olimpia Milano in the EuroLeague. Moretti finished his Tech career with 969 points and 166 3-pointers which ranks ninth all-time in the program. His 90.6 career free-throw percentage (213-for-235) is the all-time record that he established through 106 games played. He earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors following the 2019-20 season as a human science major at Texas Tech with a 3.68 GPA.
MALIGI DRAWS ATTENTION: Maligi was recognized during the offseason as one of 40 coaches on ESPN's "40 Under 40" list which highlights the top young coaches throughout the national college basketball landscape and The Athletic's 40 Under 40 which identified influential people in a variety of roles within college basketball who are under the age of 40. Maligi is entering his second season with the Red Raiders and was identified at No. 13 by ESPN on the list of head and assistant coaches. In the ESPN article, Myron Medcalf highlighted Maligi who turned 36 on May 14 by saying: "The Howard University product has identified and recruited some of the most talented players in the state of Texas and beyond, as proved by successful tenures as an assistant with Texas A&M, SMU and Stephen F. Austin before joining Chris Beard's staff before last season. By all accounts, Maligi possesses the attributes and leadership qualities necessary to one day guide a Power 5 program."
DOCUMENTING HISTORY: Over the summer ESPN aired "Eddie", a documentary about legendary college basketball coach Eddie Sutton. The film covered many aspects of Eddie Sutton's life, including his family. Sean Sutton, one of Eddie's sons, was featured in the film and is entering his fourth season working with Beard at Tech as the program's director of player development and Beard's advisor. Sean played for his father at Kentucky and Oklahoma State and also worked for him as an assistant coach before being named the head coach at OSU. Talking about the documentary, Sean said: "To open up and talk about some of the things that went on behind the scenes for the public to view, I wouldn't necessarily say it was easy, but it was important. It was important to get an accurate depiction of his life and career."
ON THE NBA SIDELINES: Tech legend Darvin Ham continues to rise among the ranks of NBA assistant coaches where he helped lead Milwaukee to the best regular-season record (56-17) in the NBA last season. Ham, who became an iconic player nationally by ripping down a rim in the 1996 NCAA Tournament and winning the 1996 NCAA Slam Dunk Contest, played in the NBA from 1996-2005 and was on the Detroit Pistons' 2004 NBA Championship team. Ham was an Atlanta Hawks assistant coach from 2013-18 and has been on the Bucks sideline since the 2018 season where he is the lead assistant. He recently completed his bachelor's degree, earning his Texas Tech degree in 2019 – 23 years after leaving Lubbock to begin his professional basketball career.
BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE: Texas Tech and LSU will meet for the second time in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 30, 2021 at the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The eighth annual event will consist of 10 games as every Big 12 member faces 10 squads from the Southeastern Conference. The Red Raiders are 4-3 overall and 2-1 in Baton Rouge all-time against LSU. Tech has also played South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas twice in the challenge. This will mark the sixth consecutive year for all games to be played in one day. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise the contests which also includes matchups of: Auburn at Baylor, Iowa State at Mississippi State, Kansas at Tennessee, Texas A&M at Kansas State, Alabama at Oklahoma, Arkansas at Oklahoma State, TCU at Missouri, Texas at Kentucky and Florida at West Virginia. Texas Tech is 4-3 all-time in the Big 12-SEC Challenge after its 76-74 overtime loss to No. 15 Kentucky last season. The loss to the Wildcats ended a 54-game non-conference winning streak by the Red Raiders which was the second best streak in the nation. Big 12 teams are 40-30 (.571) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge after a tie in 2020.
HALL OF FAME SELECTION: Ronald Ross was selected for the 2020 Texas Tech Hall of Fame class during the offseason. Ross remains one of the beloved greats in the history of Texas Tech men's basketball as the former walk-on helped lead the Red Raiders to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including their first-ever trip to the Sweet 16 in 2005. Ross, a native of nearby Hobbs, New Mexico, was an All-Big 12 first team selection and an All-American by Basketball Times as a senior after averaging 17.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game under head coach Bob Knight. Ross also established the single-season and career school records that year by recording 86 steals, pushing his career total to 204 over 132 games. He served as a graduate assistant the past two season under Beard following a professional career overseas.
CONTINUED IMPACT, DREAM COURT: Nancy Lieberman Charities teamed up with Texas Tech University and The Culver Foundation to give the City of Lubbock a brand new Dream Court. The new Dream Court is located at Duran Park in Lubbock. This court will serve as a safe play space for youth in the community to interact with friends, family and local law enforcement. "I am so excited for the Red Raiders, Jarrett Culver and the City of Lubbock to partner with Nancy Lieberman Charities to honor our beloved, Andre Emmett. We all deeply miss him and want his legacy to live on forever in the lives of people who were touched by his genuine kindness." Basketball Hall of Famer, Nancy Lieberman said. The Dream Court™ is 50-by-84 feet with two brand new basketball goals, and features a high-performance PowerGame™ surface from Sport Court® in signature Texas Tech red and black colors. Its centerpiece is the Dream Courts logo, flanked by the brands of all supporting organizations. Emmett, who is Texas Tech's all-time leading scorer, was murdered in 2019. A dedication ceremony was held on Friday, October 23.
PLAYING IN THE USA: Texas Tech Athletics announced an extension of the current naming rights agreement to United Supermarkets Arena as the grocery chain will remain the facility's namesake through 2035. Texas Tech will receive an additional $16 million over the course of the agreement, which continues the long-standing partnership between the university and United Supermarkets. The West Texas-based chain has now committed more than $30 million to Texas Tech Athletics since securing the original naming rights to the 15,000-seat arena in 1996. United provided Texas Tech with a key $10 million investment that jumpstarted fundraising efforts for the arena, opening in 1999 as United Spirit Arena. In 2014, Texas Tech and United extended their original agreement for $9.45 million. The second extension will ink the relationship until 2035.
IT'S ACADEMIC: Beard announced the hiring of Jamaal Scott as the program's Academic Advisor on July 7, 2020. An experienced educator and athletics leader following a decorated playing career which includes being named the 2000 Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year, Scott will provide the Red Raider program personal, vocational, educational, and advanced counseling and training at both the individual and group levels. Scott is pivotal in the management of academic advising for the men's basketball program by assisting with course selection to ensure degree progress and completion along with serving as the contact between student-athletes and the coaching staff regarding academic progress. Scott is a graduate of the University of Richmond where he played for the Spiders from 2002-05 and was an Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team selection and a two-year team captain.
