Saturday, February 6
Manhattan, Kansas
3 p.m.
Texas Tech University
at
Kansas State
RED RAIDER PREVIEW: at Kansas State
February 04, 2021 | Men's Basketball
No. 13/11 Texas Tech at Kansas State | 3 p.m., Saturday | TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | Manhattan, Kansas
LUBBOCK, Texas – No. 13/11 Texas Tech is taking a road trip for the second straight weekend where it will play Kansas State at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.
The Red Raiders (13-5, 5-4 Big 12) are coming off a 57-52 win over No. 9 Oklahoma on Monday, while the Wildcats (5-14, 1-9 Big 12) have dropped nine straight following a 74-51 loss at No. 23 Kansas on Tuesday. Tech earned an 82-71 win over KSU in the first matchup between the two teams on Jan. 5 with Terrence Shannon, Jr. leading the way with 22 points and Mac McClung adding 16 points and three assists. TTU is 7-2 against KSU under head coach Chris Beard, but 21-24 in the all-time series and only 5-16 in Manhattan. The Red Raiders and Wildcats shared the 2019 Big 12 regular season championship with both teams going 14-4 in conference.
Texas Tech is the top defensive unit in the Big 12 by holding opponents to 61.7 points per game and to 40.3 percent shooting. The Red Raiders, who are 3-1 on the road in Big 12 play, rank 14th nationally by holding teams to only 61.7 ppg. and are fifth in the nation with a 5.9 turnover margin advantage and 23rd by forcing 16.9 turnovers per game from their opponent. Tech leads the nation by getting to the free-throw line 437 times this season and is second with 318 makes at the line after going 18-for-22 in the win over Oklahoma (16-for-20 second half). Offensively, the Red Raiders are committing only 10.9 turnovers per game which is the second best in the Big 12 and are scoring 74.5 ppg. and shooting 43.4 percent from the field. In Big 12 play, Tech leads the conference by shooting 78.1 percent from the free-throw line after going 153-for-196 through nine games.
McClung leads the Big 12 by scoring 19.3 points per game in conference games, with 303 totals points for the season and by making 81 free throws this year. McClung is averaging 16.8 points per game for the season which is fourth overall in the Big 12 for the season, while Shannon is averaging 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game which puts him in the top-15 in both categories. Marcus Santos-Silva is seventh in the Big 12 with 6.5 rebounds per game for the season and Kevin McCullar is third in rebounding at 8.0 per conference game.
Shannon led the Red Raiders with 15 points in the win over Oklahoma on Monday, while McCullar had 13 points and eight rebounds. Santos-Silva and Tyreek Smith also had eight rebounds in a game where the Red Raiders had a 39-32 rebounding advantage over the Sooners. Tech limited OU to only 33.3 percent shooting which was the eighth time this season an opponent has shot under 35 percent. It was ninth time an opponent was under 60 points.
MEDIA: The game will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Ted Emrich and Lance Blanks on the call, while Geoff Haxton and Chris Level have the radio broadcast that can be found locally on Double T 97.3 and throughout the Texas Tech Sports Network.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will return home to host No. 17 West Virginia (12-5, 5-3 Big 12) at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders fell 88-87 to the Mountaineers on Jan. 25 in Morgantown, West Virginia in the first matchup between the two teams. WVU hosts No. 23 Kansas at 1 p.m. (CST) on Saturday before coming to Lubbock.
POLLS: The Red Raiders have been ranked throughout the season and are at No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 11 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Tech was at No. 10 last week before its one-point loss at WVU. Tech is at No. 10 in the NCAA NET Rankings through games played on Wednesday night.
WARMING UP FOR A CAUSE: The Red Raiders will be wearing warmup shirts on Saturday as part of the "This Game is No Secret" campaign which honors coach John McLendon. A legend in the profession, McLendon became the first African American coach to win an integrated national championship. His team went on to win the NAIA Division I Men's Tournament in 1957, 1958 and 1959, making him the first coach in history to win three consecutive NAIA championships. He received full enshrinement in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. The "Eracism" initiative is a social inclusion movement committed to bringing forth change through education, awareness, and action with current and former college basketball coaches leading the way. Coach Beard is a member of the initiative's committee.
