Date: Wednesday, December 14th
Time: 8:00 pm
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-1, 0-0)
Bad Guys: Nicholls State Colonels (5-5, 0-0)
Location: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, Texas
TV/Stream: FOX Sports Southwest Plus (FOX Sports Go App)
Radio/Stream: 97.3 FM/104.3 FM/950 AM
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Devon Thomas (6-0/170) | 4.8 / 3.3* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Kennan Evans (6-3/180) | 13.1 / 3.6* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Justin Gray (6-6/210) | 9.4 / 5.6 |
| POWER FORWARD | Zach Smith (6-8/220) | 11.3 / 6.9 |
| CENTER | Anthony Livingston (6-9/260) | 13.7 / 4.9 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Niem Stevenson (6-6/205) | 8.0 / 2.1 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Shadell Millinghaus (6-2/195) | 8.7 / 3.1 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Giovanni McLean (6-2/195) | 2.9 / 0.6 |
| NINTH MAN | Matthew Temple (6-10/240) | 3.1 / 1.9 |
| TENTH MAN | Thomas Brandsma (6-5/220) | 2.4 / 0.8 |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Jahvaugn Powell (6-1/170) | 8.8 / 4.0* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Johnathan Bell (6-2/170) | 12.8 / 6.0 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Tre O’Neal (6-1/190) | 3.4 / 1.3 |
| POWER FORWARD | Ja’Dante’ Frye (6-4/200) | 15.3 / 6.5 |
| CENTER | Liam Thomas (7-1/200) | 6.9 / 5.7 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Stevie Repichowski (6-5/195) | 5.6 / 2.2 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Adam Ward (6-5/210) | 1.4 / 1.3 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Luka Kamber (6-8/210) | 0.3 / 1.5 |
* Assists.
1. KenPom has Nicholls State as the 308th best team in the nation, 233rd in AdjO and 331st in AdD, which means that this is yet another team that is not very good. And technically, Nicholls State is two spots lower than UTSA, which Texas Tech just pounded without Aaron Ross, Zach Smith and Norense Odiase. Texas Tech is sitting at 31st overall, 31st in AdjO and 36th in AdjD.
2. Nicholls State just beat the Thomas Night Hawks, which is another one of those situations where I wasn’t aware that there was a college called “Thomas” and they are the Nighthawks. A couple of interesting notes from that box score, which is that Nicholls State’s center, Liam Thomas, had 14 points, 10 rebounds and an astounding 9 blocks. Frye is the Colonels’ best player, a pretty good shooter at 50% from the field and I’d guess he’s the one that Texas Tech focuses on the most. Oh, and not listed above is G DeAndre Harris (6-3/200) a scoring guard who has bit a bit off and on and when he does play he scores at a pretty high rate and he’s capable of nailing some three-point shots. I think there may be some discipline issues with Harris and is talented, but maybe doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do.
3. Texas Tech has been off for finals for the past week, so hopefully there’s no rust to shake off for the week. I’d guess that considering the competition, this won’t be much of a contest.
4. Considering the opponent, I’d guess that Smith continues to sit. Texas Tech can’t really afford to lose this game, but I don’t think Texas Tech will really need Smith to win this one. Nicholls State isn’t exactly a big team, nor are they a deep team. I’ve got Smith in the starting lineup for now, but I could see the lineup again that Texas Tech threw out against UTSA, which was to insert Stevenson for Smith. I do think that it would be beneficial to play Smith against Richmond if he’s healthy.
5. There’s only been one road game for Texas Tech thus far, or one road series, which was the Cancun tournament where Texas Tech lost the first game against Auburn but eventually recovered. Richmond isn’t exactly lighting things on fire, but they are a legitimate team that could beat Texas Tech. Teams always play better on at home rather than on the road.