A GROWING TREE: Brian Burg was named the head coach at Georgia Southern over the summer to add to the growing list of former Beard assistant coaches who have been hired as head coaches. Burg, who joined forces with Beard at Little Rock, would work on his staff for four seasons at Texas Tech where the program reached new heights by advancing to the 2018 Elite 8, winning the 2019 Big 12 regular-season title and then reaching the 2019 NCAA Championship final. Burg is now entering his first season as a head coach at Georgia Southern and hired Tim MacAllister (former Tech Chief of Staff) as an assistant. Along with Burg, Chris Ogden is now entering his fourth season as the head coach at UT Arlington after being an assistant at Tech under Beard. Wes Flanigan was the first Beard assistant to land a Division I head coaching job, being named the Little Rock head coach after Beard left the Trojan program. Flanigan is currently an assistant at Auburn. Along with Division I coaches, Cinco Boone is the head coach at Angelo State (DII), a position he's held for six seasons after being Beard's assistant there for two years and at McMurry for one.
RECENT GRADS: A pair of our No. 22s are now Texas Tech graduates. Despite different academic paths and life timelines, Jarrius Jackson and TJ Holyfield shared a milestone on August 8, 2020 as the former Red Raiders (both wore 22 during their playing days) received their diplomas in a virtual ceremony. Jackson, who played from 2004-07 and then enjoyed a successful professional career overseas, completed his degree in University Studies while Holyfield played last season and earned his master's degree in one year as a graduate transfer. Beard said: "I'm really proud of both of them. I was really fortunate that I got the opportunity to coach Jay Jackson and Holyfield. Earning their degrees was always something we talked about being important to them and their families. It's impressive the way both of them did it."
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The 2019-20 season saw the largest average attendance in program history with 14,057 fans per game. The Red Raiders sold out six homes games during the season, including non-conference games against Eastern Illinois and Bethune-Cookman. The regular-season finale against Kansas was another sellout and the 32nd game in program history with 15,000-plus games at the home arena. Texas Tech is now 264-93 all-time at the United Supermarkets Arena, including a 65-9 record under Beard following the wins over Northwestern State and Sam Houston to begin this season.
FOLLOW US: Along with news, videos and stats being updated throughout the season on TexasTech.com, media and fans can keep up with the Red Raiders on social media by following the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
BEARD QUOTES
On growing through adversity and success:
"We've talked all summer and in the preseason for the need for all of us to grow. Everyone in our program has to get better on a day-to-day basis for us to have the kind of season we want to have. Growth comes when you're uncomfortable. You see it all the time in sports when a team wins a big game and then there's a letdown. You can't let that happen. You have to stay on edge by remaining uncomfortable. We want to push ourselves each day whether we are going through success or handling adversity."
On the team's identity:
"Our culture has to be unselfish and defensive-based. We have to have a mentally tough culture. From each season your identity can change and I think this year we like our length and athleticism. We hope that translate into being the best defensive team in college basketball and I hope it translate to being a versatile and deep offensive team. I've seen a competitiveness in our team every day. They've come out every day ready to compete and battle. There has been very few moments in the preseason where they was any lack of effort or playing hard. We've felt an urgency to have great days and get better."
On the team's shooting potential:
"Right now there is some optimism that this could be our best shooting team ever, but until the lights come on and our guys start doing it on a regular basis with Big 12 and Division I competition the stat sheet will be the ultimate judge of that. I think for us to be the team that we all want to be we need our 3-point shooting to be a weapon for us. We've got some guys who I think can be really good shooters, but we'll have to wait to see. I know they're putting in the work and we believe in them."
On defending the culture of the program:
"You have to defend the culture. It takes time. It takes buy in. Eventually, you don't want to sit there and build it every year. The guys that have been in this program whether its staff members, whether it's players, anybody that's been here before and benefited from the successes that this program has had, and that helps individuals. I mean you've got to show up and defend it every day. It's not a matter of if we're going to have an unentitled locker room or whether we're going to have a mentally tough team. Or whether we're going to respect academics or if we'll be on time. We're not encouraging people to do this. We're defending it. It's a nonnegotiable. Starting with those seven players that were in our locker room last year, I think our whole coaching staff is back so the idea of defending the culture is what it's all about to me."
Postgame – Corpus Christi: "For us heading into Big 12 play, that was the highlight of the game to take care of the basketball with only four turnovers. It wasn't like we were playing against some kind of defense where that was easy. Corpus pressures the ball and has a great coach who has been doing this a long time. They changed up their defense and have some quick guys on the perimeter. The four-turnover game was real for us. That was definitely a positive."
Postgame - Abilene Christian: "They gave us all we could handle tonight. We were fortunate to get to that free-throw line tonight and make some shots but I think our guys earned the right to get to that free throw line. We weren't trying to get fouled if that makes sense. We knew what we were getting into. I told the guys all week, 'These guys will play 40 minutes, if we get up, they are going to play 40 minutes. If they punch us up a little bit, they are going to play 40 minutes' and that's exactly what happened. We basically found a way to win tonight from the free throw line when other areas of the game weren't working for us."
Postgame – Grambling: "In the first half, we were as frustrated as we've been. Only equal by the Houston game the first half and so you've got to get Grambling a lot of credit. It's not like we're out there trying not to play well but I thought Grambling has a great game plan it forced us into some mistakes in the first half especially. So, that's an experienced team that's a well-coached team, we are going to pull for those guys the rest of the season."
Postgame – Troy: "We got some offensive from our defense tonight. In the Houston game, we only had two baskets off our defense. That is just not the way we play our game or how you play in the Big 12. To get to a certain place on the board in this division, you have to get a certain number of points off your defense. There isn't a single offense in our league, or in college basketball, that can handle 100 percent of the scoring load."
Postgame – Houston: "I do think there was a little bit of fight in the second half for us to show some grit and have a chance to get back in the game. When you come from behind like we did. You have to play almost perfect down the stretch. It was not for the lack of effort. We've just got to play a little bit better when we get in those big moments."
Postgame – Sam Houston: "That's how we play, that's Texas Tech basketball. I'd like to think that's our fifth year here and all our teams play like that, but these guys deserve that credit. No exhibitions, no scrimmages. It's kind of a unique year and the way that they are playing right now you have to give them credit. There's a flow right now. A trust factor."