RED RAIDER REPORT: McClung leads the Red Raiders this season by scoring 16.8 points per game overall and 19.3 per Big 12 game. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday to honor his performances last week against West Virginia and LSU and was also named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Jan. 18. A junior Gate City Virginia who transferred from Georgetown this season, he is averaging 20.8 points in the past five games including going for a season-high 30 points at West Virginia, 24 against Baylor and starting with a 22-point performance at Texas where he hit the game-winning shot in the final seconds. McClung has scored 20 or more in eight games this season after also going for 22 points last Saturday at LSU. He was limited to six points on Monday against Oklahoma, scoring all six at the free-throw line where he was 6-for-6. He was 0-for-7 from the field in the game, including missing five 3-pointers. For the season, McClung has made 32 3-pointers which is tied with Edwards for the team lead. He's also 81-for-98 at the free-throw line (82.7 percent) and is shooting 43.0 percent from the field. McClung reached 1,000 points in his career last Saturday at LSU and comes into the matchup against Kansas State with 1,013 points through 68 games in his collegiate career. He scored a career-high 38 points as a freshman for the Hoyas against Little Rock on Dec. 12, 2018. In his season-high, McClung was 11-for-21 from the field with four 3-pointers in the 30-point performance at WVU. He has made two or more 3-pointers in 11 games this season.
Shannon has led the team in scoring in the past two games after scoring a season-high 23 in the win at LSU before going for 15 points against Oklahoma. He's currently averaging 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in conference games and is at 13.6 points per game for the entire season. A sophomore from Chicago, Shannon has scored in double-digits in 14 games and 20 or more in four games. Against LSU he also added 10 rebounds to his 23-point performance for his first career double-double. He would score the final six points of the win, first on a layup off a steal to take a 72-71 lead before knocking down four free throws to ice the game. He's currently 64-for-78 on free throws (82.1 percent) this season and is 151 of 183 (82.5 percent) for his career. Shannon has scored 516 points, has 211 rebounds and 49 steals through 46 games of his career. He scored a career-high 24 points last season as a freshman at DePaul and also had a career-best 11 rebounds at Kansas. Shannon has made 16 3-pointers this season through 17 games after having nine through 29 games as a freshman. He is a Julius Erving Award Finalist this season after being named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team last year.
McCullar is averaging 10.1 points and 8.0 rebounds in Big 12 play this season after going for 13 points and eight rebounds in the win over Oklahoma. A redshirt sophomore from San Antonio, McCullar missed the first nine games of the season due to an injury suffered in the preseason but has emerged as one of the top players in the conference. He has recorded two double-doubles this season, first with 15 points and 11 rebounds at Iowa State and then again with a 10/10 double-double at home against No. 2 Baylor. He has three double-digit rebounding performances in his career after also having 11 rebounds last season at Iowa State. He has two double-doubles in his career. McCullar scored a career-high 16 points in the win at Texas where he was 6-for-7 from the field, including going 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. He hit two 3-pointers again on Monday night against Oklahoma where he was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and also 5-for-6 on free throws. McCullar redshirted during the historic run to the 2019 NCAA Final Four before playing in 29 games last season. He has now scored 267 points and has 158 rebounds through 38 games of his career. McCullar matched a career-high with four steals against Oklahoma after also having two four-steal performances last season.
Santos-Silva is averaging 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game along with leading the Red Raiders with 1.1 blocks per game (20 total) this season. Tech's only senior, Santos-Silva is in his first season with the program after transferring from VCU. He comes into the weekend with 980 points in his career along with 737 rebounds and 112 blocks through 115 games. He has recorded two double-doubles this season with 10 points and 13 rebounds against Northwestern State before going for 12 points and 10 rebounds against Sam Houston State. He also had double-digit rebounding performances with 11 rebounds against Baylor and then 12 rebounds last Saturday against LSU in Baton Rouge. He's coming off an eight-rebound game against the Sooners. Santos-Silva scored a season-high 14 points in the first matchup against Kansas State where he also had a season-best three steals. At VCU, he had a pair of 26-point games highlighted by a 26-point, 22-rebound double-double against Rhode Island on March 15, 2019. He leads Tech with 20 blocks this season, including career-high performances with four blocks in games against Abilene Christian and Oklahoma State. He would score 12 points and have two blocks at Texas and is currently shooting 57.8 percent from the field this season.
