Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-5, 4-4)
Bad Guys: Oklahoma Sooners (11-4, 6-3)
When to Watch: Monday, February 1st @ 8:00 p.m.
Where to Watch: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN | WatchESPN
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | TuneIn App
The Line: Texas Tech -6.5
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | OKLAHOMA | |
|---|---|---|
| KenPom | 12 | 19 |
| KP AdjO | 24 | 25 |
| KP AdjD | 10 | 28 |
| T-Rank | 15 | 18 |
| T-Rank O | 28 | 31 |
| T-Rank D | 12 | 21 |
| Haslemetric | 16 | 20 |
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Mac McClung (6-2/185) | 17.5 / 2.3* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Kyler Edwards (6-4/195) | 9.9 / 2.6* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Micah Peavy (6-7/215) | 5.6 / 2.9 |
| POWER FORWARD | Kevin McCullar (6-6/195) | 9.9 / 7.1 |
| CENTER | Marcus Santos-Silva (6-7/245) | 8.7 / 6.4 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Terrence Shannon, Jr. (6-6/210) | 13.6 / 5.5 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Jamarius Burton (6-4/205) | 5.3 / 1.8 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Tyreek Smith (6-7/220) | 2.5 / 2.1 |
| NINTH MAN | Chibuzo Agbo (6-7/215) | 1.7 / 0.8 |
| TENTH MAN | Clarence Nadolny (6-3/190) | 1.7 / 0.8 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Vladislov Goldin (7-0/240) | 2.8 / 1.5 |
| TWELTH MAN | Avery Benson (6-4/195) | 1.6 / 1.0 |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | De’Vion Harmon (6-2/198) | 13.1 / 2.3* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Elijah Harkless (6-3/195) | 5.6 / 4.5 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Austin Reaves (6-5/206) | 15.8 / 5.1 |
| POWER FORWARD | Alondes Williams (6-5/201) | 7.7 / 3.4 |
| CENTER | Kur Kuath (6-10/220) | 7.1 / 5.2 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Umoja Gibson (6-1/176) | 9.1 / 2.4 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Jalen Hill (6-7/225) | 4.8 / 3.5 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Victor Iwuakor (6-7/223) | 4.6 / 4.2 |
| NINTH MAN | Brady Manek (6-9/231) | 11.0 / 4.0 |
| TENTH MAN | Trey Phipps (6-2/178) | 2.9 / 0.8 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Oklahoma is a much better team than you are probably thinking, they’ve done really well in conference and I think they are one of the better teams in the Big 12. This is partly because OU is pretty well balanced with a slight advantage on the defensive end of things. Offense first for us though, with the Sooners not being a really great shooting team, but much like Texas Tech, they don’t turn the ball hardly at all, 10th in the nation in turnover percentage and that alone will make a team that can shoot in the top third of the NCAA into an efficient offensive team. Defensively, again, they are in the top third in most categories, but they play defense without fouling, 7th in the nation in opponent free throw rate and they are also excellent at forcing bad shots inside the arc.
2. Scouting. Reaves and Williams both didn’t play against Alabama because of Covid-19 protocols, so I’m not sure what that will mean for Texas Tech. I’ve plugged them into the lineups, but would presume that they won’t play. [Reaves and Williams have been declared out for tonight’s games, so that’s two starters out for the Sooners.] If that’s the case, you can just sort of move everyone up. Even then, OU has become a guard oriented team, with Harmon and Gibson being the best players (not including Reaves) with both being pretty good shooters, Harmon is very good inside the arc, 56%, and decent outside the line, 38%, while Gibson doesn’t shoot well inside the arc, 34%, but is a terrific shooter from deep, 44%. I don’t have an explanation as to why Manek isn’t getting many minutes, but he’s slipped from the starting lineup to getting a handful of minutes during the game and I’m not sure why. Kuath mans the middle and has a terrific block rate as well as a great rebounder.
3. How They Match Up. These are really two similar teams, with Texas Tech being slightly better on offense and defense. Texas Tech’s advantage on offense like OU isn’t that they are a great shooting team, but they do all of the other things that they can control really well, like they don’t turn the ball over, they crash the offensive boards, and they get to the line. Texas Tech is top 35 in all of those categories. It will be a test of wills because Oklahoma doesn’t turn the ball over, but Texas Tech is 8th in the nation in forcing turnovers.
4. Tweet of the Day.
Never give up on 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒈𝒔. #4To1 | @lubbocknational pic.twitter.com/tDx8IRtbRj
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 1, 2021
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
Tech comes into the matchup fourth in the nation with a 6.2 turnover advantage over its opponents this season and is 20th in the country by holding teams to 62.2 points per game. The Red Raiders have made 300 free throws as a team which is the third most in the nation and are 18th in the stat rankings by forcing 17.2 turnovers per game from their opponents. The Red Raiders are second in the Big 12 by limiting teams to only 40.7 percent shooting and are 10th in Kenpom.com’s adjusted defensive efficiency. McClung leads the Big 12 with 21.0 points per conference game and is averaging 23.2 in the past five games, including scoring a season-high 30 last Monday at West Virginia and then dropping 22 on LSU. He leads the Big 12 with 297 total points this season. Marcus Santos-Silva is currently third in the Big 12 with 3.06 offensive rebounds per game and Shannon is sixth in the league with 22 steals to go along with averaging 14.8 points per conference game.
Austin Reaves leads OU with 15.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while De’Vion Harmon is averaging 13.1 points per game and Brady Manek is at 11.0. Harmon led the Sooners with 18 points and four assists against Alabama with Reaves missing the game. Umoja Gibson and Harmon both hit three 3-pointers for the Sooners in the win with the team going 8-for-21 from beyond the arc. Manek and Gibson both finished with 12 points in the win. The Sooners are averaging 76.9 points per game this season and are limiting teams to 67.3.