Postgame – Sam Houston: "There's an unselfishness and flow to our team right now that is fun to watch. That's how we play, that's Texas Tech basketball. I'd like to think that's our fifth year here and all our teams play like that, but these guys deserve that credit. No exhibitions, no scrimmages. It's kind of a unique year and the way that they are playing right now you have to give them credit. There's a flow right now."
Postgame – Northwestern State: "That word expectation means everything. That's absolutely what I expect. I expect these guys to play Texas Tech basketball. I expect them to defend with purpose and pride. I expect them to trust their teammates on offense and play unselfish. I expect us to take a couple lumps along the way, because we are kind of an unexperienced young team in some ways, but it's a long journey. But I do expect that. I expect these guys to put themselves in a position to win every game on the schedule and tonight we got that done."
The Red Raiders (6-1) are 5-0 at home this season coming into the matchup and 68-9 on their home court under Chris Beard who earned his 100th win as the Tech head coach with a 77-57 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Saturday. The program is 28-8 in Big 12 home games under Beard after going 6-3 last season. The Jayhawks (6-1) enter conference play on a six-game winning streak following a 95-50 win over Omaha last Friday in Lawrence, Kansas before having a scheduled home game against Tarleton State on Sunday canceled.
Texas Tech is on a four-game winning streak entering conference play with wins over the Islanders, Abilene Christian (51-44), Grambling (81-40) and Troy (80-46) following its only loss of the season to No. 6 Houston in a neutral-court matchup in Fort Worth. Mac McClung leads the Red Raiders at 14.1 points per game and now has 22 assists following a season-high six assists in the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Terrence Shannon, Jr. led Tech with 15 points and seven rebounds in the victory and is now scoring 11.8 points per game, while Kyler Edwards is averaging 11.3 points and leads the team with 3.6 assists per (25 total). Marcus Santos-Silva has recorded two double-doubles and is coming off a game against the Islanders where he had 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Santos-Silva leads Tech with 10 blocks following a career-high four blocks in the win over Abilene Christian last Wednesday and then three more against A&M-Corpus Christi. Micah Peavy also went for 12 points in the last game and is now averaging 6.9 points as a starter through seven games, while Nimari Burnett leads the Big 12 with 14 steals including a six-steal performance against Grambling.
Kansas travels to Lubbock on a six-game winning streak in response to opening the season with a 102-90 loss to No. 1 Gonzaga. The Jayhawks earned a 95-50 win over Omaha in their last game and also have wins over Saint Joseph's, Kentucky, Washburn, North Dakota State and Creighton on their non-conference resume. Jalen Wilson leads KU with 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season, while Ochai Agbaji is at 14.1 ppg. to go along with 18 assists. Christian Braun is adding 11.9 points and 5.6 rebounds and David McCormack has 10.1 ppg. and 5.7 rpg. through seven games. Marcus Garrett, a senior from Dallas, leads the team with 27 assists and 11 steals to go along with 8.6 points per game. Agbaji led KU with 18 points in the win over Omaha and Mitch Lightfoot came off the bench to add 14 points and seven rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY: Kansas leads the all-time series by a 37-6 margin with a 15-5 advantage in Lubbock. The Jayhawks won both matchups last season, including what turned out to be the final game of the season with a 66-62 win on March 7, 2020 in Lubbock. TTU earned a 91-62 home win on Feb. 23, 2019 for its last win in the series. This will be the fourth ranked-vs-ranked matchup in the past six matchups between the two programs and the seventh overall. KU is 5-2 in the matchups when both teams are ranked. The two teams will meet up again this season on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021 at the Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.
BIG 12 OPENERS: Tech is 3-1 in Big 12 openers under Beard and 11-13 all-time in the first game of the conference slate. The Red Raiders have opened Big 12 play with wins the past three seasons, including earning an 85-50 over Oklahoma State on Jan. 4, 2020. This will be the second time that TTU and Kansas have matched up against each other in the Big 12 opener with the Jayhawks taking a 94-82 decision on Jan. 6, 2001 in Lubbock.
MEDIA: The TTU-KU game will be broadcasted on ESPN with Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas on the call. This will be Tech's first game on ESPN this season. The game will also be broadcasted on the radio with Geoff Haxton and Chris Level through the Texas Tech Sports Network – locally on Double T 97.3. The broadcast team of Shulman and Bilas last called a Tech game last season when the Red Raiders earned a 70-57 win over No. 1-ranked Louisville at the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 10, 2019 at Madison Square Garden.
POLLS: Rising three spots following a four-game winning streak, the Texas Tech men's basketball team is back at No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and also at No. 14 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. The Red Raiders were at No. 17 in both polls last week and were at No. 14 in the AP Preseason Top 25. Gonzaga remains the top-ranked team in the nation followed by Baylor, Iowa and Michigan State in the rankings followed by the Jayhawks and Houston. The Big 12 is also represented by West Virginia at No. 8 and No. 11 Texas. The Red Raiders were originally scheduled to play No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 19 in Phoenix at the Jerry Colangelo Classic but had the game canceled due to COVID-19 when the NCAA pushed the start of the season back.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Texas Tech entered the week in the top-10 of three national stat categories and in the top-25 of 11. The Red Raiders lead the nation with 197 free throws attempted and are second with 133 made, while defensively the team ranks seventh by limiting opponents to only 51.6 points per game and are 18th with teams shooting only 35.5 percent. With four straight games of forcing 20 or more turnovers and having only committed four turnovers against Corpus Christi, the team's 8.4 turnover margin advantage ranks 11th throughout the nation and tops the Big 12. Tech is 12th nationally and leads the Big 12 with 60 steals, is 13th with 110 assists and 14th with 31 blocked shots.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will have its first true road game of the season when it travels to play Oklahoma on Tuesday, Dec. 22 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners (3-1, 1-0) will play a pair of non-conference games this week against Oral Roberts and Houston Baptist before hosting the Red Raiders. OU started Big 12 play with an 82-78 win over TCU on Dec. 6 in Fort Worth. Tech and Oklahoma are set for a 6 p.m. game which will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
THE RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech's roster is made of 13 players this season with six returners and seven newcomers. Marcus Santos-Silva is the team's lone senior while the junior class is made up of Kyler Edwards, Avery Benson, Mac McClung and Jamarius Burton. The sophomore class includes Kevin McCullar, Terrence Shannon, Jr. and Clarence Nadolny. Tyreek Smith is a redshirt freshman in a class that welcomes in Chibuzo Agbo, Nimari Burnett, Micah Peavy and Vladislav Goldin.