Edwards scored a career-high 24 points at Kansas State last season and comes into the second matchup of the season against the Wildcats averaging 9.6 points, 4.9 rebounds a team-leading 2.4 assists per game. A junior from Arlington, Edwards has been a part of 62 wins through 87 games as a Red Raider that includes playing in all 38 games a freshman during the run to the 2019 NCAA Championship Final. Edwards scored a season-high 19 points in wins over Abilene Christian and Iowa State this season and has now scored 735 points in his career. He's shooting 32-for-87 (36.8 percent) on 3-pointers this season and has made 111 3-pointers in his career. Edwards leads Tech with 44 assists this season, including a career-high seven assists in the opener against Northwestern State. He had three more assists in the win at LSU and has recorded three or more assists in nine games this season. Edwards had nine points, five rebounds and two assists in the home win over Kansas State earlier this year.
Peavy has started 17 of 18 games to begin his collegiate career where he is averaging 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. A true freshman who was the Class 6A Player of the Year and a Class 6A State Champion at Duncanville HS, Peavy has scored a season-high 14 points in the season opener against Northwestern State and has a conference-high of nine points in the first matchup against Kansas State. He was 3-for-4 from the field against the Wildcats and also had three rebounds and two assists. He scored six points and had five rebounds against Baylor before also scoring six points at West Virginia. Peavy is shooting 45.4 percent from the field this season and is one point away from 100.
Smith is coming off a career-high eight rebounds in the win over Oklahoma where he also had two blocked shots to lead the team. A redshirt freshman, Smith is averaging 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds through 18 games. He scored a career-high seven points in the non-conference wins over Northwestern State and Troy. Against Troy, he had a career-high three blocks. Burton is averaging 4.6 points and 1.3 assists per game in his first season at Tech after transferring from Wichita State. A junior from Charlotte, North Carolina, Burton has scored 613 points and has 252 assists through 85 games of his collegiate career. He scored a season-high 10 points in the win over Grambling in non-conference play and had a Big 12-best of nine at West Virginia where he was 4-for-7 from the field with one 3-pointer. Burton had a season-high five assists in the win over Northwestern State and has an 11-assist performance against Oklahoma State on his resume from Wichita State. Burton has made four starts and appeared in 14 games as a reserve this season.
Nadolny is coming off a season-high seven points against Oklahoma where he was 2-for-2 from the field, including hitting one 3-pointer. A sophomore from France, he had a season-best three assists at West Virginia where he played 17 minutes before scoring his seven points in 15 minutes against OU. He had a previous season-high of six points in the win over Corpus Christi and has a career-high of nine points last season against Houston Baptist as a freshman. He is currently 26 points away from 100 in his career. Benson has missed the past two games with an injury and is currently averaging 1.6 points and 1.0 rebound per game. A redshirt junior, Benson is the only player on the current roster who was with the program when it advanced to the 2018 Elite 8. He is currently 4-for-6 on 3-pointers this season and scored a season-high six points against Incarnate Word. Benson had a career-high 10 points and two blocked shots last season in the win over No. 1 Louisville at the 2019 Jimmy V Classic in New York. Chibuzo Agbo and Vladislav are true freshman along with Peavy and have had some moments in their first season at Tech. A San Diego native, Agbo is averaging 1.7 points per game with a season-high five coming in the opener against Northwestern State. He had three points at West Virginia with a 3-pointer and also had two points at LSU. Agbo has hit five 3-pointers this season. Goldin is the tallest player on the roster at 7-foot-1 and is averaging 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. A forward from Russia, Goldin scored a career-high six points against Grambling in non-conference play and also added four rebounds in the win. Goldin has not played since the win at Iowa State on Jan. 9 in Ames.
SECURING POSSESSION: Beard stresses a 10-or-less turnover game is one of the keys to victory in every game the Red Raiders play which the team has accomplished nine times this season after only having 10 against Oklahoma on Monday. The season has been highlighted by a two-turnover showing at West Virginia which matched the Big 12 single-game record. The Red Raiders are currently averaging only 10.9 turnovers per game which is the second in the Big 12 and 28th nationally. In Big 12 play, Tech also had only seven turnovers against Texas and Kansas, nine in the win over Kansas State and 10 at Iowa State. Tech had only one turnover at halftime against the Cyclones to get out to a 24-point lead. In non-conference play, Tech had only four turnovers against Corpus Christi which was the low in the Beard era before the two in Morgantown. During his five seasons, Tech has committed 10 or less turnovers 60 times under Beard. 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. Tech currently has a plus-5.9 turnover margin which is fifth nationally. OU leads the Big 12 with only 10.6 turnovers per game after having 11 against the Red Raider defense on Monday night.
