Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (14-5, 6-4)
Bad Guys: West Virginia Mountaineers (13-5, 6-3)
When to Watch: Tuesday, February 9th @ 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
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | WEST VIRGINIA | |
|---|---|---|
| KenPom | 15 | 19 |
| KP AdjO | 30 | 13 |
| KP AdjD | 13 | 48 |
| T-Rank | 17 | 21 |
| T-Rank O | 32 | 14 |
| T-Rank D | 15 | 54 |
| Haslemetric | 17 | 26 |
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Mac McClung (6-2/185) | 17.2 / 2.4* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Kyler Edwards (6-4/195) | 9.8 / 2.5* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Micah Peavy (6-7/215) | 5.2 / 2.7 |
| POWER FORWARD | Kevin McCullar (6-6/195) | 10.7 / 7.1 |
| CENTER | Marcus Santos-Silva (6-7/245) | 8.3 / 6.5 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Terrence Shannon, Jr. (6-6/210) | 13.0 / 5.1 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Jamarius Burton (6-4/205) | 4.5 / 1.9 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Tyreek Smith (6-7/220) | 2.6 / 2.3 |
| NINTH MAN | Chibuzo Agbo (6-7/215) | 1.8 / 0.9 |
| TENTH MAN | Clarence Nadolny (6-3/190) | 2.1 / 0.9 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Vladislov Goldin (7-0/240) | 2.8 / 1.5 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Avery Benson (6-4/195) | 1.6 / 1.0 |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Miles McBride (6-2/200) | 15.8 / 4.6* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Taz Sherman (6-4/190) | 13.1 / 1.8 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Emmitt Matthews, Jr. (6-7/215) | 7.8 / 3.9 |
| POWER FORWARD | Jalen Bridges (6-7/220) | 4.2 / 2.0 |
| CENTER | Derek Culver (6-10/255) | 14.3 / 10.3 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Sean McNeil (6-3/210) | 10.2 / 1.7 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Gabe Osabuohien (6-7/235) | 1.6 / 4.6 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Jordan McCabe (6-0/188) | 2.5 / 1.4 |
| NINTH MAN | Kedrian Johnson (6-3/180) | 1.7 / 0.9 |
| TENTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. West Virginia is pretty darned elite offensively, Texas Tech fans know this as they simply could not miss in Morgantown. Much like Texas Tech, they aren’t necessarily a great shooting team, but do other things really well, for example, they don’t turn the ball over that much and they grab a ton of offensive boards. The Mountaineers are actually a really good three-point shooting team, making 37% of their shots, good for 50th in the nation, but inside the arc they are 292nd. Limiting three-point shots would be critical. Defensively, they are very good, but not elite. They do allow opposing teams to grab a ton of offensive boards, but they guard the three-point line really well and I think that’s where they’ve shined most of the year. In fact against Kansas, they forced a very good Kansas team into 7 of 20 from the three point line. Not good.
2. Scouting. McBride hit the game-winning shot against Texas Tech and he really is their best player. He’s terrific offensively, making 44% of his three-point shots and is a high-assist and low-turnover player that’s also really good defensively. Sherman continues to play well, making 40% of his three-point shots and is also low-turnover, which is why he plays so many minutes. Culver is a force in the middle, not so much a shot-blocker, but gobbles up a ton of rebounds.
3. How They Match Up. The last time these two teams met, Texas Tech had just come off of a Baylor loss on Saturday and then had to play West Virginia in Morgantown on Monday, so a really quick turnaround and the longest trip of the year (so I don’t want to hear Huggy complaining about travel). Where West Virginia excelled was on offense where they shot the ball incredibly well and was 12 of 19 from the three-point line. That’s pretty well insane and would be difficult to replicate (knocks on wood). The reason this game wasn’t a blowout in favor of WVU was that they struggled with turnovers against Texas Tech, nearly 19% of their possessions ended in turnovers. Texas Tech was very efficient on offense and didn’t turn the ball over hardly at all, only 2.8% of possessions ended in turnovers. Essentially, it took an unbelievable shooting performance from West Virginia at home and a last second shot to beat Texas Tech.
4. Tweet of the Day.
“February is a big month for us. You’ve got to continue to play better basketball. I think in a lot of ways we have been.”
🎥: https://t.co/8oIrBEsbFf pic.twitter.com/Q9vlNqVuIk
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 8, 2021
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
On a three-game winning streak and back in the national top-10, No. 7 Texas Tech will host No. 14 West Virginia at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders (14-5, 6-4 Big 12) are on their three-game winning streak following a 73-62 win at Kansas State last Saturday, while the Mountaineers (13-5, 6-3 Big 12) have won two straight with a 91-79 win over Kansas in their weekend matchup. WVU secured an 88-87 win over TTU on Jan. 25 in Morgantown, West Virginia in the first matchup between the two teams this season.
Tech is 4-0 at home against West Virginia under head coach Chris Beard coming into the game. Beard, who is 108-49 in his fifth season as the head coach at Texas Tech, is 71-12 in games played in Lubbock.