The program returns two starters in Edwards and Shannon from last season, while McCullar started six games in Big 12 play. McCullar has not played this season due to an ankle injury. Off last year's team, starters Davide Moretti, TJ Holyfield and Jahmi'us Ramsey left and are currently beginning professional careers. Ramsey led the team with 15.0 points per game and Moretti was second at 13.0 ppg., leaving the Red Raiders with 38.9 percent of their scoring back off last year's roster led by Edwards who averaged 11.4 per game.
SENIOR (1): Santos-Silva is in his first season at Texas Tech after playing his first three at VCU and has two double-doubles through four games with a 13 rebound/10 point game against Northwestern State and 12-point, 10-rebound performance against Sam Houston. He leads the team in blocks after having a career-high four against ACU and then following it up with three last Saturday against A&M-Corpus Christi. A 6-foot-7 forward, he's currently averaging 8.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, Santos-Silva graduated from VCU this summer and has accumulated 885 points, 673 rebounds and 102 blocked shots through 104 games in his career. Beard said of Santos-Silva: "He's a guy that wants to get better and is working hard to get better. He's mature, experienced and has thick skin to want the truth. He doesn't live in La-La Land. He understands what his strengths are and what he needs to improve on. I think it's our job to make sure he has his best year ever. He's a guy who holds himself accountable, wants his coaches to hold him accountable and his teammates accountable. He is respected enough already to hold other players accountable on our team. He's got the looks of a great leader and we have high expectations for him. It's hard being a leader and best player guy. He wants that responsibility."
JUNIORS (4): Edwards, who is averaging 11.3 points, 3.6 assists. and 5.0 rebounds through seven games, recorded his double-double of his career with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Grambling after going for a season-high 14 points against Troy with four 3-pointers. He followed those two performances up with his season-high 19 points against ACU and nine against Corpus Christi last week. The team's leader in assists with 25 this season, he also had five assists against Grambling and four against Troy. He is back for his third season after playing a reserve role in all 38 games as a freshman during the Final Four run and starting all games last year as a sophomore. An Arlington native, Edwards averaged 11.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game to go along with 95 assists as a junior and has started the first seven games this season. He's scored 641 points, accumulated 162 assists and has made 92 3-pointers through 76 career games. He wore No. 0 the first two years of his career, but offered it to McClung over the summer as the Red Raiders where recruiting him. He was No. 11 in high school. Edward said: "It's a competition every day with our team. No one is going to take a day off." The junior class includes Burton and McClung who both transferred in and both received NCAA waivers to play this season. McClung transferred to Texas Tech after he averaged 14.2 points, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.8 rebounds in 50 career games at Georgetown University. McClung has led the Red Raiders in four of seven games in scoring, including scoring 20 in the opener and 20 against Troy. He is coming off having six assists and three steals against Corpus Christi, but was limited to a season-low five points. His six assists were one shy of his career-high of seven in a game against SMU on Dec. 7, 2019 while playing for the Hoyas. He had 17 points at halftime against Troy and would score all 12 of his points in the game against Grambling in the second half. He was a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week last season and is the all-time leading scorer in Virginia High School League history where he scored 2,801 points in his prep career. McClung, who has now scored 809 points in 57 career games, averaged 15.7 points per game as a sophomore for the Hoyas. Edwards and McClung were both named Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selections. Burton arrived after two years at Wichita State where he averaged 10.3 points and added 102 assists last season. A Charlotte, North Carolina native, he has racked up 244 assists and scored 567 points through 73 games in his career. Burton started against ACU and has played the other six games as a reserve. He scored a season-high 10 points against Grambling and also had three assists. He's currently averaging 5.3 ppg. and has 16 assists through seven games. Benson is the only player on this year's team that was on the 2018 Elite 8 team and 2019 NCAA Championship finals team. A fourth-year player from Arkansas, Benson scored a career-high 10 points to help lead the Red Raiders to a win over No. 1-ranked Louisville in last year's Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Benson has played in 58 games in his career and is the only play on this year's team who was on the 2018 Elite 8 and 2019 NCAA Final Four team.
SOPHOMORES (3): Shannon and McCullar highlight the sophomore class with both players returning from strong 2019-20 seasons but both did not play against ACU. Due to an ankle injury, McCullar has not played this season. A Chicago native, Shannon led the Red Raiders with 15 points and seven rebounds last Saturday against Corpus Christi. He was 5-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 at the free-throw line to lead the team in scoring for the first time this season and the third in his career. He is currently averaging 11.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He averaged 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds as a true freshman where he made 21 starts and played in 29 games. He started six of seven games, missing the ACU game due to an injured ankle. Shannon scored a season-high 16 points in the opener against Northwestern State and has scored in double figures in five of six games that he's played in. Against Grambling, Shannon was 5-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 at the free-throw line where he is now 106-for-129 (82.2%) for his career. He has now scored 355 points through 35 games in his career (10.1 ppg). He scored a career-high 24 points at DePaul and secured a career-best 11 rebounds at Kansas. Shannon is on the Julius Erving Award Watch List for the top forwards in college basketball. McCullar is in his third season with the Red Raiders following a redshirt season during the historic 2018-19 season and then playing an important role last season on the court. He would finish his first season on the court by averaging 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, including scoring a career-high 15 points at Oklahoma State and grabbing a career-best 11 rebounds at Iowa State. McCullar started six games and played in 29 as a redshirt freshman. McCullar said: "I feel like it was just getting out there and getting experience and playing some. I just tried to build on every game. Being out there you grow more and more. Now I'm looking forward to this year because I can see the film I have from last year. Learn from those mistakes and things that I did good and build on that." Nadolny played in 24 games as a true freshman in a reserve role where he scored a career-high nine points against Houston Baptist. He's currently averaging 2.1 points per game this season with a high of six coming against Corpus with a pair of 3-pointers. He also scored five against Sam Houston and has now scored 62 points in 31 games at Tech.