FORCING THE ISSUE: Texas Tech forced 30 turnovers against Grambling for the most since the 2009 season opener against South Dakota. At LSU, Tech had one more turnover than the Tigers and has had more turnovers than their opponent in only four of 18 games. The Red Raiders forced 16 against Baylor after 15 turnovers at Texas and Iowa State. LSU and WVU committed 12 turnovers each last week before the Sooners committed 11. Tech has recorded 13 steals in two games this season, against Grambling and Northwestern State. The team had seven steals against the Mountaineers but only four against the Tigers and Sooners. McCullar matched his career-high with four steals in the win over OU. The 13 steals against Grambling and Northwestern State 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; TTU 7-KU 16; TTU 13-OU 16; TTU 7-UIW 20; TTU 14-OSU 13; TTU 9-KSU 14.; TTU 10-ISU 15; TTU 7-UT 15; TTU 20-BU 16; TTU 2-WVU 12; TTU 13-LSU 12; TTU 10-OU 11.
STIFLING STARTS: The Texas Tech defense has been strong throughout the first 18 games, but especially solid in the first half where it has outscored its first 17 opponents by a combined 632-499 margin. TTU limited OU to only 18 points in the first half by holding the Sooners to 25.9 shooting from the field and 1-for-10 on 3-pointers. The Longhorns were an anomaly, outscoring the Red Raiders by a 48-38 margin before Tech made its second-half comeback for the win. Only seven of the first 18 opponents have scored over 30 points through the opening 20 minutes of games. 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.
OUR LEADER: Beard is in his fifth season as the Texas Tech head coach where he has led the program to a 107-49 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 137-54 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 200-77 as an NCAA head coach.
TEXAS Tech Coaching wins
COACH RECORD SEASONS
1. Gerald Myers 325-262 (.554) 1971-1991
2. Polk Robison 255-197 (.564) 1942-46; 1947-1961
3. James Dickey 166-124 (.574) 1991-2001
4. Bob Knight 138-82 (.627) 2001-08
5. Berl Huffman 116-72 (.617) 1935-1942; 1946-1947
6. Chris Beard 107-49 (.686) 2016-present
7. Gene Gibson 100-92 (.521) 1961-1969
BEARD AT HOME (71-12, 30-11 Big 12)
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: 8-3, 2-3 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."
The Red Raiders (13-5, 5-4 Big 12) are coming off a 57-52 win over No. 9 Oklahoma on Monday, while the Wildcats (5-14, 1-9 Big 12) have dropped nine straight following a 74-51 loss at No. 23 Kansas on Tuesday. Tech earned an 82-71 win over KSU in the first matchup between the two teams on Jan. 5 with Terrence Shannon, Jr. leading the way with 22 points and Mac McClung adding 16 points and three assists. TTU is 7-2 against KSU under head coach Chris Beard, but 21-24 in the all-time series and only 5-16 in Manhattan. The Red Raiders and Wildcats shared the 2019 Big 12 regular season championship with both teams going 14-4 in conference.
Texas Tech is the top defensive unit in the Big 12 by holding opponents to 61.7 points per game and to 40.3 percent shooting. The Red Raiders, who are 3-1 on the road in Big 12 play, rank 14th nationally by holding teams to only 61.7 ppg. and are fifth in the nation with a 5.9 turnover margin advantage and 23rd by forcing 16.9 turnovers per game from their opponent. Tech leads the nation by getting to the free-throw line 437 times this season and is second with 318 makes at the line after going 18-for-22 in the win over Oklahoma (16-for-20 second half). Offensively, the Red Raiders are committing only 10.9 turnovers per game which is the second best in the Big 12 and are scoring 74.5 ppg. and shooting 43.4 percent from the field. In Big 12 play, Tech leads the conference by shooting 78.1 percent from the free-throw line after going 153-for-196 through nine games.
McClung leads the Big 12 by scoring 19.3 points per game in conference games, with 303 totals points for the season and by making 81 free throws this year. McClung is averaging 16.8 points per game for the season which is fourth overall in the Big 12 for the season, while Shannon is averaging 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game which puts him in the top-15 in both categories. Marcus Santos-Silva is seventh in the Big 12 with 6.5 rebounds per game for the season and Kevin McCullar is third in rebounding at 8.0 per conference game.
Shannon led the Red Raiders with 15 points in the win over Oklahoma on Monday, while McCullar had 13 points and eight rebounds. Santos-Silva and Tyreek Smith also had eight rebounds in a game where the Red Raiders had a 39-32 rebounding advantage over the Sooners. Tech limited OU to only 33.3 percent shooting which was the eighth time this season an opponent has shot under 35 percent. It was ninth time an opponent was under 60 points.
MEDIA: The game will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Ted Emrich and Lance Blanks on the call, while Geoff Haxton and Chris Level have the radio broadcast that can be found locally on Double T 97.3 and throughout the Texas Tech Sports Network.
UP NEXT: Texas Tech will return home to host No. 17 West Virginia (12-5, 5-3 Big 12) at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders fell 88-87 to the Mountaineers on Jan. 25 in Morgantown, West Virginia in the first matchup between the two teams. WVU hosts No. 23 Kansas at 1 p.m. (CST) on Saturday before coming to Lubbock.
POLLS: The Red Raiders have been ranked throughout the season and are at No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 11 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Tech was at No. 10 last week before its one-point loss at WVU. Tech is at No. 10 in the NCAA NET Rankings through games played on Wednesday night.
WARMING UP FOR A CAUSE: The Red Raiders will be wearing warmup shirts on Saturday as part of the "This Game is No Secret" campaign which honors coach John McLendon. A legend in the profession, McLendon became the first African American coach to win an integrated national championship. His team went on to win the NAIA Division I Men's Tournament in 1957, 1958 and 1959, making him the first coach in history to win three consecutive NAIA championships. He received full enshrinement in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. The "Eracism" initiative is a social inclusion movement committed to bringing forth change through education, awareness, and action with current and former college basketball coaches leading the way. Coach Beard is a member of the initiative's committee.
RED RAIDER REPORT: McClung leads the Red Raiders this season by scoring 16.8 points per game overall and 19.3 per Big 12 game. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday to honor his performances last week against West Virginia and LSU and was also named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Jan. 18. A junior Gate City Virginia who transferred from Georgetown this season, he is averaging 20.8 points in the past five games including going for a season-high 30 points at West Virginia, 24 against Baylor and starting with a 22-point performance at Texas where he hit the game-winning shot in the final seconds. McClung has scored 20 or more in eight games this season after also going for 22 points last Saturday at LSU. He was limited to six points on Monday against Oklahoma, scoring all six at the free-throw line where he was 6-for-6. He was 0-for-7 from the field in the game, including missing five 3-pointers. For the season, McClung has made 32 3-pointers which is tied with Edwards for the team lead. He's also 81-for-98 at the free-throw line (82.7 percent) and is shooting 43.0 percent from the field. McClung reached 1,000 points in his career last Saturday at LSU and comes into the matchup against Kansas State with 1,013 points through 68 games in his collegiate career. He scored a career-high 38 points as a freshman for the Hoyas against Little Rock on Dec. 12, 2018. In his season-high, McClung was 11-for-21 from the field with four 3-pointers in the 30-point performance at WVU. He has made two or more 3-pointers in 11 games this season.
Shannon has led the team in scoring in the past two games after scoring a season-high 23 in the win at LSU before going for 15 points against Oklahoma. He's currently averaging 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in conference games and is at 13.6 points per game for the entire season. A sophomore from Chicago, Shannon has scored in double-digits in 14 games and 20 or more in four games. Against LSU he also added 10 rebounds to his 23-point performance for his first career double-double. He would score the final six points of the win, first on a layup off a steal to take a 72-71 lead before knocking down four free throws to ice the game. He's currently 64-for-78 on free throws (82.1 percent) this season and is 151 of 183 (82.5 percent) for his career. Shannon has scored 516 points, has 211 rebounds and 49 steals through 46 games of his career. He scored a career-high 24 points last season as a freshman at DePaul and also had a career-best 11 rebounds at Kansas. Shannon has made 16 3-pointers this season through 17 games after having nine through 29 games as a freshman. He is a Julius Erving Award Finalist this season after being named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team last year.