FRESHMEN (5): There was optimism in this year's freshman class at the start of the season that is coming into fruition. Smith is in his second season after redshirting last year along with a four-player true freshman class and is joined by four true freshmen who are making impacts. Peavy has started all seven games and is averaging 6.9 ppg. and 2.7 rpg. after going off for 12 points and five rebounds against the Islanders in the last game. He scored 12 points against Houston after beginning his career with 14 points in the opener against Northwestern State. He earned TABC Class 6A Player of the Year honors as a senior at Duncanville High School where he averaged 19 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He was named to the Jordan Brand Classic roster and was ranked second in Texas in the recruiting class. Peavy, who played for his father at Duncanville, helped lead his team to the 2019 Class 6A State Championship as a junior along with former Red Raider Jahmi'us Ramsey who was a senior on that team. Peavy was named the MVP of the State Championship game. Smith suffered an injury during the 2018-19 season that forced him to miss the season after he had averaged 17.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game as a senior at Trinity Christian. He matched a career-high with seven points against Troy after also scoring seven in the opener and is second on the team with six blocked shots. He scored five points and had four rebounds for the fourth game this season against Corpus. A Louisiana native, Smith moved to the Dallas area in high school where he was named the TAAPS 5A Player of the Year as a junior and all-state honors as a senior. Smith is averaging 3.9 points, 2.7 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 0.9 blocks per game with a career-high of three against Troy. Burnett is the first McDonald's All-American to play at Texas Tech and the highest ranked recruit in program history. He's currently averaging 6.3 points per game and leads the team with 14 steals. Burnett recorded six steals against Grambling which was one shy of matching the single-game TTU record and he also scored a career-best 12 points in the win. He's coming off a game against Corpus where he had five points and three rebounds. Burnett scored in double figures for the second straight game with 10 points against ACU to go along with three more steals following his career-high 12 points against Grambling. A Chicago native, he played at Prolific Prep in California and he was also named to the 2020 Jordan Brand Classic, played for the USA in the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup and participated in the USA Basketball Junior National Team Minicamp. Agbo is a sharpshooter from California who is coming off a senior season where he averaged 22 points per game at Saint Augustine High School in San Diego. Agbo is currently averaging 2.0 points per game with a season-high of five coming against Northwestern State. He was a 4-star recruit was his league's top player as a junior and the 2019-20 San Diego Preseason Player of the Year. Agbo is currently 3-for-9 from beyond the arc. Goldin is the tallest player on the roster this season, coming in at 7-foot-1 in his freshman season. The Russian forward played a season of prep basketball at Putnam Science before signing with the Red Raiders in the summer. He made his Red Raider debut against Troy, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in six minutes of play before going for six points, four rebounds and one block against Grambling to cap his first week of play. He is coming off scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds in limited action against the Islanders.
OUR LEADER: Beard is in his fifth season as the Texas Tech head coach where he has led the program to a 100-45 record, including an 8-2 mark in the NCAA Tournament. Beard was named the 2019 Associated Press National Coach of the Year and earned Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019. An assistant coach at Texas Tech under Bob and Pat Knight, Beard has amassed an impressive 130-50 record as a Division I head coach that started with one season at Little Rock where he was 30-5. He also has head coaching stops at Fort Scott Community College, Seminole State, McMurry and Angelo State in his collegiate career. Beard is the 17th head coach in Texas Tech history and reached 100 wins on Dec. 12, 2020 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He is the fastest Tech coach to reach that milestone following James Dickey (148 games), Bob Knight (150), Gerald Myers (152) and Polk Robison (170). Beard is now 196-75 as an NCAA head coach.
BEARD AT HOME (68-9)
2016-17: 16-3, 6-3 Big 12
2017-18: 17-1, 8-1 Big 12
2018-19: 17-1, 8-1 Big 12
2019-20: 13-4, 6-3 Big 12
2020-21: 5-0, 0-0 Big 12
THE STAFF: Beard is assisted this season by associate head coach Mark Adams, assistant coaches Ulric Maligi and Bob Donewald, Casey Perrin (Chief of Staff), Sean Sutton (Advisor/Player Development), John Reilly (Strength & Conditioning) and associate athletic trainer Mike Neal. Adams is entering his fifth season on Beard's staff and also assisted him at Little Rock. A 1979 graduate of Texas Tech, Adams is a former head coach at Clarendon College, Wayland Baptist, West Texas A&M, Texas-Pan American and Howard College. He earned 2019 TABC Assistant Coach of the Year and is a member of multiple hall of fames, most recently being inducted into the NJCAA's Men's Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class for 2020. Donewald is in his second season on the staff, but his first as an assistant. He has extensive experience in professional basketball and worked last season as the program's director of player development. Maligi is also in his second season on the staff and is widely respected as one of the top emerging assistants in the nation. He led the charge in the recruitment of this year's signing class which was the highest ranked in program history. Reilly, a Killeen, Texas native who competed on the BYU Track & Field team, is also in his fifth season having led the strength and conditioning each year for Beard. Neal is in his second season, coming over from Little Rock where he played basketball and was the team's athletic trainer during Beard's year leading the program.
UNCOMFORTABLE – BEARD EXPLAINS: "Being comfortable gets you beat every single time. You see it all the time in sports. You win a big game and the next time there's a letdown and a loss. We've all seen that. Life is the same way. You can have a great day at work and you could take the edge off. It takes a special person, we use the word 'elite', to remain uncomfortable. Coach Knight would talk a lot about when things were going good that we need to shake the tree from time to time. Everybody expects the best and have focus during times of adversity, but only the elite people can push themselves each day to stay uncomfortable. I think being uncomfortable is where growth comes from. Uncomfortable is what you have to be to compete in the Big 12. Our guys have embraced this. Each season we try to have a theme and with this year's group, we just feel that if we can stay uncomfortable we'll be where we need to be. We like our talent. We like our culture. If this team can keep pushing and not get too high or too low by staying uncomfortable right there in the middle, we think we have a great chance to grow."
SECURING POSSESSION: Beard stresses a 10-or-less turnover game is one of the keys to victory in every game the Red Raiders play. That was highlighted against Corpus Christi where the team had only four which is a low in the Beard era at Texas Tech. During his five seasons, Tech has committed 10 or less turnovers 53 times under Beard through 145 games. The four turnovers against the Islanders were the first this season in single digits. The program's low turnover output was highlighted at the 2019 Final Four with only seven in a win over Michigan State and eight in the overtime loss to Virginia in the National Championship game.
FORCING THE ISSUE: Texas Tech forced 30 turnovers against Grambling for the most since the 2009 season opener against South Dakota. Opponents have had 20 or more turnovers in the past four games, including 20 against Corpus. Tech has recorded 13 steals in two games this season, against Grambling and Northwestern State. That is the most steals in a game since a 15-steal game by the team against Rice on Dec. 16, 2017.
Game-by-Game Turnovers (TTU-OPPONENT): TTU 10-NSU 19; TTU 12-SAM 18; TTU 18-HOU 14; TTU 13-TROY 22; TTU 13-GRAM 30; TTU 16-ACU 22; TTU 4-TAMUCC 20
SHARING THE WEALTH: Texas Tech is averaging 15.7 assists per game after having 19 assists on 27 made baskets against A&M-Corpus Christi in its last game. McClung led the team with six assists in the win over the Islander and was the fifth different player to lead the team in assists in a game. Edwards has led Tech in three different games. Tech has had 15 or more assists in five of seven games, including a season-high 25 in the opener against Northwestern State. Edwards has the individual high this season with seven in that game against NSU.
STIFLING STARTS: The Texas Tech defense has been strong throughout the first seven games, but especially solid in the first half. Only three of the first seven opponents have scored over 20 points in the first half with Corpus managing 21. ACU was limited to only 14 points in the opening 20 minutes and Sam Houston was at 15. The 14 points scored by ACU at the break was the lowest since Northwestern State was held to 10 points at halftime in 2018.
PRESEASON RANKINGS: Texas Tech went into the 2020-21 season ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. The Red Raiders, who were ranked No. 13 in last season's AP Preseason Top-25 Poll and spent 12 weeks in the rankings, are one of five Big 12 teams in the preseason rankings. Gonzaga is the top-ranked team in the poll, followed by Baylor, Villanova, Virginia and Iowa. The Big 12 also has Kansas at No. 6, West Virginia at No. 15 and No. 19 Texas. Texas Tech was at No. 13 in the USA TODAY Top 25 Men's Basketball Coaches Poll which was announced on Thursday ahead of the 2020-21 season that is scheduled to begin in two weeks. The USA TODAY Sports men's basketball coaches poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of head coaches at Division I schools. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 12 in last season's first USA TODAY Coaches Poll. In this year's ranking, Baylor was the top-ranked team followed by Gonzaga, Villanova, Virginia and Kansas. Tech is one of five Big 12 teams in the poll, including West Virginia at No. 15 and Texas which is No. 22.
COVID IMPACT: In an effort to ensure adequate levels of safety, Texas Tech will implement a reduced capacity to approximately 25% at The United Supermarkets Arena this basketball season. In addition to the limited seating capacity, fans will see the following safety protocols this season: Big 12 Conference has mandated an established perimeter around the playing surface – 20 feet behind both team benches and 12 feet on all other sides of the court. Face coverings for all patrons (fans and staff) will be required at all times. A 100 percent mobile ticketing process. Mobile ordering in our concession areas to decrease contacts throughout the concourse. Kirby Hocutt said: "Our staff has worked diligently to ensure we accommodate as many of our fans as possible at our home basketball games. We also want to ensure we offer a safe and enjoyable experience, while being socially responsible."
NCAA BOUND: The Red Raiders were projected to make their third NCAA tournament last season before the season was canceled due to COVID 19. Tech, which advanced to the 2018 Elite 8 and 2019 National Championship final, had never made the NCAA tournament three straight seasons in program history. The Red Raiders finished last season with an 18-13 overall record and were 9-9 in conference play.
ABRUPT ENDING: Texas Tech was on the Sprint Center in Kansas City court warming up for its first-round matchup of the Big 12 Championship against Texas on Thursday, March 12, 2019 when both teams were pulled off the court. With the tournament being canceled, the Red Raiders went to the airport and returned home to Lubbock. Before arriving back to Texas that afternoon by plane, news broke that the NCAA had canceled the remainder of the season.
COVID RINGS: While the 2019-20 season ended without the opportunity to play for any postseason championships, Beard wanted to show his appreciation to the players who battled throughout the year. Each player on the roster received a ring to commemorate the season, a token of respect from Beard who felt it was important that the players could keep to remember the season that was cut short.
NBA DRAFT: Texas Tech's Jahmi'us Ramsey was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 43rd pick of the 2020 NBA Draft on November 18, 2020. An Arlington, Texas native, Ramsey earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year, All-Big 12 Second Team, NABC All-District First Team, Big 12 All-Newcomer Team, Big 12 All-Freshman Team and was a three-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week selection. Ramsey, who is the first Red Raider to earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year, finished the season fifth in the Big 12 in scoring and was second with a 42.6 percentage on 3-pointers and fifth with a 44.2 shooting percentage. Ramsey's selection in the NBA Draft gives the Red Raiders three straight years with a pick following Zhaire Smith (2018) and Jarrett Culver (2019). Tech has now had 25 players picked in the NBA Draft in its program history.
HISTORIC RUN: Texas Tech has ascended into one of the top college basketball programs in the nation under Beard. The program advanced to the 2018 NCAA Elite 8 in only his second season and then reached the Final Four for the first time in program history in his third season. The Red Raiders won the 2019 Big 12 regular-season championship before making their historic run in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Tech started the postseason journey with wins over Northern Kentucky and Buffalo in the first and second rounds hosted in Tulsa and then went through Michigan and Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in Anaheim. TTU topped Michigan State in the Final Four in Minneapolis before falling to Virginia in the 2019 NCAA Championship Final in overtime. The national runner-up finish is the best showing in program history.
FIRST-ROUND STUDENTS: Zhaire Smith and Jarrett Culver remain Texas Tech students despite being drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft as underclassmen. Both are currently enrolled in online classes at TTU where they remain focused on graduating while also being in the early stages of their professional playing careers. Smith said: "It is very important to me to get my education while playing because graduating was my first goal before playing basketball. I also made a promise to my mom and Coach Beard that I will finish. It means a lot to have Coach Beard motivating me by saying that education is the key. It's going to mean a lot to my family to see me graduate because school is not easy at all for me. They are going to cry tears of joy when I finish."
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Davide Moretti left the program following his junior season to pursue a professional career back home in Italy, but remains a Texas Tech student in pursuit of his degree. Moretti took a full load of classes in the 2020 Fall Semester and is on track to graduate in May. A Bologna, Italy native he now plays for Olimpia Milano in the EuroLeague. Moretti finished his Tech career with 969 points and 166 3-pointers which ranks ninth all-time in the program. His 90.6 career free-throw percentage (213-for-235) is the all-time record that he established through 106 games played. He earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors following the 2019-20 season as a human science major at Texas Tech with a 3.68 GPA.