McCullar is averaging 10.1 points and 8.0 rebounds in Big 12 play this season after going for 13 points and eight rebounds in the win over Oklahoma. A redshirt sophomore from San Antonio, McCullar missed the first nine games of the season due to an injury suffered in the preseason but has emerged as one of the top players in the conference. He has recorded two double-doubles this season, first with 15 points and 11 rebounds at Iowa State and then again with a 10/10 double-double at home against No. 2 Baylor. He has three double-digit rebounding performances in his career after also having 11 rebounds last season at Iowa State. He has two double-doubles in his career. McCullar scored a career-high 16 points in the win at Texas where he was 6-for-7 from the field, including going 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. He hit two 3-pointers again on Monday night against Oklahoma where he was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and also 5-for-6 on free throws. McCullar redshirted during the historic run to the 2019 NCAA Final Four before playing in 29 games last season. He has now scored 267 points and has 158 rebounds through 38 games of his career. McCullar matched a career-high with four steals against Oklahoma after also having two four-steal performances last season.
Santos-Silva is averaging 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game along with leading the Red Raiders with 1.1 blocks per game (20 total) this season. Tech's only senior, Santos-Silva is in his first season with the program after transferring from VCU. He comes into the weekend with 980 points in his career along with 737 rebounds and 112 blocks through 115 games. He has recorded two double-doubles this season with 10 points and 13 rebounds against Northwestern State before going for 12 points and 10 rebounds against Sam Houston State. He also had double-digit rebounding performances with 11 rebounds against Baylor and then 12 rebounds last Saturday against LSU in Baton Rouge. He's coming off an eight-rebound game against the Sooners. Santos-Silva scored a season-high 14 points in the first matchup against Kansas State where he also had a season-best three steals. At VCU, he had a pair of 26-point games highlighted by a 26-point, 22-rebound double-double against Rhode Island on March 15, 2019. He leads Tech with 20 blocks this season, including career-high performances with four blocks in games against Abilene Christian and Oklahoma State. He would score 12 points and have two blocks at Texas and is currently shooting 57.8 percent from the field this season.
Edwards scored a career-high 24 points at Kansas State last season and comes into the second matchup of the season against the Wildcats averaging 9.6 points, 4.9 rebounds a team-leading 2.4 assists per game. A junior from Arlington, Edwards has been a part of 62 wins through 87 games as a Red Raider that includes playing in all 38 games a freshman during the run to the 2019 NCAA Championship Final. Edwards scored a season-high 19 points in wins over Abilene Christian and Iowa State this season and has now scored 735 points in his career. He's shooting 32-for-87 (36.8 percent) on 3-pointers this season and has made 111 3-pointers in his career. Edwards leads Tech with 44 assists this season, including a career-high seven assists in the opener against Northwestern State. He had three more assists in the win at LSU and has recorded three or more assists in nine games this season. Edwards had nine points, five rebounds and two assists in the home win over Kansas State earlier this year.
Peavy has started 17 of 18 games to begin his collegiate career where he is averaging 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. A true freshman who was the Class 6A Player of the Year and a Class 6A State Champion at Duncanville HS, Peavy has scored a season-high 14 points in the season opener against Northwestern State and has a conference-high of nine points in the first matchup against Kansas State. He was 3-for-4 from the field against the Wildcats and also had three rebounds and two assists. He scored six points and had five rebounds against Baylor before also scoring six points at West Virginia. Peavy is shooting 45.4 percent from the field this season and is one point away from 100.
Smith is coming off a career-high eight rebounds in the win over Oklahoma where he also had two blocked shots to lead the team. A redshirt freshman, Smith is averaging 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds through 18 games. He scored a career-high seven points in the non-conference wins over Northwestern State and Troy. Against Troy, he had a career-high three blocks. Burton is averaging 4.6 points and 1.3 assists per game in his first season at Tech after transferring from Wichita State. A junior from Charlotte, North Carolina, Burton has scored 613 points and has 252 assists through 85 games of his collegiate career. He scored a season-high 10 points in the win over Grambling in non-conference play and had a Big 12-best of nine at West Virginia where he was 4-for-7 from the field with one 3-pointer. Burton had a season-high five assists in the win over Northwestern State and has an 11-assist performance against Oklahoma State on his resume from Wichita State. Burton has made four starts and appeared in 14 games as a reserve this season.