MALIGI DRAWS ATTENTION: Maligi was recognized during the offseason as one of 40 coaches on ESPN's "40 Under 40" list which highlights the top young coaches throughout the national college basketball landscape and The Athletic's 40 Under 40 which identified influential people in a variety of roles within college basketball who are under the age of 40. Maligi is entering his second season with the Red Raiders and was identified at No. 13 by ESPN on the list of head and assistant coaches. In the ESPN article, Myron Medcalf highlighted Maligi who turned 36 on May 14 by saying: "The Howard University product has identified and recruited some of the most talented players in the state of Texas and beyond, as proved by successful tenures as an assistant with Texas A&M, SMU and Stephen F. Austin before joining Chris Beard's staff before last season. By all accounts, Maligi possesses the attributes and leadership qualities necessary to one day guide a Power 5 program."
DOCUMENTING HISTORY: Over the summer ESPN aired "Eddie", a documentary about legendary college basketball coach Eddie Sutton. The film covered many aspects of Eddie Sutton's life, including his family. Sean Sutton, one of Eddie's sons, was featured in the film and is entering his fourth season working with Beard at Tech as the program's director of player development and Beard's advisor. Sean played for his father at Kentucky and Oklahoma State and also worked for him as an assistant coach before being named the head coach at OSU. Talking about the documentary, Sean said: "To open up and talk about some of the things that went on behind the scenes for the public to view, I wouldn't necessarily say it was easy, but it was important. It was important to get an accurate depiction of his life and career."
ON THE NBA SIDELINES: Tech legend Darvin Ham continues to rise among the ranks of NBA assistant coaches where he helped lead Milwaukee to the best regular-season record (56-17) in the NBA last season. Ham, who became an iconic player nationally by ripping down a rim in the 1996 NCAA Tournament and winning the 1996 NCAA Slam Dunk Contest, played in the NBA from 1996-2005 and was on the Detroit Pistons' 2004 NBA Championship team. Ham was an Atlanta Hawks assistant coach from 2013-18 and has been on the Bucks sideline since the 2018 season where he is the lead assistant. He recently completed his bachelor's degree, earning his Texas Tech degree in 2019 – 23 years after leaving Lubbock to begin his professional basketball career.
BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE: Texas Tech and LSU will meet for the second time in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 30, 2021 at the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The eighth annual event will consist of 10 games as every Big 12 member faces 10 squads from the Southeastern Conference. The Red Raiders are 4-3 overall and 2-1 in Baton Rouge all-time against LSU. Tech has also played South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas twice in the challenge. This will mark the sixth consecutive year for all games to be played in one day. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise the contests which also includes matchups of: Auburn at Baylor, Iowa State at Mississippi State, Kansas at Tennessee, Texas A&M at Kansas State, Alabama at Oklahoma, Arkansas at Oklahoma State, TCU at Missouri, Texas at Kentucky and Florida at West Virginia. Texas Tech is 4-3 all-time in the Big 12-SEC Challenge after its 76-74 overtime loss to No. 15 Kentucky last season. The loss to the Wildcats ended a 54-game non-conference winning streak by the Red Raiders which was the second best streak in the nation. Big 12 teams are 40-30 (.571) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge after a tie in 2020.
HALL OF FAME SELECTION: Ronald Ross was selected for the 2020 Texas Tech Hall of Fame class during the offseason. Ross remains one of the beloved greats in the history of Texas Tech men's basketball as the former walk-on helped lead the Red Raiders to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including their first-ever trip to the Sweet 16 in 2005. Ross, a native of nearby Hobbs, New Mexico, was an All-Big 12 first team selection and an All-American by Basketball Times as a senior after averaging 17.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game under head coach Bob Knight. Ross also established the single-season and career school records that year by recording 86 steals, pushing his career total to 204 over 132 games. He served as a graduate assistant the past two season under Beard following a professional career overseas.
CONTINUED IMPACT, DREAM COURT: Nancy Lieberman Charities teamed up with Texas Tech University and The Culver Foundation to give the City of Lubbock a brand new Dream Court. The new Dream Court is located at Duran Park in Lubbock. This court will serve as a safe play space for youth in the community to interact with friends, family and local law enforcement. "I am so excited for the Red Raiders, Jarrett Culver and the City of Lubbock to partner with Nancy Lieberman Charities to honor our beloved, Andre Emmett. We all deeply miss him and want his legacy to live on forever in the lives of people who were touched by his genuine kindness." Basketball Hall of Famer, Nancy Lieberman said. The Dream Court™ is 50-by-84 feet with two brand new basketball goals, and features a high-performance PowerGame™ surface from Sport Court® in signature Texas Tech red and black colors. Its centerpiece is the Dream Courts logo, flanked by the brands of all supporting organizations. Emmett, who is Texas Tech's all-time leading scorer, was murdered in 2019. A dedication ceremony was held on Friday, October 23.
PLAYING IN THE USA: Texas Tech Athletics announced an extension of the current naming rights agreement to United Supermarkets Arena as the grocery chain will remain the facility's namesake through 2035. Texas Tech will receive an additional $16 million over the course of the agreement, which continues the long-standing partnership between the university and United Supermarkets. The West Texas-based chain has now committed more than $30 million to Texas Tech Athletics since securing the original naming rights to the 15,000-seat arena in 1996. United provided Texas Tech with a key $10 million investment that jumpstarted fundraising efforts for the arena, opening in 1999 as United Spirit Arena. In 2014, Texas Tech and United extended their original agreement for $9.45 million. The second extension will ink the relationship until 2035.
IT'S ACADEMIC: Beard announced the hiring of Jamaal Scott as the program's Academic Advisor on July 7, 2020. An experienced educator and athletics leader following a decorated playing career which includes being named the 2000 Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year, Scott will provide the Red Raider program personal, vocational, educational, and advanced counseling and training at both the individual and group levels. Scott is pivotal in the management of academic advising for the men's basketball program by assisting with course selection to ensure degree progress and completion along with serving as the contact between student-athletes and the coaching staff regarding academic progress. Scott is a graduate of the University of Richmond where he played for the Spiders from 2002-05 and was an Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team selection and a two-year team captain.
A GROWING TREE: Brian Burg was named the head coach at Georgia Southern over the summer to add to the growing list of former Beard assistant coaches who have been hired as head coaches. Burg, who joined forces with Beard at Little Rock, would work on his staff for four seasons at Texas Tech where the program reached new heights by advancing to the 2018 Elite 8, winning the 2019 Big 12 regular-season title and then reaching the 2019 NCAA Championship final. Burg is now entering his first season as a head coach at Georgia Southern and hired Tim MacAllister (former Tech Chief of Staff) as an assistant. Along with Burg, Chris Ogden is now entering his fourth season as the head coach at UT Arlington after being an assistant at Tech under Beard. Wes Flanigan was the first Beard assistant to land a Division I head coaching job, being named the Little Rock head coach after Beard left the Trojan program. Flanigan is currently an assistant at Auburn. Along with Division I coaches, Cinco Boone is the head coach at Angelo State (DII), a position he's held for six seasons after being Beard's assistant there for two years and at McMurry for one.