Nadolny is coming off a season-high seven points against Oklahoma where he was 2-for-2 from the field, including hitting one 3-pointer. A sophomore from France, he had a season-best three assists at West Virginia where he played 17 minutes before scoring his seven points in 15 minutes against OU. He had a previous season-high of six points in the win over Corpus Christi and has a career-high of nine points last season against Houston Baptist as a freshman. He is currently 26 points away from 100 in his career. Benson has missed the past two games with an injury and is currently averaging 1.6 points and 1.0 rebound per game. A redshirt junior, Benson is the only player on the current roster who was with the program when it advanced to the 2018 Elite 8. He is currently 4-for-6 on 3-pointers this season and scored a season-high six points against Incarnate Word. Benson had a career-high 10 points and two blocked shots last season in the win over No. 1 Louisville at the 2019 Jimmy V Classic in New York. Chibuzo Agbo and Vladislav are true freshman along with Peavy and have had some moments in their first season at Tech. A San Diego native, Agbo is averaging 1.7 points per game with a season-high five coming in the opener against Northwestern State. He had three points at West Virginia with a 3-pointer and also had two points at LSU. Agbo has hit five 3-pointers this season. Goldin is the tallest player on the roster at 7-foot-1 and is averaging 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. A forward from Russia, Goldin scored a career-high six points against Grambling in non-conference play and also added four rebounds in the win. Goldin has not played since the win at Iowa State on Jan. 9 in Ames.
SECURING POSSESSION: Beard stresses a 10-or-less turnover game is one of the keys to victory in every game the Red Raiders play which the team has accomplished nine times this season after only having 10 against Oklahoma on Monday. The season has been highlighted by a two-turnover showing at West Virginia which matched the Big 12 single-game record. The Red Raiders are currently averaging only 10.9 turnovers per game which is the second in the Big 12 and 28th nationally. In Big 12 play, Tech also had only seven turnovers against Texas and Kansas, nine in the win over Kansas State and 10 at Iowa State. Tech had only one turnover at halftime against the Cyclones to get out to a 24-point lead. In non-conference play, Tech had only four turnovers against Corpus Christi which was the low in the Beard era before the two in Morgantown. During his five seasons, Tech has committed 10 or less turnovers 60 times under Beard. 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. Tech currently has a plus-5.9 turnover margin which is fifth nationally. OU leads the Big 12 with only 10.6 turnovers per game after having 11 against the Red Raider defense on Monday night.
FORCING THE ISSUE: Texas Tech forced 30 turnovers against Grambling for the most since the 2009 season opener against South Dakota. At LSU, Tech had one more turnover than the Tigers and has had more turnovers than their opponent in only four of 18 games. The Red Raiders forced 16 against Baylor after 15 turnovers at Texas and Iowa State. LSU and WVU committed 12 turnovers each last week before the Sooners committed 11. Tech has recorded 13 steals in two games this season, against Grambling and Northwestern State. The team had seven steals against the Mountaineers but only four against the Tigers and Sooners. McCullar matched his career-high with four steals in the win over OU. The 13 steals against Grambling and Northwestern State 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; TTU 7-KU 16; TTU 13-OU 16; TTU 7-UIW 20; TTU 14-OSU 13; TTU 9-KSU 14.; TTU 10-ISU 15; TTU 7-UT 15; TTU 20-BU 16; TTU 2-WVU 12; TTU 13-LSU 12; TTU 10-OU 11.
STIFLING STARTS: The Texas Tech defense has been strong throughout the first 18 games, but especially solid in the first half where it has outscored its first 17 opponents by a combined 632-499 margin. TTU limited OU to only 18 points in the first half by holding the Sooners to 25.9 shooting from the field and 1-for-10 on 3-pointers. The Longhorns were an anomaly, outscoring the Red Raiders by a 48-38 margin before Tech made its second-half comeback for the win. Only seven of the first 18 opponents have scored over 30 points through the opening 20 minutes of games. 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.
OUR LEADER: Beard is in his fifth season as the Texas Tech head coach where he has led the program to a 107-49 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 137-54 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 200-77 as an NCAA head coach.
TEXAS Tech Coaching wins
COACH RECORD SEASONS
1. Gerald Myers 325-262 (.554) 1971-1991
2. Polk Robison 255-197 (.564) 1942-46; 1947-1961
3. James Dickey 166-124 (.574) 1991-2001
4. Bob Knight 138-82 (.627) 2001-08
5. Berl Huffman 116-72 (.617) 1935-1942; 1946-1947
6. Chris Beard 107-49 (.686) 2016-present
7. Gene Gibson 100-92 (.521) 1961-1969
BEARD AT HOME (71-12, 30-11 Big 12)
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: 8-3, 2-3 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."