RECENT GRADS: A pair of our No. 22s are now Texas Tech graduates. Despite different academic paths and life timelines, Jarrius Jackson and TJ Holyfield shared a milestone on August 8, 2020 as the former Red Raiders (both wore 22 during their playing days) received their diplomas in a virtual ceremony. Jackson, who played from 2004-07 and then enjoyed a successful professional career overseas, completed his degree in University Studies while Holyfield played last season and earned his master's degree in one year as a graduate transfer. Beard said: "I'm really proud of both of them. I was really fortunate that I got the opportunity to coach Jay Jackson and Holyfield. Earning their degrees was always something we talked about being important to them and their families. It's impressive the way both of them did it."
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The 2019-20 season saw the largest average attendance in program history with 14,057 fans per game. The Red Raiders sold out six homes games during the season, including non-conference games against Eastern Illinois and Bethune-Cookman. The regular-season finale against Kansas was another sellout and the 32nd game in program history with 15,000-plus games at the home arena. Texas Tech is now 264-93 all-time at the United Supermarkets Arena, including a 65-9 record under Beard following the wins over Northwestern State and Sam Houston to begin this season.
FOLLOW US: Along with news, videos and stats being updated throughout the season on TexasTech.com, media and fans can keep up with the Red Raiders on social media by following the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
BEARD QUOTES
On growing through adversity and success:
"We've talked all summer and in the preseason for the need for all of us to grow. Everyone in our program has to get better on a day-to-day basis for us to have the kind of season we want to have. Growth comes when you're uncomfortable. You see it all the time in sports when a team wins a big game and then there's a letdown. You can't let that happen. You have to stay on edge by remaining uncomfortable. We want to push ourselves each day whether we are going through success or handling adversity."
On the team's identity:
"Our culture has to be unselfish and defensive-based. We have to have a mentally tough culture. From each season your identity can change and I think this year we like our length and athleticism. We hope that translate into being the best defensive team in college basketball and I hope it translate to being a versatile and deep offensive team. I've seen a competitiveness in our team every day. They've come out every day ready to compete and battle. There has been very few moments in the preseason where they was any lack of effort or playing hard. We've felt an urgency to have great days and get better."
On the team's shooting potential:
"Right now there is some optimism that this could be our best shooting team ever, but until the lights come on and our guys start doing it on a regular basis with Big 12 and Division I competition the stat sheet will be the ultimate judge of that. I think for us to be the team that we all want to be we need our 3-point shooting to be a weapon for us. We've got some guys who I think can be really good shooters, but we'll have to wait to see. I know they're putting in the work and we believe in them."
On defending the culture of the program:
"You have to defend the culture. It takes time. It takes buy in. Eventually, you don't want to sit there and build it every year. The guys that have been in this program whether its staff members, whether it's players, anybody that's been here before and benefited from the successes that this program has had, and that helps individuals. I mean you've got to show up and defend it every day. It's not a matter of if we're going to have an unentitled locker room or whether we're going to have a mentally tough team. Or whether we're going to respect academics or if we'll be on time. We're not encouraging people to do this. We're defending it. It's a nonnegotiable. Starting with those seven players that were in our locker room last year, I think our whole coaching staff is back so the idea of defending the culture is what it's all about to me."
Postgame – Corpus Christi: "For us heading into Big 12 play, that was the highlight of the game to take care of the basketball with only four turnovers. It wasn't like we were playing against some kind of defense where that was easy. Corpus pressures the ball and has a great coach who has been doing this a long time. They changed up their defense and have some quick guys on the perimeter. The four-turnover game was real for us. That was definitely a positive."
Postgame - Abilene Christian: "They gave us all we could handle tonight. We were fortunate to get to that free-throw line tonight and make some shots but I think our guys earned the right to get to that free throw line. We weren't trying to get fouled if that makes sense. We knew what we were getting into. I told the guys all week, 'These guys will play 40 minutes, if we get up, they are going to play 40 minutes. If they punch us up a little bit, they are going to play 40 minutes' and that's exactly what happened. We basically found a way to win tonight from the free throw line when other areas of the game weren't working for us."
Postgame – Grambling: "In the first half, we were as frustrated as we've been. Only equal by the Houston game the first half and so you've got to get Grambling a lot of credit. It's not like we're out there trying not to play well but I thought Grambling has a great game plan it forced us into some mistakes in the first half especially. So, that's an experienced team that's a well-coached team, we are going to pull for those guys the rest of the season."
Postgame – Troy: "We got some offensive from our defense tonight. In the Houston game, we only had two baskets off our defense. That is just not the way we play our game or how you play in the Big 12. To get to a certain place on the board in this division, you have to get a certain number of points off your defense. There isn't a single offense in our league, or in college basketball, that can handle 100 percent of the scoring load."
Postgame – Houston: "I do think there was a little bit of fight in the second half for us to show some grit and have a chance to get back in the game. When you come from behind like we did. You have to play almost perfect down the stretch. It was not for the lack of effort. We've just got to play a little bit better when we get in those big moments."
Postgame – Sam Houston: "That's how we play, that's Texas Tech basketball. I'd like to think that's our fifth year here and all our teams play like that, but these guys deserve that credit. No exhibitions, no scrimmages. It's kind of a unique year and the way that they are playing right now you have to give them credit. There's a flow right now. A trust factor."
Postgame – Sam Houston: "There's an unselfishness and flow to our team right now that is fun to watch. That's how we play, that's Texas Tech basketball. I'd like to think that's our fifth year here and all our teams play like that, but these guys deserve that credit. No exhibitions, no scrimmages. It's kind of a unique year and the way that they are playing right now you have to give them credit. There's a flow right now."
Postgame – Northwestern State: "That word expectation means everything. That's absolutely what I expect. I expect these guys to play Texas Tech basketball. I expect them to defend with purpose and pride. I expect them to trust their teammates on offense and play unselfish. I expect us to take a couple lumps along the way, because we are kind of an unexperienced young team in some ways, but it's a long journey. But I do expect that. I expect these guys to put themselves in a position to win every game on the schedule and tonight we got that done."